Innovation abounds at Expo as technology wheel spins Points to ponder on the IP migration Continued on page 3 When it comes to IP video migration, there’s no one size fits all for cable operators, but there are plenty of options to consider. Tuesday’s session “Great ways to migrate: Making the move to all-IP video” laid out some of those options for cable operators. Tom Gonder, Time Warner Cable’s chief architect, focused on three migration options for linear TV, which were hybrid set-top boxes with downloadable se- curity, hybrid home gateways and multicast to HTTP con- version at the cable modem. “The point is there’s no clear standout winner amongst the three,” he said. “What it comes down to is how fast do you want to go? No one is anxious to make the wrong move. Operators have different starting points. Some have SDV (switched digital video), some have DTAs IPTV: Coming soon to a town near you – see page 28 2012 SHOW DAILY ® 1 CABLE-TEC EXPO 2012 WEDNESDAY, October 17, 2012 CABLE-TEC EXPO DAY By Joe Jensen, CTO at Buckeye CableSystem As we open the 2012 SCTE Cable-Tec Expo, the industry stands at yet another significant transformation. These last few months have seen a clear uptick Continued on page 3 +RPH &HUWL¿FDWLRQ :H¶YH JRW \RX FRYHUHG ͻ hůƚƌĂ ƉŽƌƚĂďůĞ ͻ ŽůŽƌ ƚŽƵĐŚͲƐĐƌĞĞŶ ͻ ^>D ƵƉ ƚŽ ϭ',nj ͻ K^/^ ϯϬ ǁŝƚŚ ϴdžϰ ĐŚĂŶŶĞů ďŽŶĚŝŶŐ CX150-D3+ ͻ ϳ ĐŽůŽƌ ƚŽƵĐŚͲƐĐƌĞĞŶ ͻ ^>D ƵƉ ƚŽ ϭ',nj ͻ K^/^ ϯϬ ǁŝƚŚ ϴdžϰ ĐŚĂŶŶĞů ďŽŶĚŝŶŐ ͻ dϭ/^E WZ/ ƚĞƐƚŝŶŐ ͻ ϭ'ďƐ dŚƌŽƵŐŚƉƵƚ ͻ ŽĂdžŝĂů dZ ͻ hƉƐƚƌĞĂŵ 'ĞŶĞƌĂƚŽƌ ͻ tŽƌŬĨŽƌĐĞ ŵĂŶĂŐĞŵĞŶƚ 'W^ ƚƌĂĐŬŝŶŐ CX350 Now with DOCSIS 3.0 8x4 channel bonding NEW Visit us at Booth #243 www.veexinc.com SCTE booth # 1347 TV Everywhere. TV Anytime. SCTE booth # 1347 HEVC / H.264 / MPEG-2 / Time-shifted TV Jensen Motorola’s John Holobinko, left, Charles Cheevers, of Arris, and Time Warner Cable’s Tom Gonder take part in yesterday’s session on IP video migration.
Transcript
Innovation abounds at Expo as technology wheel spins
Points to ponder on the IP migration
Continued on page 3
When it comes to IP video migration, there’s no one size fi ts all for cable operators, but there are plenty of options to consider.
Tuesday’s session “Great ways to migrate: Making the move to all-IP video” laid out some of those options for cable operators. Tom Gonder, Time Warner Cable’s chief architect, focused on three migration options for linear TV, which were hybrid set-top boxes with downloadable se-curity, hybrid home gateways and multicast to HTTP con-
version at the cable modem.“The point is there’s
no clear standout winner amongst the three,” he said. “What it comes down to is how fast do you want to go?
No one is anxious to make the wrong move. Operators have different starting points. Some have SDV (switched digital video), some have DTAs
IPTV: Coming soon to a town near you – see page 28
2 0 1 2 S H O W D A I L Y
® 1CABLE-TECEXPO 2012
WEDNESDAY, October 17, 2012
C A B L E - T E C E X P O
DAY
By Joe Jensen, CTO at Buckeye CableSystem
As weopen the2012 SCTECable-Tec Expo, the industry stands at yet another signifi cant transformation. These last few months have seen a clear uptick
Continued on page 3
CX150-D3+
CX350
Now withDOCSIS 3.0 8x4 channel bonding
NEW
Visit us at Booth #243 www.veexinc.com
SCTE booth # 1347SCTE booth # 1347
TV Everywhere. TV Anytime.
SCTE booth # 1347
HEVC / H.264 / MPEG-2 / Time-shifted TV
Jensen
Motorola’s John Holobinko, left, Charles Cheevers, of Arris, and Time Warner Cable’s Tom Gonder take part in yesterday’s session on IP video migration.
in interest on the part of our customers to consume con-tent on their terms. The 20 million-plus views through the NBC Olympics client applica-tions are indicative of a desire and a demand by our sub-scribers to acquire content on their devices rather than be constrained to the traditional set-top environment.
Given the evolving interest of our customers, where will this change lead us from a technology perspective? First, and perhaps foremost, our services are moving to wireless client devices in the home –and ultimately everywhere. As we support these new home networks, we will need to develop next-generation tools that provide additional visibility and support for both wired and wireless access. These tools, built on standards such as TR-069, will need to provide remote status and diagnostics for the home en-vironment, as well as provide fi eld forces with the informa-tion to quickly and effi ciently diagnose and repair issues. We will need to fi nd ways to reduce the complexity of these networks and provide a qual-ity of experience that sets us apart from our competition.
