Here's some really cool news: Comcast has finally unveiled its new DOCSIS 4.0 / Wi-Fi 7 gateway -- the XB10.
This new gateway is based on Broadcom's new DOCSIS 4.0 chipset, and will support both Full Duplex DOCSIS (aka FDX, which uses frequencies up to 1.2 GHz -- what Comcast is now starting to roll out (and what Rogers presumably will too)) and Extended Spectrum DOCSIS (ESD), which can use frequencies up to 1.8 GHz but allocates separate bands for Upstream and Downstream channels.
Comcast also unveiled a new Wi-Fi 7 Router, the XER10, which appears to be purpose-built for FTTH installations. (An XB10 without the cable modem??) I have not been able to track down any detailed specs yet but, like other Wi-Fi 7 routers on the market, I would presume that this device will have at least two 10 Gigabit Ethernet ports. If you look close, you will also see that this router has a telephone jack for Home Phone.
Rogers currently provides (XGS-PON) FTTH customers with an XB7 or XB8 gateway, and uses the (one and only) 2.5 GigE port as a WAN connection to an external ONT. This leaves customers with only Gigabit Ethernet and Wi-Fi connectivity for their devices, making impossible for them to use their multi-gig service to its full potential. It looks like the XER10 router is just what Rogers needs.
I will post more information as it becomes available.
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Hello @-G-,
Thank you for getting this thread started. A lot of great features as you have highlighted in your post. Once we have more details than we will be able to update the community on the product.
RogersJermaine
While neither the XB10 nor XER10 were specifically mentioned, Rogers, today, announced a 10-year agreement with Comcast to "bring the latest award-winning Xfinity products and technology to Canadians across the country.", including Comcast'a 10G Internet product and technology portfolio.
Rogers to Bring World-Class Comcast and Xfinity Products to Canada
Yesterday, I called Rogers to see about getting an XB10. Apparently, it's not available, at least not in my area.
@JKnott wrote:
Yesterday, I called Rogers to see about getting an XB10. Apparently, it's not available, at least not in my area.
I have not seen any XB10 news since whatever we saw got unveiled back in February. No announcements of a release date from Comcast or any reports of early deployments to customers. The only thing we have been told is that it will be coming in the second half of 2024 and will be based on Broadcom silicon... but no word on who the manufacturer is/will be. If the XB10 or XER10 units have been submitted to the FCC for testing, the test reports are still under embargo.
Also nothing in the Comcast DOCSIS 4.0 thread on DSLReports. From what I have heard, Comcast's testers have been using an unbranded DOCSIS 4.0 modem and an (Ethernet WAN-connected) XB8 Gateway.
Apparently, Rogers is conducting limited DOCSIS 4.0 tests in Calgary but I do not know whose hardware they are using in their nodes or anything about the CPE gear in testers' homes.
@Mayoo wrote:
When can we order this modem ? i always used them in Bridge mode and currently i have 2.5Gbps with no fibe. Will this modem provide any difference in quality ?
Where are you located? Do you actually have an Ignite/Xfinity 2.5 Gigabit Internet service or is this just what you see on speed tests?
I think it is going to be a while before see the XB10 Gateway. What we saw unveiled back in February was just a mock-up. An early version of the XB10, that only supports DOCSIS 4.0 FDX, is only just now slowing being released to some Comcast customers, replacing the XB8 / XD4 modem combo that had been used in early testing. A new version of the XB10 (the XB10u?), based on Broadcom's new unified FDX/ESD D4.0 chipset, is apparently still in development. Also, Broadcom's unified D4.0 silicon is not available in quantity yet, and until it is, early production runs of the XB10u will be relegated to certification, lab testing, and VERY limited trials.
As for when Rogers customers might see DOCSIS 4.0, who knows. A year or so ago, both Rogers and Shaw signalled that they were going to go the ESD route. A month ago, there were press releases during SCTE TechExpo 24 that Rogers was going to adopt Comcast's network architecture. Rogers has publicly said that they are testing DOCSIS 4.0 modems in Calgary and attaining 4Gbps Downstream and 1 Gbps upstream -- but that is still a valid DOCSIS 3.1 configuration and likely using dedicated upstream and downstream spectrum, not FDX. Apparently, when asked, Rogers now would not confirm whether they will be going the FDX or ESD route for their DOCSIS 4.0 rollout.
I also don't know what Rogers will do with all the Casa DAA / R-PHY nodes out there in Ontario. The vendor went bankrupt back in April, and despite Casa's optimistic claims, I don't think that the FPGA's in the DA2200 can be reprogrammed to provide a proper working DOCSIS 4.0 implementation of any flavour.
You also asked whether the XB10 will provide any difference in quality. Good question. I was one of the early XB8 testers, and even though it had been available to Comcast customers for several months before we got it, the firmware was not stable and the Wi-Fi drivers were in very rough shape. We finally got good, solid firmware in January, 2023, and by that time, the XB8 had been out in the field in Comcastland for a year.
Just to add to my previous post, many Fibre-to-the-Home (FTTH) customers (who are not running on their own network gear) will definitely want to replace their XB8 gateways with the XER10 router. However, I have not heard ANY news about this device. Nothing!
FYI, Comcast now says that the XB10 is coming in 2025.
Our Most Powerful Gateway Delivers Multi-Gig Symmetrical Speeds
The XB10 gateway, coming in 2025, will be Comcast’s fastest and most powerful device yet – supporting WiFi 7 and DOCSIS 4.0 – and will deliver multi-gigabit symmetrical speeds over WiFi, with the unprecedented capacity to connect to 300 devices simultaneously. The XB10 also includes AI technology that will help ensure a consistent experience.
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