CableLabs is at the forefront of innovation for the broadband industry. One new area where this is especially true is in our work developing Network as a Service (NaaS) APIs. As part of this initiative, CableLabs actively contributes to CAMARA, an open source project hosted by Linux Foundation.

All of CableLabs’ contributions to CAMARA are part of our NaaS initiative. NaaS allows network operators to expose previously unavailable features to application developers via open source APIs. Alignment with the industry means CableLabs can not only utilize open source APIs, but we can help drive new APIs and adoption from multiple network operators.

The end goal is straightforward: Creating happier end users by making applications perform better across all types of networks.

What Is CAMARA, and Who Contributes to It?

CAMARA focuses on defining, developing and testing APIs that allow interaction with a service provider's network. The project is closely aligned with the GSMA Open Gateway Initiative for the development, publishing and testing of these open source APIs.

Contributors to the CAMARA community include network operators, mobile carriers and application developers. CAMARA aims to simplify APIs that interact with a service provider by abstracting the complexity of the network away. This allows developers to create applications that interact with a service provider's network without needing to understand which access network is being used or the inner workings and complexities of a mobile, PON or DOCSIS®️ networks.

Rather than develop solutions for our members in a silo, by contributing to CAMARA, CableLabs helps provide a path to adoption across a broader ecosystem. CAMARA’s open source approach enables rapid development of network-based APIs for companies within the industry.

CableLabs’ Contributions to CAMARA APIs

The CAMARA APIs align with the work that CableLabs is doing to help improve networks and make APIs more accessible to a broader range of developers, both within and outside a network operator. 

Quality on Demand APIs: CableLabs contributes to multiple CAMARA projects, starting with expanding the CAMARA Quality on Demand (QoD) APIs to include the QoS profile. This allows an application to set target minimum thresholds for network performance including throughput, latency, packet loss and jitter. You can read more about this in our QoD blog post.

Network Access Management APIs: The CAMARA Network Access Management APIs are also something that CableLabs contributes to. These APIs allow for an application to interact with network operator-provided equipment in the home. The initial scope of the Network Access Management APIs is to allow actions such as rebooting a device or managing a Wi-Fi network.

Edge Cloud: CableLabs also contributes to CAMARA’s Edge Cloud project. This project allows for customers to discover the closest edge cloud zone to a given device for improved application performance.

Quality by Design: Working closely with the Connectivity Insights group at CAMARA, CableLabs is developing a new API that takes Quality on Demand a step further. Quality by Design (QbD) defines network requirements and enables an application to communicate its network KPIs — throughput, latency, jitter, packet loss — to a network operator. The network operator can then determine the cause of the network performance issues and suggest corrective action.

How Do CAMARA APIs Become Available?

Twice a year, CAMARA rolls up all of these API projects into what it calls a meta-release. The fall 2024 meta-release — the first from CAMARA — is now available.

Although the next meta-release isn’t planned until spring 2025, contributions to CAMARA are ongoing. In fact, APIs are even released between meta-releases. CableLabs’ QbD API, which didn’t make the fall release, is expected in the coming months. At that point, it will be tagged at a certain version to also be included in the spring 2025 meta-release.

Once released, APIs are available for anyone to download and use immediately.

Engage With Us on CAMARA Projects

Read more about the CAMARA open source project on their website and join the project on GitHub. If you are a CableLabs member or vendor, you can also join the Network as a Service (NaaS) working group. The more who contribute, the better the industry gets as a whole.

The vision: ubiquitous, context-aware connectivity and an adaptive, intelligent network. The challenge: navigating the ever-evolving digital landscape with confidence and ease.

CableLabs’ Technology Vision serves as a roadmap for advancing innovation and technology development in the coming years. It will drive industry alignment and support unmatched scale for operator members and the vendor community. Collectively, we can unlock the value of seamless connectivity to create nearly endless opportunities for players across the ecosystem.

Defining the Future

We’ll explore this vision in-depth and share how it is defining the future of the Industry at Winter Conference 2025 in Orlando, Florida.

This exclusive gathering provides a neutral meeting ground for CableLabs member operators and our vendor community to build meaningful connections, share knowledge and discover the technology advancements transforming the industry.

The event kicks off on Monday, March 10, with a welcome reception followed by two full days of practical knowledge and enriching insights. It wraps up Thursday, March 13, with member-exclusive project meetings.

Members can register now to join us, and a limited number of demo tables are available for exhibiting vendors to showcase their solutions. In addition to hours of unparalleled exposure during exhibiting hours, demo table packages also include conference passes for vendor company employees.

A Cornerstone of Industry Transformation

In each session at Winter Conference, we will zero in on the Technology Vision, exploring individual aspects of this transformative framework. We will outline the architectures, protocols, technologies and strategies required for building and evolving the network of the future together.