Inherent in the support for these new client devices, we are now challenged to improve the user experience. No longer are we constrained by limited processing capabil-ity of the legacy set-top; we can now move to provide a media-rich environment to assist our customers in fi nd-ing the content they desire. These new devices, tablets, smartphones, game consoles, etc., can be used as both a primary and secondary
screen. Personalized viewing is now gaining traction as these devices function as the primary screen for individu-als. As a companion to the large screen, content search can now be conducted on a separate device and can be used to drive the viewing ex-perience for all participants.
Many of us were involved in the physical rebuild that oc-curred in the late ’90s into the early 2000s. We are now on the cusp of a virtual rebuild as we retool our customer inter-face and redefi ne our role as the preferred aggregator of con-tent. Personalized search and recommendations will provide additional value to our custom-ers as they survey the broad expanse of entertainment and information services available on our platforms. Linkage to social media can provide additional insight into the content available and redefi ne the community viewing experience.
The next generations of our customers are not en-gaged in linear programming, preferring rather to view content on their terms and at their chosen time. Outside of sports and some reality programming, much of what our customers consume for entertainment could be structured as on-demand, not linear. This shift will also have implications on how we use the spectrum available on our networks. There is a value in considering a shift to an IP-centric delivery of our services. Voice has become an application on the data network, and video is next.
We will be seeing on the exhibit fl oor the defi nition of next-generation DOCSIS platforms to signifi cantly im-prove the costs in the delivery
of a bit – whether that bit is voice, video or information. New architectures hold the promise of improved per-QAM costs and effi ciency of our networks by separating the core switching and edge functions. The cable modem termination system (CMTS) of the future will also incor-porate new radio frequency technologies designed to provide more effi cient trans-port of these bits. Be sure to pick up one of the several sessions covering the defi ni-tion and rollout planning of DOCSIS 3.1.
Our networks are now used for a wide range of ser-vices and functions. The in-troduction of voice and busi-ness services has dictated an increase in emphasis on the availability of our services. As an industry, we are being held to a higher standard of service – one that requires signifi cant emphasis on the uptime of our services. We have made great progress in this area, but more is in store. How we retool our support and maintenance activities will have great bearing on our success in this area as we strive to reduce the frequency of outages through network redundancy and reduce the time to repair through net-work diagnostics.
So … what should we plan to see in the exhibits and in the presentations this week? Technology and innovation at its best. I encourage all to take advantage of this opportunity to gain additional knowledge and insight in what has be-come the premier showcase for cable technology. Wel-come to the 2012 edition of the Society of Cable Telecom-munications Engineers Expo.
Innovation abounds at Expo as technology wheel spins
Complete conference coverage atwww.CEDmagazine.com CABLE-TEC EXPO Show Daily Day One October 17, 2012 3
Continued from page 1
(digital terminal adapters), so where they stand today on how they manage their spectrum is signifi cant.
“Easy, gradual migration is the key, and pay close attention to your viewership.”
Motorola Mobility vice pres-ident of strategy and business development John Holobinko highlighted the advantages and disadvantages of using multicast or unicast streams. Account-ing for which shows customers will view the most is hard to do based on one-time events, such as the Super Bowl, or a reoccur-ring event such as “America’s Got Talent.”
Holobinko said a hybrid unicast/multicast implemen-tation looked to be the best option because it is consistent with the IP video vision of supporting multi-screen expe-riences and personalization of services, it makes effi cient use of bandwidth because high-speed data and unicast ABR ef-fi ciently share bandwidth, and it enables rapid deployment across legacy DOCSIS 3.0 mo-dems down to four channels without truck rolls.
Customers can also hook up IP devices directly via a wireless router because they are unicast, while IP set-top boxes can be linked via Ethernet cable.
Rounding out the panel, Arris’ Charles Cheevers, chief technology offi cer for CPE so-lutions, touted the benefi ts of combining the faster DOCSIS networks – which are expected to scale to 1 Gbps, and even 10 Gbps – and cloud-based services. Home gateways with 1 Gbps of wide area network capability are a customer premises equipment platform with a shelf life of well into 10 years, according to Cheevers.
Continued from page 1
IP migration
The complexities of digital home networks can overwhelm end users and prove costly to cable operators with truck rolls and calls to customer service reps, but the cable industry can counter those issues by harnessing the power of in-home apps.
During the SCTE Digital Home Symposium, Brady Volpe, CTO and founder of The Volpe Firm, said that applications can be created for use on iPads, iPhones and Android devices that help home users troubleshoot problems on their home networks.
“Troubleshooting can be become a burden for cable operators,” Volpe said, and one solution is to “empower subscribers” by not only giving them apps that perform cable modem, Wi-Fi and other home diagnostics, but also educating them on troubleshooting the problems.
In Volpe’s scenario, customers could
click on a button on their apps and get a green light if everything is functioning correctly, or a red light if there’s a problem. The red light could also provide additional information by saying what part of the home network, such as Wi-Fi, isn’t working correctly.
While customers may not be too keen on troubleshooting their problems, Volpe suggested they could be incentivized with promotional offers, such as a free VOD movie in exchange for watching a basic Web seminar on cable troubleshooting.
