...as its vendor (Cisco, presumably) is not putting out DOCSIS3 equipment qualified at the bonded upload speeds, yet.
said by »www.lightreading.com/doc ··· site=cdn :
To help expedite Docsis 3.0 deployments, CableLabs introduced a tiered test program for cable modem termination system (CMTS) equipment. The "Bronze" level introduces downstream channel bonding and IPv6, while "Silver" adds in upstream channel bonding. Modems submitted for Docsis 3.0 testing must support the entire specification.
In the first official Docsis 3.0 test wave at CableLabs, which is presently underway, only one CMTS supplier -- Casa Systems Inc. , a start-up based in Andover, Mass. -- submitted a product for "Full" CMTS testing. Arris Group Inc. and Cisco put their respective CMTS products in for Bronze testing.
It should be noted that the 100 Mbps mentioned is a shared 100 Mbps, similar to the 38 Mbps shared we currently have (or more in Adelphia's old areas). A bump from 6 Mbps to 20 Mbps might happen. One from 6 Mbps to 50 Mbps will not. Again, that's Cablelabs, not Comcast.
The Light Reading article also makes mention of the fact that Comcast intends to make use of the DOCSIS 3 abilities to tie the Internet and Television experiences together at the set-top box.
I am worried that Cablelabs is forgetting that downloading creates an upload path of ACKs/NAKs and etc.. I also don't know how much of CATV's own -- if any -- Video-on-Demand freight will be carried over the IP networks. This could make an upstream pipe full of tiny overhead TCP packets. That could mean trouble for gamers and VoIP.
Comcast has been pretty good about staging roll-outs and testing. The last two upgrades landed here without a problem. But if I were them, I would be careful about announcing anything until they've actually run it in a major market and have seen the results.