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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"It would be hard to tell whether they upgraded a node or R-PHY gear"
Last time I was in there, about 6 years ago, it was just splitters on the coax.
@JKnott wrote:
"spectrum above that could be used for downstream traffic, usually above108 MHz to avoid interference with FM radio."
I don't know about now, but back in the analog days, upstream started at 54 MHz, which was TV channel 2 (54 - 60 MHz). It went all the way up, so you could directly tune the TV and even FM stations with ordinary broadcast receivers. I don't know if anything between 42 & 54 MHz was used, but interference with other services was a constant concern, as anything that wasn't on a broadcast frequency could interfere with those other services.
I think you are talking about out-of-band communications for set-top boxes. Early STBs used proprietary schemes. Motorola and Scientific Atlanta eventually published their OOB communications and they became documented as SCTE 55-x standards. Newer boxes used DOCSIS. RPDs need to deal with these where digital cable exists. However, it's even better when you can retire old equipment and old protocols.
At one time, Rogers also carried FM radio stations on their coax plant. Not something that you can do in a high-split config.
@JKnott wrote:
"You also run either pfSense or OPNsense router/firewall, correct? If you look the MAC address for your firewall's default gateway (via the ARP table or similar means), is it a Casa OUI or some other vendor?"
pfSense. I had seen Casa in the past, but now it's AxyomCore. I use Wireshark to read the frames directly.
Axyom is the branding for Casa's software platform. I believe that Rogers uses their vBNG in addition to their vCMTS. That does not preclude using R-PHY nodes from other vendors. DAA is supposed to support multi-vendor interoperability. However, without access to debug logging on the cable modem, you can't really tell what RPD vendor is being used.
"Another telltale sign that Rogers is planning a DOCSIS 4.0 rollout, of any flavour, is that they would (almost certainly) be vacating spectrum below 684 MHz."
I don't have any way to see that, at least not that I'm aware of.
Log into the cable modem, go to "Gateway > Connection > Rogers Network", and look at the downstream channels that have been allocated.
In my case, I have a downstream OFDM channel at 350 MHz and various QAM channels allocated between 579 and 861 MHz..
@-G- wrote:
@JKnott wrote:"You also run either pfSense or OPNsense router/firewall, correct? If you look the MAC address for your firewall's default gateway (via the ARP table or similar means), is it a Casa OUI or some other vendor?"
pfSense. I had seen Casa in the past, but now it's AxyomCore. I use Wireshark to read the frames directly.
Axyom is the branding for Casa's software platform. I believe that Rogers uses their vBNG in addition to their vCMTS. That does not preclude using R-PHY nodes from other vendors. DAA is supposed to support multi-vendor interoperability. However, without access to debug logging on the cable modem, you can't really tell what RPD vendor is being used.
"Another telltale sign that Rogers is planning a DOCSIS 4.0 rollout, of any flavour, is that they would (almost certainly) be vacating spectrum below 684 MHz."
I don't have any way to see that, at least not that I'm aware of.
Log into the cable modem, go to "Gateway > Connection > Rogers Network", and look at the downstream channels that have been allocated.
In my case, I have a downstream OFDM channel at 350 MHz and various QAM channels allocated between 579 and 861 MHz..
Downstream | Channel Bonding Value | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
23 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 32 | 33 |
Locked | Locked | Locked | Locked | Locked | Locked | Locked | Locked | Locked | Locked | Locked | Locked | Locked | Locked | Locked | Locked | Locked | Locked | Locked | Locked | Locked | Locked | Locked | Locked | Locked | Locked | Locked | Locked | Locked | Locked | Locked | Locked | Locked |
693 MHz | 279 MHz | 849 MHz | 855 MHz | 861 MHz | 579 MHz | 585 MHz | 591 MHz | 597 MHz | 603 MHz | 609 MHz | 615 MHz | 621 MHz | 633 MHz | 639 MHz | 645 MHz | 651 MHz | 657 MHz | 663 MHz | 669 MHz | 675 MHz | 681 MHz | 687 MHz | 699 MHz | 705 MHz | 711 MHz | 717 MHz | 723 MHz | 825 MHz | 831 MHz | 837 MHz | 843 MHz | 350000000 |
40.9 dB | 41.2 dB | 41.4 dB | 41.4 dB | 41.6 dB | 41.3 dB | 41.4 dB | 41.4 dB | 41.2 dB | 41.3 dB | 41.1 dB | 40.9 dB | 41.3 dB | 41.3 dB | 40.9 dB | 40.9 dB | 41.1 dB | 41.0 dB | 41.1 dB | 41.2 dB | 40.7 dB | 41.2 dB | 40.9 dB | 41.1 dB | 41.1 dB | 41.3 dB | 41.0 dB | 41.2 dB | 41.7 dB | 41.6 dB | 41.7 dB | 41.6 dB | 40.7 dB |
-1.0 dBmV | 2.3 dBmV | 0.5 dBmV | 0.5 dBmV | 0.5 dBmV | 0.6 dBmV | 0.8 dBmV | 0.6 dBmV | -1.0 dBmV | 0.5 dBmV | -1.1 dBmV | -1.0 dBmV | 0.9 dBmV | 0.7 dBmV | -1.4 dBmV | 0.9 dBmV | 0.3 dBmV | 0.8 dBmV | 0.5 dBmV | 0.4 dBmV | 0.4 dBmV | 0.5 dBmV | 0.9 dBmV | 0.6 dBmV | 0.6 dBmV | 0.8 dBmV | 0.8 dBmV | 0.8 dBmV | 0.9 dBmV | 0.7 dBmV | 0.8 dBmV | 0.7 dBmV | 1.6 dBmV |
256 QAM | 256 QAM | 256 QAM | 256 QAM | 256 QAM | 256 QAM | 256 QAM | 256 QAM | 256 QAM | 256 QAM | 256 QAM | 256 QAM | 256 QAM | 256 QAM | 256 QAM | 256 QAM | 256 QAM | 256 QAM | 256 QAM | 256 QAM | 256 QAM | 256 QAM | 256 QAM | 256 QAM | 256 QAM | 256 QAM | 256 QAM | 256 QAM | 256 QAM | 256 QAM | 256 QAM | 256 QAM | OFDM |
@JKnott You too have a bunch of channels using spectrum under 684 Mhz. Keep an eye on that. If you see Rogers vacating that chunk of spectrum, that could be indicative of them making space for DOCSIS 4.0.
