Comcast Corp. (CMCSA), the largest cable MSO in the U.S., recently claimed that the company is well ahead of its competitors to deploy the IPv6 network. Recently the Internet Society (ISOC) also stated that Comcast currently handles the most IPv6 traffic on a daily basis.
ISOC ranks network operators by the percentage of IPv6 traffic they carry coupled with the percentage of network deployment. Comcast currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
ISOC’s latest report stated that Comcast commands a massive 16.4% IPv6 score, moving ahead of its closest telecom rivals AT&T Inc. (T) and KDDI Corp. of Japan.
Its cable TV rivals such as, Time Warner Cable Inc. (TWC) and Liberty Global plc. (LBTYA) are far behind with scores of 3.4% and 2.2% respectively. Comcast currently covers more than 75% of its broadband footprint with IPv6 and is expected to achieve full compatibility by early 2014.
At present, Comcast primarily uses wireless gateway modems of Arris Enterprises, namely, the TG852G and TG862G series products for IPv6 deployment. It was crucial for Comcast to deliver uninterrupted IP-based services as the existing IPv4 address space is quickly approaching exhaustion.
IPv6 Interior Gateway Protocol (IGP), Prefix Delegation and Prefix Stability are some of the major features of the IPv6 protocol stack supported by Arris’ C4 CMTS platform.
Comcast is expecting to enhance IPv6 traffic flow to a large extent in 2014. Currently it reaches approximately 4 million broadband subscribers.
The company is also working with Cisco Systems to offer IPv6 using the vendor’s uBR10000 cable modem termination system (CMTS). Arris also launched an innovative and upgraded CMTS that can support DOCSIS 3.0 upstream channel bonding with IPv6 capabilities.
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