January 1, 2000

Standard procedure

Industry standards will lead the way to plug-and-play broadband modems for the home, and CableLabs has just certified or recertified a handful of new entrants.

Best Data and Com21 received certification for the first time, while Cisco, General Instrument, and Thompson Multimedia's RCA Broadband Cable Group had products recertified. With such competition looming, consumers should see significant price declines in addition to less troublesome installation and use.

Despite the number of companies producing products, one IC company is enjoying the most success in the market; products from RCA, Cisco, General Instrument, and Com21 all use Broadcom cable-modem chips.