Design of an efficient DOCSIS 3.1 upstream cable modem termination system receiver operating in OFDMA and S-CDMA modes

The widespread availability of broadband internet has transformed Canadian life. However, the increasing volume of data traffic strains the “last mile” access networks that deliver broadband internet to individual premises. The cable industry has responded with updates to the dominant standard for cable modems (CMs) and cable modem termination systems (CMTSs), known as DOCSIS. The latest revision, DOCSIS 3.1, was released on October 29, 2013, and promises great improvements for the delivery of broadband internet through cable. Equipment compliant with the new standard has not yet been commercialized. There is considerable freedom in the design of DOCSIS compliant CMs and CMTSs, and successful designs must incorporate sophisticated signal processing to mitigate impairments introduced by the cable distribution system. This research project undertakes the design of such algorithms for two key operating modes for a DOCSIS 3.1 compliant receiver, focusing on timing and synchronization issues, carrier frequency and phase tracking, burst noise rejection, and ingress cancellation. SED Systems is expected to benefit from this research by using these algorithms in their implementation of a full DOCSIS 3.1 compliant CMTS demodulator.

Faculty Supervisor:

Dr. Hai Jiang

Student:

David Young

Partner:

SED Systems

Discipline:

Engineering - computer / electrical

Sector:

Information and communications technologies

University:

University of Alberta