Launched at Winter Conference 2024, the CableLabs’ Technology Vision is a blueprint for accelerating the delivery of next-generation connectivity and beyond — propelling the evolution of the network from one primarily focused on speed to one that adapts to the needs of users and devices in real time.

The framework defines three core pillars that encompass the scope of broadband technologies:

• Seamless Connectivity: ensuring connectivity anywhere, anytime, on any device.
• Network Platform Evolution: creating the most efficient network architectures to deliver secure, truly seamless connectivity experiences.
• Pervasive Intelligence, Security & Privacy: supporting intelligence at every point in the network.

During Winter Conference 2025, we will explore how — at an individual, company and industry level — the framework can be leveraged to unlock new opportunities for better, more seamless online experiences and fuel innovation at scale.

Smaller Market Conference

Ahead of Winter Conference, we invite multi-system operators to join the Smaller Marketing Conference on Monday, March 10, to discuss the issues that are most important to them and their teams. Connect with and hear from leaders representing business strategy, technology, engineering, marketing, operations and customer experience, within the Smaller Market community.

This event is available for CableLabs members and NCTA guests. Registration for Smaller Market Conference is separate from Winter Conference, so if you are planning to attend, please be sure to register for both.

Let’s Collaborate at Winter Conference

Join Winter Conference to be part of the collaborative ecosystem shaping the future of connectivity.

This is an event you can’t afford to miss! Register and start planning your trip today.

Every day, consumers become more reliant on the digital services that surround us at home, at work, at school — and just about everywhere else. As a result, the need for robust network security and privacy protection has never been more critical.

CableLabs plays a vital role in shaping the future of our networks, enabling connectivity experiences that engender user confidence and peace of mind.

Brian Scriber, CableLabs distinguished technologist and vice president of Security Technologies, sat down recently to talk about how CableLabs is advancing Pervasive Intelligence, Security & Privacy — a core theme in CableLabs’ Technology Vision — through our state-of-the-art labs, working groups and involvement with standards development organizations.

Watch the video below for an “Inside Look” at how we are protecting future networks and find out what CableLabs’ “Chamber of Secrets” is all about. Plus, catch up on earlier videos with the leaders of our Wired and Wireless Technologies teams.

“If you’re going to do security right, you’re going to do it so that it makes life easier for the consumer — not so they have to remember 50 more passwords or go through a bunch of extra hoops,” Scriber said.

“If we do it right, it becomes kind of transparent and we make the secure network experience so much more useful to the consumer and the subscriber. By doing that, we are increasing their understanding and their trust of the network.”

Security and privacy are top of mind all year long for cybersecurity professionals, but did you know that October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month for all of us? Take a moment to close a few of those accounts you never use — and learn more about how operators and vendors can engage with CableLabs to create safer, more secure and more private networks.

Threats to internet routing infrastructure are diverse, persistent and changing — leaving critical communications networks susceptible to severe disruptions, such as data leakage, network outages and unauthorized access to sensitive information. Securing core routing protocols — including the Border Gateway Protocol (BGP) and the Resource Public Key Infrastructure (RPKI) — is an integral facet of the cybersecurity landscape and a focus of current efforts in the United States government’s strategy to improve the security of the nation’s internet routing ecosystem.

CableLabs has released an update to the “Cybersecurity Framework Profile for Internet Routing” (Routing Security Profile or RSP). The profile serves as a foundation for improving the security of the internet’s routing system. An actionable and adaptable guide, the RSP is aligned with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Cybersecurity Framework (CSF), which enables internet service providers (ISPs), enterprise networks, cloud service providers and organizations of all sizes to proactively identify risks and mitigate threats to enhance routing infrastructure security.

The RSP is an extension of CableLabs’ and the cable industry’s longstanding leadership and commitment to building and maintaining a more secure internet ecosystem. It was developed in response to a call to action by NIST to submit examples of “profiles” mapped to the CSF that are aimed at addressing cybersecurity risks associated with a particular business activity or operation.

Improvement Through Feedback and Alignment

The first version of the RSP (v1.0) was released in January 2024 in conjunction with an event co-hosted with NCTA — the Internet & Television Association, featuring technical experts and key government officials from NIST, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and the White House Office of the National Cyber Director (ONCD).

Following the release of the first version of the RSP, CableLabs conducted outreach to other relevant stakeholders within the broader internet community to raise awareness about this work and to seek feedback to help improve the profile. In addition, NIST released its updated CSF 2.0 in February 2024.

The RSP update reflects stakeholder input received to date and accounts for changes in the NIST CSF 2.0. In particular, the RSP v2.0:

• Aligns with NIST CSF 2.0’s addition of a “Govern” function and revisions of subcategories in the RSP’s mapping of routing security best practices and standards to the applicable key categories and subcategories of the NIST CSF 2.0’s core functions.
• Adds routing security considerations for most subcategories that previously did not include such information.
• Incorporates informative and relevant references within the context of the mapping rather than as a separate column of citations.

