Let’s face it, if you live in the area I service most, you have Spectrum as your internet service provider. If your cable modem (a device used to connect you to the internet) was provided by Spectrum then you needn’t read on. Thanks for stopping by!

For those of you who like to own your own equipment however, and would rather not have a Spectrum cable modem jammed down your throat, this information is for you.

Recently Spectrum has been rolling out increased internet speeds to their customers. As of this writing, their current speeds are 300 Mbps, 500 Mbps and 1 Gbps (1,000 Mbps). To utilize these speeds you will need a cable modem that is compatible or capable of these speeds. One way to view your modem’s capabilities is to check what version of DOCSIS it is using (found by checking the specifications for your cable modem model). DOCSIS stands for Data Over Cable Service Interface Specifications. Basically it’s a telecommunications standard that was established to keep the coaxial cable infrastructure relevant, as it would be extremely costly to replace all that wire with fiber optics, the newer technology product. There are several iterations of the DOCSIS standard:

  • DOCSIS 1.0
    • Implemented in 1997
    • Up to 40 Mbps downstream
    • Up to 10 Mbps upstream
  • DOCSIS 2.0
    • Implemented in 2002
    • Up to 40 Mbps downstream
    • Up to 30 Mbps upstream
  • DOCSIS 3.0
    • Implemented in 2006
    • Up to 340 Mbps downstream
    • Up to 120 Mbps upstream
  • DOCSIS 3.1
    • Implemented in 2013
    • Up to 10 Gbps downstream
    • Up to 2 Gbps upstream

There are of course other pertinent capabilities provided using each version of DOCSIS. For our purposes the only real information we need to look at is what version of DOCSIS your current cable modem has. Using that information you can make a simple decision to upgrade to a newer device that provides the version that matches the speed you have or would like to upgrade to with Spectrum internet services.

My recommendations for cable modems for use with Spectrum:

The differences in the above options as far as the ethernet speed capabilities are backwards compatible with your router (another device used to connect to the internet). If you have a gigabit router and are not going to upgrade it, then a cable modem can be used which can provide up to 1 Gbps speed OR you can still upgrade to a new cable modem that can provide 2.5 Gbps, although you will only achieve up to the 1 Gbps speed. If you need assistance in any of these steps, contact me for service.