Low-Latency DOCSIS: Gaming and Beyond

In eSports, a millisecond delay can mean the difference between triumph and defeat.

As the official sponsor of the Philadelphia Fusion Overwatch League Team, CommScope is focused on low-latency networks in the cutting-edge eSports arena.

But for millions of casual gamers around the world, latency still matters too. In fact, having a lower latency connection at home is an important competitive advantage. So much so that gamers are willing to pay for it. Ask anyone who has a dedicated internet connection for their console or gaming machine.

CLICK TO TWEET: Reducing latency and jitter is a core component of how CommScope is enabling digital experiences that are more responsive/capable of real-time operation. Ram Ranganathan explains in this blog.  

Together with our operator customers, CommScope is building low-latency technology into the world’s leading broadband networks. It’s paving the way for tomorrow’s interactive real-time, high-bandwidth experiences. Think: AR and VR, desktop as a service, edge computing, cellular backhaul, and commercial services applications, for instance.

It is important to note that we are not just talking about bringing down average latency for these applications. The key is to provide consistently low latency for all packets, with very low jitter or delay variation, providing a seamless experience for the users. Reducing latency and jitter is a core component of how CommScope is enabling digital experiences that are more responsive, more capable of real-time operation, and better suited to time-sensitive, mission critical services.

This week, we’re excited to introduce our latest E6000 Converged Edge Router (CER) software release. The release supports low-latency DOCSIS (LLD), a specification that will tackle latency on two fronts:

1. Registering low-latency DOCSIS capable DOCSIS 3.1 modems compliant with cable industry standards
2. Supporting upstream LLD scheduling working in tandem with our existing CMTS algorithms

As the world’s most widely deployed Converged Cable Access Platform (CCAP), the E6000 provides operators all over the globe the ability to deliver converged video, broadband, and voice services at scale. In this latest update, E6000 operators will be able to prioritize sensitive low latency traffic (Voice over IP, gaming, interactive content, IoT sensor data, etc) over traditional internet traffic such as streaming video and cam feeds. It’s just another way CommScope is helping our operators to build the broadband networks of the future.

In addition, Tushar Mathur, Systems Architect from CommScope’s CTO Office, will be sharing our learnings and findings with hands-on implementation of Low Latency DOCSIS on the E6000 platform working in conjunction with our modems and gateways in the following SCTE panel: Low Latency DOCSIS: Concept & Experimental Results.