Another benefi t of using the apps is that they could be collecting data, such as error messages or MER (modu-lation error ratio) on cable modems, in real time that could be accessed by customer service reps – as long as the broadband service is up and running –to solve service-related problems more quickly.
In order to build troubleshooting apps, the cable industry and its vendors need to align themselves with standards, such as the emerging TR-069. With home networks becoming more complex, tools need to be developed to provide remote status and diagnostics, as well as provide fi eld forces and customer service reps with the information to effi ciently diagnose and repair issues.
“There needs to be a standards body to pull it all togther,” Volpe said, and the “smart” apps need to be integrated into equipment and devices.
Home networking: Power to the people
Complete conference coverage atwww.CEDmagazine.com CABLE-TEC EXPO Show Daily Day One October 17, 20124
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Motorola Mobility is intro-ducing what it claims is the fi rst 3 gigapixel adaptive bit rate (ABR) transcoder. The Motoro-la GT-3’s ability to process 3 bil-lion pixels of video content per second is equivalent to nearly 50 full-resolution HD programs, the company said.
The company said the new GT-3 enables a broader selec-tion of video data rates and resolutions. Furthermore, with the increase in transcoding ef-fi ciency it represents, the GT-3 can provide higher-quality video using the same amount of bandwidth, or the same video quality at much lower bit rates.
Joe Cozzolino, Motorola
Mobility’s senior vice president and general manager of network infrastructure, said, “It can deliver all the content to all the devices that today’s consumers expect, with the transcoding performance to scale to tomor-row’s connected ecosystem.”
Other features include a dual power supply and I/O and system-level redundancy.
The system is integrated with other Motorola technologies, including nDVR, on-demand, Medios (DRM, cross-platform user interfaces) and multi-screen devices – like smartphones, tab-lets, laptops and TVs.
Motorola is located at booth 2812.
Moto unleashes transcoder
Complete conference coverage atwww.CEDmagazine.com CABLE-TEC EXPO Show Daily Day One October 17, 20126
Motorola’s GT-3
After years of relentless cable industry lobbying, the FCC fi nally acceded to cable’s request to lift its ban on encrypt-ing the basic tier – with provisions.
The order applies only to cable operators with all-digital systems, regardless of size. After Congress passed the Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act of 1992, the FCC implemented the ban, with the intent of assuring that the many cable subscribers who were getting cable without a set-top box could continue to do so.
As cable technology progressed, the ban became increas-ingly problematic. Having to transmit unencrypted signals also means having to dispatch technicians to turn service on or off – an expensive proposition. Cable also began to provide more services that were frequently dependent on the installation of a set-top box. That basic tier content was in the clear, while all other content that was encrypted also served to complicate the argument in the ’90s and early ’00s about third-party retail boxes that don’t necessarily work on all cable operators’ networks, an issue that led to the CableCard.
In 2010, Cablevision petitioned for, and was granted, a waiver of the prohibition against basic tier encryption, given that after having gone all-digital, substantially all of its customers had set-tops anyway.
Tektronix announced that the new 10 Gigabit interfaces of its upgraded Sentry and Sentry Verify made them the
industry’s fi rst real-time video quality monitors capable of monitoring up to 3 Gbps of video programming, enabling cable operators and other video service providers (VSPs) to identify and diagnose video and audio errors in the 10 Gigabit portions of their networks.
Before the addition of 10 Gigabit interfaces to Sentry and Sentry Verify, the only products suitable for 10 Gigabit networks offered very basic monitoring capabilities, such as noting packet loss, which by itself is not a reliable indicator of quality problems. In addition to combining 10 Gigabit Ethernet interfaces with the industry-leading ability to continuously monitor 3 Gbps of programming content, Sentry
incorporates advanced quality of experience (QoE) monitoring capabilities that are complemented
by Sentry Verify’s quality of service
(QoS) monitoring abilities. Individually or working as part of a comprehensive solution, Sentry and Sentry Verify give VSPs greater insight into the content, enabling the identifi cation and diagnosis of video and audio errors that can impact viewers’ QoE.
“These upgrades to Sentry and Sentry Verify are the latest examples of our listening to our customers and developing the specifi c solutions they need to ensure the best possible video and audio quality for their viewers,” said Eben Jenkins, general manager of the video product line at Tektronix. “The advanced monitoring capabilities of Sentry and Sentry Verify provide cable operators and other VSPs with the unprecedented wealth of information they need to deliver digital video services with optimum quality on a 10 Gigabit network.”
Tektronix is located at booth 537.
Tektronix debuts QoE/QoS offerings for monitoring
Complete conference coverage atwww.CEDmagazine.com CABLE-TEC EXPO Show Daily Day One October 17, 20128
CCAP is real with NSG Pro from HarmonicHarmonic NSG Pro is a Converged Cable Access Platform that enables you to easily move towards all-IP at the cable edge. With the high density of NSG Pro you can minimize costs by converging platforms and dramatically reduce both power and space requirements. NSG Pro fits seamlessly into your environment, and provides the easiest, most cost-effective path to CCAP.
Great Lakes Data Systems (GLDS) has integrated its WinCable subscriber management and billing system with Huawei’s network management system, the U2000 NMS.
The combination is being deployed for Wananchi Group in Kenya and will offer complete service delivery control of voice, video and data services – directly from the billing system.
Direct provisioning, which the billing system provides, will allow operators to manage “triple-play” service delivery more
effi ciently, eliminating the need for multiple disparate systems, GLDS said.