Advancing Routing Security Through Public-Private Partnership

Since its release, the RSP has been cited as a resource by various government stakeholders in recent actions and initiatives, including NTIA's Communications Supply Chain Risk Information Partnership (C-SCRIP)’s BGP webpage, the FCC’s proposed BGP rules and ONCD’s Roadmap to Enhancing Internet Routing Security.

In addition, CableLabs continues to closely engage in public-private stakeholder working groups. They include the joint working group recently established by CISA and ONCD, in collaboration with the Communications and IT Sector Coordinating Councils. The working group was created, according to the ONCD roadmap, “under the auspices of the Critical Infrastructure Partnership Advisory Council to develop resources and materials to advance ROA and ROV implementation and Internet routing security.”

The Ever-Evolving Cybersecurity Puzzle

The RSP remains a framework for improving security and managing risks for internet routing, which is just one key piece of a larger critical infrastructure cybersecurity puzzle. As with any endeavor in security, the RSP will evolve over time to reflect changes to the NIST CSF, advances in routing security technologies and the rapidly emerging security threat landscape.

The RSP was developed by CableLabs’ Cable Routing Engineering for Security and Trust Working Group (CREST WG). The group is composed of routing security technologists from CableLabs and NCTA, as well as network operators from around the world.

Learn more about all CableLabs’ working groups, including the CREST WG, and how to join us in this critical work. Download the profile here, or view it using the button below.

In recent years, the U.S. government has undertaken efforts to adopt a zero trust architecture strategy for security to protect critical data and infrastructure across federal systems. It has also urged critical infrastructure sectors — including the broadband industry — to implement zero trust concepts within their networks.

The industry plays a key role in managing the National Critical Functions (NCFs) as a part of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) critical infrastructures sections. Therefore, cable operators need to embrace zero trust concepts and do their best to apply them to their infrastructure elements.

What Is Zero Trust?

For quite a long time, some critical infrastructure elements have been considered as trusted because they happen to be physically located within the operator’s perimeter (e.g., back offices, trust domains). However, this approach can’t prevent these infrastructure elements from threat vectors that exist within the operator’s perimeter, such as illegal lateral movements. Additionally, conventional solid, hardware-based network perimeters are vanishing as the industry shifts toward software-define, virtualized and cloud networks.

As specified in the NIST "Zero Trust Architecture" document (NIST SP 800-207), “zero trust assumes there is no implicit trust granted to assets or user accounts based solely on their physical or network location (i.e., local area networks versus the internet) or based on asset ownership (enterprise or personally owned).”

What Is the Zero Trust Best Common Practices Document?

The Zero Trust Best Common Practices (ØTIS BCP), which will be released on September 24, was developed as a joint effort by CableLabs and steering committee members in the Zero Trust and Infrastructure Security (ØTIS) working group. Taking the aforementioned NIST SP 800-207 document and the CISA Zero Trust Maturity Model (ZTMM) into account during its development, the ØTIS BCP addresses security gaps that our members have identified and develops a zero trust security framework that covers the following areas:

• Credential protection and secure storage
• Identity security and data protection
• Asset and inventory management
• Supply chain risk management
• Secure automation
• Security monitoring and incident responses
• Boot security
• Policy-based access management
• Consistent security control

The ØTIS BCP is intended to serve as a guideline for cable operators and vendors as they implement zero trust concepts and support network convergence and automation. Cybersecurity professionals and decision-makers involved in the security of access networks may also find the ØTIS BCP informational because the document shows the broadband industry’s consensus on how to provide consistent security baselines for infrastructure access networks.

What Is the Next Step?

After releasing this initial version of the ØTIS BCP, we plan to expand the ØTIS working group so that it includes CableLabs’ vendor partners, who will review and further refine the recommendations. Notably, we’ll continue the process of mapping the ØTIS BCP to current and future guidance from relevant government agencies to identify potential gaps in the BCP and address those as appropriate.

How Can You Engage in the Zero Trust Effort?

If you’re a cable operator or vendor interested in taking part in this work, learn more about the ØTIS working group and how to join.

As we look to the future of broadband technology, CableLabs is leading the charge with a bold vision designed to be a catalyst for transformative change. Our mission is to align our members and vendor community to create a collaborative context where we can work together to overcome industry challenges and seize opportunities.

Through events and activities, we invite industry leaders, technologists and product strategists to come together to learn how they can get involved with us as we shape the future of the industry, address industry challenges and create a healthier, more competitive ecosystem.

