Microtune has introduced its first 1GHz input tuner based on the CableLabs DOCSIS 3.0 specification.

The MT2170 tuner offers the equivalent functionality of four DOCSIS 2.0 digital tuners in a miniature package. When integrated into cable modems or video-over-IP set-top boxes, the MT2170 will support data speeds greater than 160Mbit/s, said the company.

In the cable modem the tuner functions as a gateway component which receives and tunes the signals embedded with data and/or voice delivered over the cable network to the subscriber. It receives and tunes radio frequencies in the 50MHz to 1GHz range of the cable spectrum.

It supports the DOCSIS 3.0 channel bonding technology, a bandwidth expansion technique that combines four DOCSIS channels to significantly increase data rates.

The MT2170 can accept bonded channels within bandwidths up to 100MHz when paired with a DOCSIS 3.0-capable demodulator.

While a conventional cable modem tuner need only process a single stand-alone 6MHz channel, the MT2170 is able to process wideband bonded channels in the presence of multiple interfering signals, while at the same time meeting stringent DOCSIS 3.0 sensitivity and adjacent channel interference requirements.