“Given the importance of FTTx within traditional and new video markets, and the predominance of Huawei’s products and solutions in both, we understood the strategic importance of completing this integration,” said GLDS President Garrick Russell.
GLDS is located at booth 2015. Huawei is located at booth 2647.
GLDS teams with Huawei on service delivery
Complete conference coverage atwww.CEDmagazine.com CABLE-TEC EXPO Show Daily Day One October 17, 201210
ConnectivityDeliveredPassives
Transceivers
Demarcation Boxes
Fiber Jumpers
Splice Shelves
HDMI & Component Cables
www.allsystemsbroadband.com
Visit us at booth #741
Great Lakes Data Systems’ WinCable subscriber management and billing system
Amphenol Corp. and Times Fiber Communi-cations announced the acquisition of Holland
Electronics, a global manufacturer of a wide range of RF products for the broadband market.
Based in Ventura, Ca-lif., Holland has brought a number of cost-ef-fective solutions to the broadband network to-pography.
The companies said the combination will further establish Times Fiber and Holland as solutions providers in the broadband market.
Holland is located at booth 503. Times Fi-ber is located at booth 1531.
Amphenol, Times Fiber snag HollandElectronics Imagine
Communications is introducing its “next:” dense multi-screen transcoding platform. The next: platform supports up to 1,280 high-defi nition multi-screen profi les, or 2,560 standard-defi nition multi-screen profi les, in a single four-rack system. The next: platform also features low power consumption, with less than 2 watts per high-defi nition profi le and 100 percent system redundancy. Next: is also available as a two-unit server or a 10-unit blade system.
The dense transcoding that is integrated with packaging and HTTP streaming solutions provides an all-in-one system for multi-screen adaptive bit rate (ABR) streaming.
“The next: platform is an exciting, yet logical progression for Imagine, enabling us to address not only those applications with the highest demands on video quality and bandwidth effi ciency, but also those with equally high requirements for space, power and cost performance,” said Imagine’s founder and CTO Ron Gutman. “Through an intelligent reuse of Imagine software modules and an
active strategic partner program, the next: platform enables a new and unique set of solutions for both multicast and unicast services. Multi-screen applications – suchas local and ad-inserted channels, network PVR, and ‘just-in-time’ cloud transcoding – are now not only within technical reach, but also within an operational budget.”
SeaChange International is demonstrating its intelligent video software platform for monetizing video services on TVs, tablets, smartphones, PCs and other devices.
The demonstrations will include the company’s back offi ce, business management, user experience, gateway software and advertising solutions, all run from the cloud.
SeaChange CTO Steve Davi said, “Combined with our soft-ware’s ability to cross-promote services, create new offerings and target ads, a cloud infrastructure ensures service providers will gain maximum value from their multi-screen video offerings.”
The com-pany will have running its Adrenalin back offi ce platform and Adrenalin Business Man-agement Suite that manages content promo-tions and busi-ness analytics. Also on hand will be its Nitro multi-screen user experience application, Nucleus Softbox gateway software and Infusion advanced adver-tising solution.
SeaChange is located at booth 2427.
SeaChange aims at multi-screen profi tability
Complete conference coverage atwww.CEDmagazine.com CABLE-TEC EXPO Show Daily Day One October 17, 201214
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Arris Group is announcing its latest generation of wireless home gateways, some of which can bond up to 24 DOCSIS channels to achieve data transfer rates close to 1 Gbps.
The newest Touchstone voice and data devices come in two channel confi gurations: either 16 down-stream by four upstream or 24 downstream by eight upstream.
The gateways are built around Intel Puma 6 and Puma 6MG silicon, MaxLinear’s Full Spectrum Cap-ture front end receivers, and Celeno’s CLR260 3x3:3 (MIMO) Wi-Fi technology with beamforming in both 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands.
The new gateway models are:• DG2470 – 24 x 8 data gateway with dual-band concurrent wireless and integrated MoCA• TG2472 – 24 x 8 telephony gateway with dual-band concurrent wireless and MoCA• DG1660 – 16 x 4 data gateway with dual-band concurrent wireless• DG1670 – 16 x 4 data gateway with dual-band concurrent wireless and MoCA• TG1642 – 16 x 4 telephony gateway with single-band wireless• TG1662 – 16 x 4 telephony gateway with dual-band concurrent wireless• TG1672 – 16 x 4 telephony gateway with dual-band concurrent wireless and MoCA.
“With every device consumers add to their in-home networks, the demand for band-width must be met. Consequently, speed leadership is a pillar of our customers’ com-petitive position,” said Derek Elder, senior vice president and general manager of the Arris Touchstone CPE Division.
Arris is located at booth 2802.
Complete conference coverage atwww.CEDmagazine.com CABLE-TEC EXPO Show Daily Day One October 17, 201218
Omnitron’s GM4 NID supports DAC
Omnitron Systems announced the successful completion of lab trials using its iConverter GM4 Network Interface Demarcation Device sup-porting the DEMARC Auto-Confi gu-ration (DAC) process.
Defi ned by the CableLabs DOC-SIS Provisioning of EPON (DPoE) DEMARC specifi cation, the DAC process allows DEMARC devices to be automatically provisioned, enabling carrier Ethernet services over the DPoE network. Omnitron’s successful lab trials were conducted with a major cable MSO and demon-strated how automating provisioning shortens deployment time and re-duces operational costs.