Inspiring Transformative Change through the CableLabs Technology Vision Framework

Facilitating collaboration to create impact together is a tenet of CableLabs’ Technology Vision. With the underlying goals of delighting customers, providing seamless connectivity and growing into new markets, the Technology Vision creates a roadmap for achieving the goal of ubiquitous, context-aware connectivity and an adaptive, intelligent network.

To achieve this ambitious mission, CableLabs members and the vendor community must work together to create solutions at scale and harness the power of collaboration. By aligning industry goals, combining expertise and sharing resources, we can offset risk and cost, bring together diverse perspectives and accomplish more together to create a seamlessly connected world.

The Technology Vision framework is built on three key pillars:

• Pervasive Intelligence, Security and Privacy — Creating intelligence at every point in the network to ensure high performance, reliability, security and privacy for all users and devices in any connectivity context.
• Seamless Connectivity — Enabling new experiences for customers and new revenue opportunities for operators through connectivity anywhere, from any device, without concern for the access network technology or how the user is moving across the network.
• Network Platform Evolution — Developing innovations that will drive the most reliable, cost-effective, sustainable network architectures for our members, ensuring optionality and unmatched flexibility while delivering seamless connectivity experiences to users.

Driving Alignment Toward a New, Adaptive Era of Broadband Innovation

The evolution of broadband is framed by three distinct eras: the Speed Era, Experience Era and Adaptive Era. These phases reflect the ongoing advancements in network capabilities and user experiences. During the Speed Era, technology innovation focused on metrics-based competition. As we move through the Experience Era and toward the Adaptive Era, the driving force has shifted to differentiation and stickiness (Experience Era) with the ultimate goals of service agility and ubiquity (Adaptive Era).

The Technology Vision framework drives alignment among member operators and the broader vendor community through several strategic initiatives:

• Specifications and standards
• SDO engagement and ecosystem development
• Technology transfer
• Member/Vendor POCs
• SCTE chapters and training
• Events (SCTE TechExpo, Engage, summits)
• Open source

Within these initiatives, core focus areas encourage collaboration on delivering flexible network solutions that are capable of enabling new services and improved user experiences — and ultimately help us build a seamlessly connected world.

Working Groups: Tools for Industry Success

Achieving industry success requires balancing the requirements of both operators and vendors. CableLabs and our subsidiary, SCTE, both actively support working groups that provide mechanisms for doing so by creating timely, cost-effective solutions that benefit operators, vendors and customers. The greatest successes result when industry stakeholders collaboratively develop solutions that address the business needs of cable operators and can be developed at the right time and cost to support those needs.

The CableLabs working groups typically develop specifications for the industry, focusing on the research and engineering of a solution. The SCTE groups focus on how that solution is deployed and operated. Overall, the two are complementary in the value chain, moving from ideation to specification to implementation and operation. This has played out in various ways historically — including DOCSIS, the gap node, smart amplifiers and proactive network maintenance (PNM).

The net result of both approaches is the development of specifications, standards and other outputs that enable new products and services that operators want and vendors can build. In all cases, active engagement from vendors and operators is critical for project success.

Here are examples of how working groups get results:

Common Provisioning & Management of PON

Provisioning and management of Passive Optical Networks (PON) are critical to advancing cable network capabilities, overcoming integration challenges and removing interoperability barriers.

Short-term goals include simplifying PON integration through leveraging existing DOCSIS back office systems, developing the Cable OpenOMCI specification and enhancing interoperability. For the long term, the group is exploring Software-Defined Networking (SDN)-based solutions and virtualized PON architectures to support future growth and flexibility. Deliverables include a technical report on DOCSIS provisioning and the Cable OpenOMCI specification.

Optical Operations and Maintenance Working Group

The Optical Operations and Maintenance Working Group (OOM-WG) is focused on architecture assessment, telemetry assessment and translating to field practices. Delivery goals include:

• Unified telemetry
• Specific guidance for major architectures based on similarities and differences
• General network operations approach for FCAPS: identify issue, resolve cause, localize, address with suitable action be that maintenance, capacity management or other action

Ultimately, this group’s objective is to reduce troubleshooting and problem resolution time and costs while increasing network capacity and uptime. This includes integration across the tools stack to reduce the burden of engineering, operations and troubleshooting.

Proactive Network Maintenance (PNM) Working Group

The Proactive Network Maintenance (PNM) working group focuses on standardizing and expediting new PNM technologies to operations and in the field. The group, a part of SCTE’s Network Operations Subcommittee, works in collaboration with our member and vendor communities to develop standards, operational practices, guidelines and training content to support their initiatives.

Advancing Innovation, Creating Impact in the Broadband Industry

Ready to join CableLabs in advancing industry innovation to create a seamlessly connected world? Explore our working groups, SCTE Standards, Interop·Labs events and SCTE TechExpo events, where we seek to address key industry challenges and opportunities. By fostering collaboration among members and vendors, we are paving the way for a future marked by pervasive intelligence, seamless connectivity and adaptable network solutions.

