Short Take: CableLabs to certify first DOCSIS modems in early '99

CableLabs, a non-profit industry consortium, had hoped to certify the first retail cable modems for Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification (DOCSIS) compatibility in December, but now expects to do so during the first quarter of 1999. "We are really attempting to make sure that when a vendor puts a modem on the market we have done as thorough a job as possible to make sure it comports with specifications," said Mike Schwartz, an executive at CableLabs. The next test will be conducted Dec. 7, and will subject the modems to 2,300 different test points.