“Cable MSOs can now leverage their existing DOCSIS OSS, the scalability of EPON and the service OAM functionality of the DEMARC to accelerate revenue growth from carrier Ethernet services,” said Rammy Bahalul, Omnitron’s vice president of marketing. “With demon-strated support for the DAC process and its MEF Carrier Ethernet 2.0 compliance, the iConverter GM4 NID reduces the operating costs as-sociated with complex carrier Ether-net deployments.”
MSOs are deploying Ethernet passive optical networks (EPON) to overcome the limitations of HFC networks and provide key carrier Ethernet service requirements, such as dedicated symmetrical bandwidth and multiple classes of service. The CableLabs DPoE specifi cation uni-fi es the provisioning of EPON and HFC networks by standardizing network management through the DOCSIS OSS. The DPoE DAC process further standardizes the automatic confi guration of the DE-MARC, without relying on manual confi guration or vendor-proprietary provisioning.
Omnitron is located at booth 324.
Arris’ TG1672
Arris debuts new wireless home gateways
ATX has expanded the capabilities of its DigiVu and DVIS platforms by incorporating an option for HD MPEG-2/H.264 encoding and an RJ45/SFP-based IP output interface.
With the ability to encode in SD/HD, QAM demodulate and multiplex, the DigiVu/DVIS product lines provide operators with a scalable platform for local content insertion, content backhaul, and headend encoding/transmission in either RF- or IP-based formats.
The three-rack unit and one-rack unit DigiVu product versions are optimized for headend applications such as PEG or community channel encoding. The platform supports MPEG-2/H.264, SD/HD encoding of up to 10 SD/5 HD programs, QAM demodulation, and transmission via QAM or IP. The DigiVu CD version accommodates an integrated channel deletion fi lter for program “add/drop” applications.
ATX also introduced its DigiStream HD fi le/local content streaming product for the hospitality environment. The DigiStream unit provides MSOs with an opportunity to enhance their hospitality/commercial video offering by enabling the HD delivery of an EPG and pre-generated or live local content to the overall lineup. The EPG can be customized to any channel lineup and confi gured to display current programming information. The DigiStream device is capable of SD/HD MPEG-2/H.264 encoding and can output in QAM or IP for direct insertion onto the premises distribution network.
ATX is located at booth 2135.
ATX broadens capabilities of DigiVu, DVIS, DigiStream
defining a new vision for multiscreen tv. At Motorola, we drive the evolution of TV, everywhere, over everything to everyone.
Witness the new Motorola GT-3, three Gigapixels per second of unadulterated adaptive bit rate transcoding in just 1RU—the GT-3 represents the latest innovation in our comprehensive multiscreen solutions portfolio.
That’s not all—we’re setting the new standard in video compression technology with HEVC; we’re meeting the rocketing demand for narrowcast video with the APEX3000 Universal EdgeQAM; we’re revolutionizing the multiscreen experience with Medios DreamGallery™ and we’re redefining the home ecosystem with our new IP set-tops.
That cable companies would evolve their networks from hybrid fiber/coax (HFC) technology to fiber-to-
the-home (FTTH), with its attendant giga-bit transmission rates, was never in doubt. The questions have always been about the timeframe and what the intermediary steps would be.
The timing remains a question, but the intermediary steps? In a rare – if not un-precedented – collaboration, three of the most influential technology executives in the cable vendor segment have mapped the options, analyzed their feasibility and produced a paper – at 185 pages longer than some novels – evaluating the imple-mentation of each.
The authors of the paper are John Chapman, CTO of Cisco’s Cable Access Business Unit, Mike Emmendorfer, Arris’ senior director of solution architecture and strategy, and Robert Howald, fellow of technical staff for customer architecture at
Motorola Mobility, along with Shaul Shulman, system architect at Intel, another somewhat sizeable company that does a bit of business with cable.
The paper, titled “Mission is possible: An evolutionary approach to Gigabit-class DOCSIS,” predicts that cable might be able to ride DOCSIS technology to 2 Gbps rates (the authors refer to it as DOCSIS Next-Generation, or DOCSIS NG).
At The Cable Show, Chapman went further than that – much further. “We think we can get 10 gigabits on DOCSIS some-day,” he said.
The proximate issue addressed by the authors is the lack of bandwidth on the upstream, now in the range of 5 MHz to 42 MHz. That the upper end of the range needs to be extended to 85 MHz has been a common expectation, but the authors suggest that that will eventually prove to be insufficient, as well. Ultimately, cable will find it useful to go (in stages) to 300 MHz, and perhaps even 400 MHz.
Such action at the bottom of the spec-
trum range will certainly necessitate a reac-tion at the upper end. Most cable systems have at least 750 MHz of spectrum, while some have gone to 860 MHz, and a few others have expanded to 1 GHz.
If cable operators gradually reallocate the spectrum up to 300 or 400 MHz for use on the upstream, however, that would consume a big chunk of the spectrum cur-rently dedicated to the downstream, even for those that have already gone to 1 GHz. So another measure the paper’s authors recommend is the eventual expansion of the upper limit of the range to 1.4 GHz or 1.5 GHz, and maybe even to 1.7 GHz.