One of the key roles that CableLabs plays for our member operators and the vendor community is tracking trends in key areas of the broadband industry. Because the networks operated by our members are predominantly fiber, we are always keeping a close eye on the optical industry — but this year is proving to be an especially exciting one across a range of optical topics.

In this blog post, we explore some of the key topics driving today’s optical industry, focusing on artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML). Let’s dig in.

Short-Reach Optical Transceiver Market

Over the past few years, datacom has surpassed legacy telecom in driving the optical communication industry. However, the rapid development of AI computing is taking center stage and taking over the short-reach optical transceiver market, which has ignited innovation across the industry.

AI/ML is driving the need for increased computing power at an astonishing rate, with company after company announcing newer and more powerful chips in rapid succession. These chips are deployed en masse in data centers, creating rack after rack of computing power. But to harness their full power, they have to be used together. And that requires interconnects, including:

• Graphics processing unit (GPU)-to-GPU
• GPU-to-central processing unit (CPU)/high bandwidth memory (HBM)
• GPU/CPU to frontend and backend switches, and network interface cards (NICs)

Currently, copper cables are employed for all intra-rack 400G and 800G interconnects because of their power, cost and reliability advantages. The question is, when the data rate scales up to 1.6T and 3.2T, and the per-lane rate increases to 200G and 400G, is copper still the right solution? And what about clusters as a chip — multiple racks in a cluster, with a multitude of chips acting together as one — which requires immense amounts of data throughput and very low latency communication between racks?

Based on the work taking place right now, it seems optical technology will be the technology of the future to support these needs.

What Optical Technologies Might Support AI/ML?

A range of technologies are the subject of extensive investigation for potential use in supporting both intra- and inter-rack communication for 200G and 400G per lane, including:

• Vertical-cavity surface-emitting lasers (VCSEL) with multimode fiber
• Silicon photonics
• Electro-absorption-modulated laser (EML) with single-mode fiber

Additionally, in the drive to increase density and flexibility, reduce power consumption, lower cost and reduce latency, members of the industry are looking at different optical transceiver packaging options, including:

• Full-DSP pluggable transceivers
• Half re-timed pluggable transceivers
• Linear-drive pluggable transceivers
• Co-packaged optics solutions

Further, optical circuit switching (OCS) based on micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) is being implemented for the first time inside data centers by Google, seeking to enable topology reconfiguration, flexible upgrades, network resiliency and traffic grooming.

Liquid cooling is being introduced to keep communication systems running smoother and more efficiently than traditional air-cooled approaches: While liquid cooling is no longer that unusual in computer platforms, this is something very new in optical equipment.

What Does This Mean for the Broadband Industry?

This work will impact the industry in a number of different ways.

Broadband operators are increasingly operating data centers, leveraging their networks and distributed footprint to bring scalable computing closer to customers. AI/ML computing will inevitably be a part of that, and these technological advances will support the operators' ability to deploy powerful, scalable, cost-effective solutions.

Telecom can even take advantage of these new innovations in their own networks, leveraging the immense scale of datacom to keep the costs of these new solutions as low as possible, resulting in a win-win scenario.

Of course, this is just the tip of the iceberg for what’s happening in the optical industry!

These trends are already dominating agendas at industry events, including this spring’s Optical Fiber Conference (OFC) in San Diego — the world’s largest conference and exhibition for optical communications. A tangible energy and excitement flowed through the OFC sessions and the exhibition floor as industry leaders discussed technology innovations and advancements that will power the future.

ECOC 2024

Later this month, I’m an invited speaker at Europe’s counterpart to OFC: the European Conference on Optical Communication (ECOC) 2024 in Frankfurt, Germany. If you’ll be there, join me for three sessions in which I’ll be presenting:

Sunday, Sept. 22

• “Beyond 50G-PON — Can We Still Use IMDD?”

Monday, Sept. 23

• “Advances in the Latest Coherent PON Technology and Industry Specification Development”

Tuesday, Sept. 24

• “Adaptable Modulation and Baud Rates in Coherent TFDM PONs: Towards Versatile High-Speed Access Networks”

SCTE TechExpo24

If you’re attending SCTE TechExpo in Atlanta, join my CableLabs colleagues for several optical- and PON-related sessions. They include:

Wednesday, Sept. 25

• “Practical Strategies for Deploying FTTH” — John Bevilacqua (moderator), Kevin Noll (speaker)
• “A Photonic Future” — Alberto Campos (speaker)
• “Coherent PON” — Matt Schmitt (moderator), Haipeng Zhang (speaker)

Thursday, Sept. 26

• “Operationalizing and Automating PON” — Curtis Knittle (moderator), Jon Schnoor (speaker)
• “Boosting Performance: PNM for Optical Networks” — Jason Rupe (speaker)

Also, visit the CableLabs booth (#1547) on the TechExpo show floor to sit in on new technology demos and learn how CableLabs’ Technology Vision is helping align the broadband industry and advance innovation and technology development. A core focus area within the Tech Vision — Advanced Optics — encompasses our research to ensure that state-of-the-art optics solutions like those discussed here find their way into the evolution of our networks.

