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Joint Research Project Pools Cable Operators, Vendors and Universities; ARRIS to serve as Project Coordinator SUWANEE, Ga., May 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- ARRIS (NASDAQ:ARRS) today announced the establishment of an European Commission supported Framework for Partnership 6 (FP6) project -- CODMUCA (COre Subsystem for Delivery of Multiband Data in CATV Networks) -- which will research the technology required to accelerate the deployment of very high speed broadband access over European Hybrid Fibre Coax (HFC) networks. ARRIS's European R&D Centre, Communications Ireland, Inc., is the leading EU-based developer of Euro-DOCSIS CMTS headend equipment and has been a strong contributor to European CableLabs initiatives. Its facility in Cork, Ireland is responsible for the Cadant(R) C3(TM) CMTS and Keystone(TM) D5(TM) DMTS products. The members of the CODMUCA project are: - Liberty Global Europe Technology B.V. (Netherlands) - Coditel S.P.R.L. (Belgium) - Coditel S.A.R.L. (Luxembourg) - EST Videocommunication S.A.S. (France) - VECTOR sp.z o.o (Poland) - Cork Institute of Technology (Ireland) - Politechnika Warszawska (Warsaw University of Technology, Poland) - ARRIS Communications (Ireland) The CODMUCA research programs will accelerate development and deployment of cost-effective technology needed to bridge the gap between current Euro- DOCSIS 2.0 standards-based systems capable of delivering data at a maximum of 40 Mbps, and Euro-DOCSIS 3.0-based systems of the future -- which envision data delivery at speeds of up to one Gigabit per second. The project team will jointly perform research in areas of data Internet Protocols (IP) and radio frequency (RF) domains that need innovative enhancements to significantly boost the speed of CATV broadband data service beyond those of xDSL and FTTX by using combined multiple RF channels to form unified "multiband" data channels to the subscriber. A key requirement for the new technology is to ensure backward compatibility and co-existence with the existing single 8 MHz channelized Euro-DOCSIS 1.1 and 2.0 systems to support seamless introduction of the higher speed services, while avoiding expensive and disruptive re-engineering of CATV frequency plans and operational systems. The project embodies one of the European Commission's FP6 core objectives of providing broadband for all (http://www.cordis.lu/fp6/whatisfp6.htm), and will enable high-speed data service over Hybrid Fibre Coax (HFC) at a cost point that will make it available to systems operating in peripheral regions and small to medium markets. Use of the Multiband technology as transport "pipes" to remote wireless base stations and access points will help to bridge the "digital divide" between dense urban dwellers and those living in the outlying areas. The project Consortium is comprised of technology teams from cable operators in four EU countries, leading international cable technology vendors and European academic institutions. For more information on the CODMUCA project, visit: http://www.ist-codmuca.org/ "We are very excited to be coordinating this innovative and important project," said CODMUCA Project Coordinator and ARRIS VP, Advanced Technology Mark Bugajski. "On completion of CODMUCA Research initiatives and the adoption of the research elements into products and services, the European cable operators will once again be the at the forefront of access technology when it comes to offering unmatched broadband access speed, affordability of entry level Internet connectivity and enhanced portfolio of new converged services for all of European Broadband users." "ARRIS has done a great job of assembling a well balanced consortium of academia, operators and vendors and of securing the European Commission's support for the CODMUCA project," said Eric Lennon, Chief Technology Officer of UPC Broadband, Europe's leading cable operator and a division of Liberty Global. "We are excited to participate in this initiative and believe this research will benefit our industry as a whole. This Multiband technology, when implemented in compliance with the emerging Euro-DOCSIS 3.0 standards, will enable cable operators to vigorously compete with other access service providers and better serve all segments of our customers." About ARRIS ARRIS provides broadband local access networks with innovative, best-in- class video, high-speed data and telephony systems for the delivery of voice, video and data to the home and business. ARRIS complete solutions enhance the reliability and value of converged services from the network to the subscriber. Headquartered in Suwanee, Georgia, USA, ARRIS has extensive R&D centers in Chicago, IL and Cork, Ireland and support and sales offices in many locations throughout the world. Information about ARRIS products and services can be found at http://www.arrisi.com/. DATASOURCE: ARRIS CONTACT: Alex Swan, ARRIS Media Relations, +1-678-473-8327, or Web site: http://www.arrisi.com/ http://www.ist-codmuca.org/ http://www.cordis.lu/fp6/whatisfp6.htm

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