DOCSIS technology would have to be developed further to accommodate the changes. As the technology advances, the single-carrier (SC) modulation techniques used today will almost certainly have to give way to new multi-carrier modulation technologies, which in turn are likely to necessitate the use of more advanced error correction techniques than those currently in use.
That’s a lot of change to manage, and the paper dives deep into the details of what’s technologically feasible.
In the paper and in The Cable Show session in which the paper was presented, the authors assured that their roadmap maintains enough backward compatibility to protect MSOs’ previous investments in equipment. They also provided care-fully calculated estimates of when each evolutionary technological step might be necessitated.
In short, the paper proposes a lot of equipment purchases, which the authors try to address and soft-pedal at the same time. Kevin Leddy, Time Warner Cable’s executive vice president of technology policy and product management and the moderator of The Cable Show session in which the paper was presented, wasn’t go-ing to let them off that easy.
“I’d like to see the price tag for all of this for our company. It would be $5 billion for us,” Leddy interjected.
Complete conference coverage atwww.CEDmagazine.com CABLE-TEC EXPO Show Daily Day One October 17, 2012 20
An evolutionary approach to Gigabit-class DOCSIS
Gigabit DOCSIS
Three influential technology executives have mapped the options
Note: Values enclosed in “( )” are approximate. The final values may differ.
The Future Potential of DOCSIS
Figure 1: DOCSIS technology can be improved in steps that include adding spectrum at the top of the band while progressively splitting the spectrum at the bottom of the range to allocate more to the upstream channel. This will depend on bonding ever-greater numbers of DOCSIS channels and moving to more advanced modulation techniques. The ultimate goal is data transfer rates well in excess of 1 Gbps. Source: “Mission is possible: An evolutionary approach to Gigabit-class DOCSIS.”
Relative Impact of Extensions to DOCSIS 3.0 for Gigabit Services
AttributeWide
SC-QAMWide
OFDMComments
Silicon Complexity (cost per bit) - +Based on # of real-time multiplication
operations
Transparency to Existing D3.0 MAC
SameOFDM: Minor mods
to convergence layer
Field Technician Familiarity + -
Robustness to Interference - +SC-QAM improved
with SCDMA (upstream only)
Robustness to Unknown Plant (e.g., > 1 GHz operation)
- +
Throughput Scalability Per Plant Condition (SNR) - +
Peak-to-Avg Power Ratio (PAPR)
SameOFDM: Better with
PAPR reduction algorithms
Spectrum Allocation Flexibility - +
New Requirements Definition + -
Notes: Wide SC-QAM refers to 8 x 24 MHz. Wide OFDM refers to 16k IFFT 192 MHz. And "+" and "-" compare wide SC and wide OFDM to a 6.4 MHz channel-bonded DOCSIS 3.0 baseline.
Figure 2: As DOCSIS evolves, there will be a clear advantage to moving from single-carrier QAM modulation to multi-carrier OFDM. Source: “Mission is possible: An evolutionary approach to Gigabit-class DOCSIS.”
Acerbic commentary aside, ops will eventually all be on the hook for substantial capital investments, and everyone knows it. The issue is managing the process.
The four authors did not agree on all is-sues, but there were many points on which they did see eye to eye – including a few points on which all agree they need to gather more information before they agree on anything.
What follows is our summary of the paper’s summary. The full paper includes highly detailed arguments behind all of the following points:
1. Maintain backwards compatibilityThe proposal is that whatever form
DOCSIS NG takes, it would use separate spectrum but coexist on the same HFC plant. Backwards compatibility would re-fer to the sharing of spectrum between current DOCSIS and DOCSIS NG.
One example of this is where a 5 to 42 MHz spectrum is used for four carriers (or more) of DOCSIS 3.0. At the same time, a DOCSIS NG cable modem (CM) would be able to use the same four channels (or more), plus any additional bandwidth that a new PHY might be able to take advantage of.
2. UpstreamThe initial goal is to advance CMTS and
CM technology to extend the life of the current HFC plant (using 5 to 42 MHz). The next step would be what the authors refer to as the mid-split, extending the upstream spectrum to 85 MHz, which they assert can be achieved with today's DOCSIS 3.0 technology.
If an HFC plant upgrade strategy could be defined that would allow a cost-effec-tive, two-stage upgrade – first to mid-split, and then later to high-split (anywhere from 200 to 500 MHz) – then the advantage of higher data rates could be realized sooner.
The high-split, the authors said, offers the best technical solution likely to lead to the highest-performance product at the best price in the long term. The logistical challenges that high-split encounters are not to be underestimated, they wrote, but they are both solvable and manageable and sig-nificantly less imposing than the one other option – the “top-split” approach. The top-split differs from the other splits in that the additional downstream bandwidth is carved
Complete conference coverage atwww.CEDmagazine.com CABLE-TEC EXPO Show Daily Day One October 17, 2012 21
This is a summation of a paper produced by three infl uential technology executives that was presented at The Cable Show earlier this year. It was originally published in CED’s July issue. The second installment will be published in CED’s Day 2 Show Daily.
out of the upper end of the expanded spec-trum range, somewhere above 1 GHz.
3. DownstreamThe short-term goal is to make use of
any and all available tools to manage down-stream spectrum congestion, such as ana-log reclamation, SDV and H.264, and to deploy 1 GHz plant equipment whenever possible, the group said. The long-term goal is to utilize spectrum above 1 GHz and push toward 1.7 GHz.