Please stay tuned as we continue to look at other advancements taking place in optical technology that the broadband industry should be keeping an eye on.

This year has been a particularly interesting one for cybersecurity. Notable incidents and other areas of focus in cybersecurity set the backdrop for “Hacker Summer Camp 2024” in Las Vegas in August. Topics frequently alluded to during this year’s conferences included:

• Increased focus on critical infrastructure — Critical infrastructure is increasingly complex, distributed and difficult to characterize in terms of security. This year’s conferences accordingly brought an increased attention to securing critical infrastructure.
• Echoes of the CrowdStrike incident — Although the now-infamous CrowdStrike Windows outage in July was a mistake, allusions to lessons that could be learned from the event were often made from the perspective of critical infrastructure security. The outage — and its fallout —prompted discussions about what the impact could be if bad actors were behind a similar incident.
• The XZ Utils (almost) backdoor — The discovery of the XZ Utils backdoor in early 2024 — the focus of a dedicated talk at DEF CON — serves as a reminder of the growing sophistication of adversaries.

I’ve published a CableLabs Technical Brief to share my key takeaways from this mega cybersecurity event that combined the Black Hat USA 2024 and DEF CON 32 conferences. In addition to covering the highlights of talks and demos I attended, this Tech Brief delves deeply into the discussions I found to be most insightful and the commonalities I observed across several areas of the conferences.

There’s no denying that “Hacker Summer Camp” offers more than any one person could hope to see or do on the conference floor in a single day. Each conference was packed with a wealth of new research and perspectives, demonstrations and much more. Still, the key highlights in my Tech Brief provide a solid and in-depth overview of some of the most talked-about topics and issues existing today in the field of cybersecurity.

I’ve included more quick takeaways below, and CableLabs members looking for a more comprehensive debrief can download the Tech Brief.

Common Ties at Black Hat USA and DEF CON

I found that topics from the presentations, demonstrations and conversations at Black Hat and DEF CON fell into three overarching themes. I expand on the implications of these in the tech brief.

Deep (human) learning: A need for more pervasive understanding

Doing rigorous background research is key to gaining an upper hand in innovating and building strong security postures. Especially in light of rapid adoption of advanced technologies, security experts need to deepen their knowledge to better secure their infrastructure. Collaboration is also a crucial element of building deeper bases of knowledge on technical topics.

Back to basics: Returning to and applying core principles

The core principles of cybersecurity are foundational to maintaining a strong security posture when implementing, deploying or maintaining any technology. As security researchers and practitioners, part of our role is to see through the use cases toward the misuse cases as a first step to ensuring the fundamentals are there and to educate and empower others to do the same.

Inevitabilities and cybersecurity: What we must embrace and why

My Tech Brief elaborates on examples in which adversaries will adopt and take advantage of new technologies, regardless of our own adoption. There are always caveats and important details that must be accounted for to ensure the secure use of new technologies as they are adopted. However, the Tech Brief discusses how the potential benefits to bolster security that come with the thoughtful adoption of new technologies often significantly outweigh the risks that they introduce.

AI’s Rapid Adoption, Potential and Pitfalls

AI once again took center stage (including at Black Hat’s inaugural AI Summit). Particularly in focus were agentic AI, assistants and RAG-enhanced LLMs. Like last year, these tools were looked at through the (mostly mutually exclusive) lenses of “AI for security applications” and considerations of “the security of AI,” both of which present immense opportunities for research and innovation.

Download the Tech Brief to read my takeaways from notable talks about this from the conferences.

Building More Secure Networks Together

It’s a thrilling time in cybersecurity! With all of the innovations, perspectives and calls to action seen at Black Hat USA and DEF CON this year, it’s clear that there’s a lot of work to be done.

To read more from my debrief, download our members-only Tech Brief. Our member and vendor community can get involved in this work by participating in CableLabs’ working groups.

Did you know?

In addition to in-depth tech briefs covering events like this, CableLabs publishes short event recap reports — written by our technologists, exclusively for our members. Catch up on recent recaps (member login required).

At the latest DOCSIS 4.0 Interop·Labs event, a record number of modem suppliers were on hand to delve deep into upstream speed and other aspects of the DOCSIS 4.0 specifications. We want to thank the participants who helped make the event successful and once again helped us achieve a high level of productivity.

