RCN Corporation (News - Alert), a broadband services provider delivering all-digital and high definition video, high-speed internet, announced that RCN Business Services is expanding its data product suite by introducing wideband cable modem offerings through the rollout of DOCSIS 3.0 technology to the SMB market.


With next generation DOCSIS specification, RCN Business Services will introduce cable modems that deliver up to three times faster speeds than today's highest speed services. The company expects to launch in Manhattan and in parts of Boston where it has fiber in buildings and broadband coaxial cable. 

RCN Business Services will introduce several powerful data tiers for customers looking for a fast and reliable platform that can support the demands of multiple users and applications like Hosted VoIP, video conferencing, streaming video and robust and secure Virtual Private Network, or “VPN.”  

RCN will leverage the Cisco’s (News - Alert)  DOCSIS 3.0 downstream channel bonding solution that includes the Cisco uBR10012 cable modem termination systems, or “CMTS,” and Cisco DPC3000 Channel Bonded Cable Modems. It will offer peak data rates of 20 Mbps downstream/5 Mbps upstream, 40 Mbps downstream/5 Mbps upstream and 60 Mbps downstream/10 Mbps upstream. 

Mary Jane Horne, RCN Business Services Vice President and General Manager, said that an offering that includes faster upstream and downstream speeds will further allow the company to develop solutions that meet the needs of business customers. 

“We anticipate that the midpoint 40/5 Mbps data package will provide the best value for many SMBs,” Horne said. “We engage closely with our clients who tell us over and over about the tremendous pressures they face to find new ways to increase productivity and drive efficiency. Our rollout of DOCSIS 3.0 will make it easier for us to address this demand.”

“DOCSIS 3.0 is designed to help our cable provider customers, like RCN, dramatically boost speeds using channel bonding technology,” Mark Palazzo, general manager, Cable Access Business Unit, Cisco, said. “DOCSIS 3.0 will enable cable MSOs to allow small business customers to leverage higher speed tiers for increased productivity, web hosting and VoIP adoption -- all with faster speeds and attractive prices.”

Additionally, Horne said that every business needs a solid foundation on which to build.

“RCN's Wideband data, served over our own fiber-rich backbone, is a building block that every business could utilize to operate efficiently and reliably,” Horne added. “When RCN's Voice and Video building blocks are layered on as part of a core telecommunications strategy, customers can focus on what's most important, running their business.”