Ubee U10C035 Cable Modem Teardown

Overview / Main Features

The Ubee U10C035.20 is a basic DOCSIS 3.0 cable modem with gigabit Ethernet designed for broadband services and distributed by cable operators. Electronically, the U10C035 is powered by a TI cable modem IC and LSI Logic Ethernet transceiver.

Target Market

Cable service providers

Released

Unknown

Pricing and Availability

Pricing - Since most (if not all) cable modem/gateways are provided to consumers by the cable service providers, there is no known market price for these devices.

Volume Estimations

For the purposes of this teardown analysis, we have assumed a lifetime production volume of 509,680 units.

As a reminder, teardown volume production assumptions are primarily used for our cost analysis in terms of amortized NRE and tooling costs, especially for custom components specific to the model being analyzed (mechanical components especially). Unless assumed volumes are different by an order of magnitude, minor changes in volume (say 1 million vs. 2) rarely have a large net effect on our final analysis because of this.

Cost Notes

Refer to BOM (XLS file) for detailed analysis

Main Cost Drivers (Representing ~66% of total materials cost)

$9.56 - Texas Instruments - TNETC4830ZDW - Cable Modem IC - DOCSIS 3.0, 8-Channels 320Mbps Downstream, 4-Channels 160Mbps Upstream

$3.34 - DEE VAN ENTERPRISE CO LTD - DSA-12G-12 AUS - External Power Supply - 12V, 1A, 12W, w/ 5.8ft Cord and Strain Relief

$2.69 - APCB - 6-Layer - FR4

$1.45 - Nanya - NT5TU16M16AG-3C - SDRAM - DDR2 667, 256Mb, 1.8V

$1.06 - Microtune - MT2170AF - Tuner IC - Single Chip, DOCSIS 3.0 Wideband, 48MHz - 1GHzInputFrequencyRange, w/ Integrated IF Variable Gain Amplifier

$1.05 - Monolithic Power Systems - MP1412D - DC-DC Converter (Qty:3)

$1 - Macronix - MX25L6405DMI-12G - Flash - NOR, 64Mb, 3V, 86MHzCMOS, SPI Interface

$0.90 - LSI Logic - ET1011C2-C - Ethernet Transceiver - Gigabit LAN, 0.13um

$0.70 - Anadigics - ARA2017RS29P8 - Amplifier - Programmable Gain Control, 0-58 dB Attenuation, High Output Power

$0.64 - CTI - Ethernet Cable - w/ 2 RJ-45 Connectors, 5.8ft

$0.55 - Delta Electronics Inc. - LFE9208A - LAN Filter

Direct Materials $31.46

Total BOM Cost$33.64

What Is Not Included in our Cost Analysis

The total materials and manufacturing costs reported in this analysis reflect ONLY the direct materials cost (from component vendors and assorted EMS providers), AND manufacturing with basic test. Not included in this analysis are costs above and beyond the material manufacture of the core device itself - cost of intellectual property, royalties and licensing fees (those not already included into the per component price), software, software loading and test, shipping, logistics marketing and other channel costs including not only EMS provider and the OEM's margin, but that of other resellers. Our cost analysis is meant to focus on those costs incurred in the manufacture of the core device and exceptionally in some circumstances the packaging and literature as well.

Manufacturing Notes

Country of Origin / Volume Assumptions

Based on markings, the unit was likely assembled in China. Furthermore, we have assumed that custom mechanicals (plastics, metals, etc.) were also sourced in China.

Country of origin assumptions relate directly to the associated cost of manufacturing, where calculated by iSuppli. In the cases of "finished" sub-assemblies (such as Ethernet Jacks), we do not calculate internal manufacturing costs, but rather assess the market price of the finished product in which case country of origin assumptions may or may not have a direct effect on pricing.

Remember also that labor rates are applied directly only to hand inserted components and systems in our bill of materials, and although regional assumptions do, these new rates do not have a direct effect on our modeled calculations of placement costs for automated SMD assembly lines. "Auto" inserted components (such as SMT components) placement costs are calculated by an iSuppli algorithm which allocates a cost per component based on the size and pincount of the device. This calculation is affected by country or region of origin as well.

Design for Manufacturing / Device Complexity

The Ubee U10C035.20 has an overall component count of 515 (excluding box contents), of which 494 resides on the Main PCB.

Component counts have a direct bearing on the overall manufacturing cycle times and costs, and also can increase or decrease overall yields and re-work. Our calculations of manufacturing costs factor counts and more qualitative complexities in the design. The cost of manufacturing is also, to some extent, decreased in this case because of assumed labor rate applied for China.

Note that manual labor has a much smaller effect on auto-insertion assembly lines (for the Main PCB, for example), where manufacturing costs are much more capital equipment intensive and driven by these investment costs.