When you actually get a DOCSIS 4.0 node installed, it will (likely) only support D3.1 and D4.0, so, technically, you won't even need those QAM channels anymore and I would expect them to disappear altogether,
It has been REALLY quiet when it comes to news about the XB10 but I have been doing some digging and think I hit gold with info that has not been published yet.
Looks like the XB10 will be manufactured by Vantiva (which got spun off from Technicolor) and Sercomm. I think I also found the model numbers as well
Vantiva CGM601TCOM - https://gov.fccid.io/G95601TX
Sercomm SG417DBCT
Some of the information about these units might still be under embargo because when I tried to get certification docs about the Sercomm XB10, I got information about a (Bluetooth-linked?) barbecue thermometer. But a Sercomm XB10 IS in the FCC database: https://fccid.io/P27XB10
I have not been able to find ANY information about the XER10 router but I DID find information about an Xfinity XER5, which will also come from Vantiva: https://gov.fccid.io/G95231BX
Presumably, the Vantiva XB10 will be based on Broadcom silicon. (BCM33941UD in its final form?)
I have no idea which chipset the Sercomm XB10 will use. Their past modems were based on Maxlinear (formerly Intel) Puma chips. However, as far as I know, only Broadcom has a fully-baked unified D4.0 chipset. Sercomm also has a DOCSIS 3.1+ modem in the works based on the Broadcom BCM3392. Given that Comcast's D4.0 infrastructure is also currently tied to Broadcom silicon, it makes sense that the Sercomm XB10 will also be based on Broadcom chipsets, at the expense of hardware diversity.
We will know for sure once we get press releases and all the certification documents become publicly available on the FCC web site. Neither Comcast nor Rogers have issued any information about any of this so you are reading it here first.
As for Rogers' DOCSIS 4.0 plans, they still have not released any information other than they attained speeds of 4 Gbps downstream/1 Gbps upstream in testing, which doesn't say much. In their recently-published 2024 Annual Report, they stated that they are upgrading their plants to 1.2 GHz, which is all the D4.0 Full Duplex requires. They also announced plans to upgrade plants to 1.8 GHz as well, suggesting interest in D4.0 Extended spectrum. At the moment, in my area, they cannot implement either flavour of DOCSIS 4.0 so we will see what the next infrastructure upgrades point to.
If Rogers want to start rolling out DOCSIS 4.0 in the field anytime soon, they will probably need to use the same hardware that Comcast is using... which means DOCSIS 4.0 FDX, probably with DAA/R-PHY nodes and a vCMTS from Harmonic and FDX amplifiers from CommScope.
The first bits of Information about the XER10 (manufactured by Sercomm) have become available:
Sercomm SCER11BELxxx. (the "xxx" part will reflect whether the XER10 has Comcast, Rogers, Cox or Sky branding) - https://gov.fccid.io/P27XER10 / https://fccid.io/P27XER10
@Gk29 wrote:
No I do not have it but wondering if its a router , will it have an admin portal like GWs.
Based on press releases, the XER10 will be a router, meant to connect to an external modem or fibre ONT -- an XB10 gateway without the cable modem components. It's a totally new product, and I have not heard any reports of it being deployed anywhere in the field yet, not even to Comcast customers, so I have no information to share. I presume that it will have a web admin UI, like the Xfinity gateways... but if it does, it is also quite likely that many of the configuration options will be greyed out and/or set to "auto".
Looking at the certification documents for the Sercomm units, the internal photos and user documentation for the XER10 will not be released publicly until June 10, 2025, and August 14, 2025 for the XB10. That may reflect when we can expect to see these become available.
Some more news: Comcast has added the XB10 to their Overview of Xfinity Gateways support page and with that, we have the first few official technical details about the device.
There is not much new information about the XB10:
Its maximum throughput is 10 Gbps. (DOCSIS 4.0 supports up to 10 Gbps downstream / 6 Gbps upstream).
It has four LAN ports: two Gigabit Ethernet, two 10 Gigabit Ethernet
One other notable thing is that the XB10 is NOT compatible with Storm-Ready Wi-Fi. I don't know what to make of this. It could be due to a software limitation, or it could be that their next generation of Wi-Fi pods will use a different technology. However, nothing was said about the XB10 being incompatible with existing Wi-Fi Boost Pods.
Everything else is pretty much the same as what got shared in marketing materials a year ago. As for availability, all Comcast will say is, Coming in 2025.
I still have not seen much of anything revealed about the XER5 or XER10.