Field measurements have shown that the spectrum up to 1.2 GHz is available in the passive RF link. Measurements also show that up to 1.7 GHz is available with what the authors characterize as “modest plant intrusiveness.”
Spectrum above 1 GHz is unspecified and is inherently more challenging than the standard HFC band, which leads to the conclusion that advanced modulation techniques such as orthogonal frequency division multiplexing (OFDM) will be use-ful, if not necessary.
4. A new upstream PHY layerThe recommendation for DOCSIS NG
upstream is to add orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) with a new forward error correction (FEC) scheme more efficient than the Reed-Solomon FEC commonly in use today, specifically a low-density parity check (LDPC) code.
There is a considerable amount of new spectrum available with DOCSIS NG that only requires a single modulation. Although advanced time division multiple access (ATDMA) and synchronous code division multiple access (SCDMA) could be ex-tended, now is a unique time to upgrade the DOCSIS PHY to include the best tech-nology available, which the authors of the report said they believe is OFDMA and LDPC FEC.
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See us at SCTE Cable-Tec Expo Booth 1603www.questcontrols.com
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SCTE RUs Offered by The Light Brigade®
The Light Brigade, a leader in fi ber optic training and education, provides SCTE Recertifi cation Units (RUs) through several fi ber optic training courses including Fiber Optics 1-2-3, Advanced Hand-on Modules, Fiber Characterization, FTTx for Installers and Technicians, Certifi ed Fiber to the Home Professional (CFHP), Emergency Restoration and DWDM. Check out these courses and more at AFL’s booth #403.
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SCTE Cable-Tec Booth #403
Create your ISP Energy Usage Baseline with EngOnyx Designer. Draw realistic fl oor plans and rack elevations. Load calculations performed au-tomatically by UPS/Rack/Floor Plan/Entire Facility. Model multiple facilities with any number of loca-tions, racks, devices.
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ATCi’s TE-2000 HD is the ultimate test field instrument for both terrestrial and satellite covering North America and world standards. This high-performance light-weight instru-
ment features superior performance, advanced Color TV/SAT Meter, durable construction that is compatible with analog, digital (DVB) satellite standard.
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Digital Adware’s new modular insertion server, AdSync, presents service provid-ers with an affordable digital ad insertion platform. Priced considerably lower than products of its kind, AdSync also facili-tates splicing and multiplexing functions, supporting both MPEG-2 and MPEG-4, eliminating an array of licensing fees. With a truly one-box solution and a reduced up-front investment, service providers can now uncover new revenue with local advertising. One Box. Low Cost. New Revenue.
Finally… Affordable Local Ad Insertion
www.digitaladware.comMegaHertz Booth #2421
Blonder Tongue’s Single Channel HD Encoder
This fi fth generation MPEG-2 encoder is particularly well suited for delivering SD/HDTV and digital sig-nage services using minimal bandwidth in a variety of facilities such as universities, cable headends, hospitals, MDUs, stadiums, airports, and retail stores. QAM, IP, and ASI outputs are available simul-taneously. Compact design allows for deployment of three encoders in 1RU.
http://www.blondertongue.com/mpeg-2-hd-encoder-6382.aspxVisit us at Booth # 2021
NEW! VPM-36 Optical Power Meter
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• Includes pro-gram disc, opti-cal adaptors, carrying case & cables.
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Booth #2812www.motorola.com/GT3
Introducing the Motorola GT-3 ABR Transcoder, a leap-frog technology that addresses the future of TV: HD, nDVR and VOD media on multiple devices. With multi-gigapixels of throughput in just 1 RU, the GT-3 provides screaming-fast video processing that drastically reduces head-end operational costs. The GT-3 is the latest innovation in Motorola’s comprehensive portfolio of solutions for multiscreen delivery.
Screamin’ Fast Video Processing
CABLE-TEC EXPO
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OspreyFMS Remote Site Management & Measurement ToolOspreyFMS™ is a comprehensive dashboard for alarming, monitoring, & trending site status through a server-based, easy-to-use interface. OspreyFMS supports SNMP, BACnet and Modbus. The interface includes a map and shows key alarm, energy, site perfor-mance and weather data points. The ana-lytics tools provide reports on histories, performance and exceptions. Osprey-FMS is an intuitive, powerful tool for monitoring.
See us at SCTE Cable-Tec Expo Booth 1603www.questcontrols.com
These new handheld OTDRs enable cost-effective troubleshoot-ing of FTTx PONs and point-to-point metro/ac-cess networks. With its integrated PON power meter, the CS260-10 enables technicians to verify PON power levels at an FTTx PON ONU or ONT. The CS260-20 troubleshoots point-to-point metro/access networks operating at 1310 and/or 1550 nm.
Both include an integrated VFL for pinpointing macro-bends or breaks.
www.AFLglobal.com/go/CS260
SCTE Cable-Tec Booth #403
AFL Introduces NOYES® Contractor Series OTDRs
Electroline is showing for the fi rst time the VAN-GUARD DMS and Digital Video and Network Moni-tor (DVM) downstream monitoring probe. Vanguard DMS is the Management system that keeps track of all the deployed DVM Installed at strategic locations in the HFC network. It is continuously scanning key performance indicators, essentially giving the opera-tor an overall health check of the RF Network and MPEG services. See it at booth 937.
