BigBand's M-CMTS approach teams the vendor's Cuda 12000 CMTS with its edge QAM. The Cuda chassis takes care of the upstream, with the edge QAM handling the downstream flow.

    The integrated CMTS, which packs those functions together in one chassis and marks cable's legacy CMTS architecture, "is a dinosaur," Holobinko says.

    Complementing some M-CMTS deployments overseas, BigBand is presently trialing the new implementation with yet-to-be-named MSOs in North America. Cox Communications Inc. and Time Warner Cable Inc. (NYSE: TWC - message board) are among BigBand's CMTS customers in that region.