Broadband infrastructure requires a lot of energy, but exactly how much depends on the equipment you use. Motorola has collected publicly available data on a few of the top Cable Modem Termination Systems (CMTSs) on the market and determined energy usage per data stream. Specifically, the green line on the chart below indicates the number of DOCSIS 3.0 streams that can be powered the by a single Watt of energy. The Motorola BSR 64000 far outpaces the competition with regards to streams powered per Watt. Meanwhile, the blue and red bars on the chart indicate the number of downstream and upstream channels that can fit in a single CMTS chassis. More channels per chassis mean fewer chassis overall.
I-CMTS Power Performance Rating
Source: Motorola using publicly available data motorola.com, arris.com and cisco.com – Click to enlarge
Of course the other benefit to greater stream density and efficiency is lower costs. The chart below illustrates the costs of powering and cooling a CMTS per DOCSIS 3.0 stream. Once again, Motorola comes out ahead, lowering costs by as much as 50% per stream.
Annual I-CMTS Energy Costs
Source: Motorola using publicly available data motorola.com, arris.com and cisco.com – Click to enlarge
Filed under: DOCSIS 3.0, Internet, Motorola News, Networks