We cannot highlight enough how CableLabs provides a neutral testing ground for suppliers and operators to come together and showcase compatibility across interfaces defined in our DOCSIS 4.0 specifications. The gathering of suppliers and products in one location is extremely valuable to the participants to see how the technology is being implemented across multiple platforms. The DOCSIS 4.0 specifications are proscriptive, yet there’s plenty of room for innovation to differentiate products and offerings.

Combining interoperability events for these technologies drives home the fact that compatibility across all system components is a high priority for the industry.

To recap:

• Everything is coming up gigabits!
• Downstream speeds faster than 9 Gbps through a DOCSIS 4.0 modem are the new normal, limited only by the availability of a single 10 Gbps interface on the modems.
• Upstream speeds now exceed 2 Gbps on DOCSIS 4.0 modems and can go higher.
• We continue to examine the copious data available from the modems — in particular, DOCSIS 4.0 cable modem Proactive Network Maintenance (PNM) functions.
• DOCSIS 4.0 security technologies are coming along nicely, and their recent availability showcases the advancing maturity of the products.

DOCSIS 4.0 technology is putting down a marker. These products are delivering on the promise of multi-gigabit speeds that will benefit consumers around the world. Among suppliers and operators in our labs, we’re seeing unprecedented passion for interoperability, for unrivaled speeds and for getting these products to market.

Record Supplier Participation

Attendance at the interop was high, including new suppliers and products. Three operators joined us to observe demonstrations, interact with the suppliers and talk about their own DOCSIS 4.0 network progress.

Among the suppliers were CommScope and Harmonic, which brought DOCSIS 4.0 cores to the interop. For the first time, we saw three 1.8 GHz Remote PHY Devices (RPDs) from separate suppliers including CommScope, Harmonic and Vecima Networks. Also, for the first time, eight DOCSIS 4.0 modem suppliers — Arcadyan, Askey, Gemtek, Hitron Technologies, Sagemcom, Sercomm, Ubee Interactive and Vantiva — brought multiple cable modem models. Microchip Technology participated with its clock and timing system. The availability of record numbers of both DOCSIS 4.0 RPDs and DOCSIS 4.0 cable modems shows that products continue to proliferate as these suppliers prepare for SCTE TechExpo 2024 later this month.

Testing scenarios involved using a virtual core from one supplier, and RPDs and DOCSIS 4.0 cable modems from various other suppliers. The products were mixed and matched to verify interoperability scenarios and speeds through the system. As before, DOCSIS 3.1 and DOCSIS 4.0 devices were combined to demonstrate the cross-compatibility of existing and new technology. Suppliers providing test equipment used these setups to verify their solutions.

Sustained Speed

Achieving a rate of 9 Gbps (or faster) downstream through a DOCSIS 4.0 cable modem is now the new normal. Multigigabit speed is a core pillar of the 10G platform. At this interop, all modems achieved that downstream rate of speed — testament to the work achieved at previous interops.

At the August interop, we looked at upstream speed — that is, the stability of very high-speed traffic on upstream channels. Using a DOCSIS 4.0 ultra-high split, the modems in attendance consistently achieved more than 2 Gbps upstream. Upstream is trickier than the downstream: Whereas downstream is a continuous broadcast from one transmitter (the RPD), upstream is bursty, consisting of multiple modems contributing to the orthogonal frequency-division multiple access (OFDMA) signals that the RPD has to “catch” and accurately demodulate. That upstream burst receiver in the RPD is arguably the most complicated component of the system, especially considering the data rates in play.

So, we’ve arrived at a point where a DOCSIS 4.0 modem is pairing download speeds faster than 9 Gbps with upload speeds faster than 2 Gbps (and with the capability to go even faster). And we’re talking about a single modem. The service group can achieve even more capacity and speed, which means individual modems can also go higher.

Additional DOCSIS 4.0 Cable Modem Operations

Beyond speed, three other aspects of DOCSIS 4.0 technology stood out, offering a look at the maturity of the products at the interop.

PNM

PNM is an important function for cable modems. It’s a proven tool that engineers and technicians use for maintenance, troubleshooting and improvement of the cable plant. More and more, the signals on the plant are OFDM and OFDMA, which provide higher speeds and capacities than traditional quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) signals.

At this event, we looked at five PNM tests that were run on all the modems. And because DOCSIS 4.0 modems generate more OFDM and OFDMA signals, more data is available. This is a sign of product maturity, responding to these data requests. And the modems have this down. This PNM data will enable the most efficient operation of the coaxial cable network, keeping the data levels at their peak by using the more efficient OFDM and OFDMA signals.

Security

Cable broadband is widely deployed. Hundreds of millions of consumers use DOCSIS technology every day as they live, work, learn and play. DOCSIS 4.0 technology includes strengthened measures to meet the threats that come with online activity. Suffice it to say, new security features are now appearing in products in the labs, and they’re being tested for both functionality and interoperability.

Remote PHY Interoperability

Although modems were the focus, the event also looked at the interoperability between DOCSIS 4.0 cores and RPDs. We branched into more and different configurations, moving beyond “one size fits all” configurations. These products are going to be deployed in many scenarios, and going deeper into these various configurations will ensure flexibility as DOCSIS 4.0 technology moves into the field.

Join Us Next Time

The next DOCSIS 4.0 interop is planned for the week of Nov. 4 at CableLabs’ headquarters in Louisville, Colorado. The event will provide an opportunity for both new suppliers and new products as we all prepare for the new calendar year.

Right around the corner in March 2025 are CableLabs Winter Conference and Smaller Market Conference.

In the world of passive optical networks (PON), achieving seamless interoperability has been a long-standing challenge, leaving operators trying to fit square pegs into round holes. This legacy is largely due to the intentional flexibility in PON standards, designed to foster innovation by avoiding overly prescriptive implementations. However, this flexibility often leaves too much room for interpretation, leading to interoperability issues.

In the PON world, standards like IEEE 802.3, ITU-T G.9807.1 and ITU-T G.9804.3 define operation at the physical layer and data link layer. Similarly, CableLabs’ DOCSIS®️ Provisioning of EPON (DPoE) specifications, IEEE 1904.1 and ITU-T G.988 define operations in the optical network unit (ONU) management layer.

These standards are the starting point for interoperability at these layers. However, the absence of industry cooperation to converge on common interpretations and use cases leads to complex and vendor-specific integrations that add cost to business operations and increase time to market for new products.

DPoE took the specification effort a step further by establishing a certification program that rigorously tests interoperability between ONUs and optical line terminals (OLTs). This program set a precedent, proving that clear, detailed specifications combined with collaborative industry efforts can result in high levels of interoperability across different vendors' PON equipment. The lessons learned from DPoE offer a valuable roadmap for advancing interoperability in the broader PON landscape.

While DPoE's success showcases what is possible, the rapid deployment of XGS-PON — now on the way to being the most widely adopted PON technology globally — underscores that significant challenges remain. With new technologies like 25GS-PON and 50G-PON emerging, the need for robust, consistent interoperability is more pressing than ever.

BBF Test Plans Support Certification Program

The Broadband Forum (BBF) has been instrumental in bridging the gaps left by broad ITU-T PON specifications. Through detailed guidelines and comprehensive test plans, BBF plays a crucial role in driving the industry toward more reliable and consistent interoperability. These test plans cover a wide range of scenarios, including various traffic types, fault conditions and different configurations.

The result of these efforts is the BBF's TR-255 "GPON Interoperability Test Plan," TR-309 "PON TC Layer Interoperability Test Plan" and TP-247 "G-PON & XG-PON & XGS-PON ONU Conformance Test Plan." These specifications are the foundation of the BBF.247 Certification Program.

As part of the BBF.247 Certification Program, vendors submit their equipment to an independent testing laboratory to be tested according to these specifications.

Well over 150 ONUs are certified under the BBF.247 Certification Program. Still, operators experience interoperability challenges. In addition, new technologies like 25GS-PON and 50G-PON are being introduced to the market and have not yet been tested in the BBF.247 Certification Program.

October Plugfest to Help Pave Road to Greater PON Interoperability

To resolve these real-world interoperability concerns and to inform further development of the certification program, it is necessary for the industry to come together in a sandbox environment to test interoperability outside of a formal certification program.

Recognizing the need for hands-on collaboration, the Broadband Forum has reinitiated its PON Plugfest series — an essential platform for the industry to tackle real-world interoperability issues head-on. CableLabs and BBF will host a Plugfest event Oct. 28–Nov. 1 at the CableLabs headquarters in Louisville, Colorado.

The event will provide a collaborative environment where OLT, ONU and test equipment vendors can rigorously test and improve their solutions. Vendors will be paired together for a series of tests to evaluate the level of interoperability between their devices. In turn, the Plugfest will help the industry chart the next phase of interoperability specification development.

While the state of interoperability between OLTs and ONUs has improved, there is still work to be done. The upcoming Broadband Forum PON Plugfest at CableLabs will be a critical opportunity to drive this progress forward.

As the industry gathers at the Broadband Forum PON Plugfest, the path forward is clear: By doubling down on collaboration and embracing certification programs like BBF.247, we can overcome the interoperability hurdles that remain. Together, we will unlock the full potential of PON technologies, ensuring that high-speed, symmetrical broadband reaches every corner of the globe.