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Ciena’s small (5.9”D x 5.96”W x 1.21” H) yet powerful 3902 True Carrier Ethernet demarcation switch offers 1GigE capacity and standards-based OAM tools and performance monitoring. Fan-less design eliminates noise and reduces power con-sumption, and small form factor permits desktop or wall-mount scenarios. The ultimate in fl exibility for small and medium sized businesses!
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ALTOS® Cable with FastAccess™ Technology
Fast Access Technology is a new way of designing cable jackets to deliver all the durability and ruggedness you expect from an outside plant cable, and yet it peels away on command. It’s cable access made easy. Downright elegant. Maybe even a little fun. Visit our website to learn more.
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Harmonic is launching a universal edge QAM designed to comply with Converged Cable Access Platform specifi cations.
The NSG Pro was designed to provide cable operators with an upgrade path toward full CCAP and an all-IP infra-structure while minimizing operational expenses, power requirements and rack
space requirements.That upgrade path is represented by
slots for future line cards that will be cre-ated to provide the integrated CMTS capa-bilities envisioned in the CCAP roadmap.
“NSG Pro leverages Harmonic’s ex-pertise in intelligent function integration to combine downstream services and an
easy upgrade path to full CCAP – sup-porting DOCSIS 3.0 and beyond – in a unifi ed CCAP chassis, enabling operators to redefi ne their cable architectures,” said Nimrod Ben-Natan, senior vice president and general manager of the Edge and Ac-cess business unit at Harmonic.
Harmonic noted that its Professional Services operation can help cable operators identify how and when to move toward full CCAP and ensure smooth deployment of downstream services with NSG Pro.
To complement the company’s CCAP initiative, Harmonic is also introducing a new family of compact forward path transmitter modules featuring ultra-high-density optics. Part of the SupraLink and PWRLink product lines, the new trans-mitters deliver space savings, low power consumption, and optimized fi ber usage and network effi ciency, the company said.
Harmonic is located at booth 2635.
Harmonic’s new edge QAM anticipates CCAP migration
Complete conference coverage atwww.CEDmagazine.com CABLE-TEC EXPO Show Daily Day One October 17, 2012 24
Harmonic’s NSG Pro
CED’sLive From The Show
• Ciena• Times Fiber• SeaChange International• VeEX, Inc.• SCTE
Check out the Live From Cable-Tec Expo Videos afterthe show at:www.CEDmagazine.com
LIVE FROMCABLE-TEC EXPO
Being fi lmed at Cable-Tec Expo 2012
Video Interviews, Product Demonstrations, Booth Tours and more from:
RGB Networks is demonstrating how its technologies enable cable operators and other video service providers (VSPs) to meet the new challenges of an evolving multi-screen IP video environment.
RGB developed its Enhanced Video Intelligence Architecture (eVIA) to address the complex and changing re-quirements of the multi-screen world. The suite of products offers a range of integrated capabilities, with the following being highlighted:• On-demand multi-screen solutions –RGB’s eVIA offers a set of options to meet a range of on-demand delivery needs while reducing cost and streamlining operations. A demonstration illustrates a multi-product workfl ow from RGB for VOD and nDVR applications. In addition to the just-in-time packaging (JITP) func-tion fulfi lled by RGB’s TransAct Packager, it illustrates upstream fi le-to-fi le transcod-ing through the new TransAct Encoder/Transcoder and live capture workfl ow with RGB’s Video Multiprocessing Gate-way (VMG) feeding a TransAct Packager in recording (asset preparation) mode.• Multi-screen monetization – RGB’s eVIA ecosystem utilizes advanced ABR stream-ing to facilitate targeted advertising down to the neighborhood, device, or even spe-
cifi c individual subscriber demographics. A demonstration is showing the VMG and TransAct Packager delivering three differ-ent targeted ads to three separate tablet devices inserted on the same linear feed.• Surround sound for multi-screen – The Dolby Digital Plus codec allows VSPs to deliver surround sound via various adap-tive streaming protocols to the home. RGB supports this audio codec in IPTV and multi-bit-rate modes on both the TransAct Encoder/Transcoder and the
VMG. The audio demonstration shows different profi les with different Dolby Digital Plus stream bit rates and highlights switching between various profi les.• Automatic loudness correction – RGB is delivering automatic loudness correction capabilities that will enable operators to meet the upcoming December deadline for CALM Act compliance by consistently maintaining a steady audio loudness with-in a channel, and across channels.
RGB is located at booth 443.
RGB helps operators meet multi-screen challenges
Complete conference coverage atwww.CEDmagazine.com CABLE-TEC EXPO Show Daily Day One October 17, 2012 26
RGB’s product family
RFMD intros GaN-based amplifi ersRF Micro Devices is debuting a series
of GaN-based amplifi ers designed for cable networks, including a power doubler amp and a family of push-pull amps.The RFPD2940 power doubler amplifi er delivers output power up to +63 dBmV without compromising the critical linearity performance requirements of cable TV applications, the company said. With such output levels, operators can upgrade existing systems to wider bandwidths, enabling higher data throughput while also reducing operating expenses, the company claimed.
The device operates from 45 MHz to 1 GHz, has 23 dB gain at 1 GHz, features input and output return loss of -20 dB, and delivers better than -73 dB CTB and CSO performance.
The company is offering the RFPD2940 for sampling.
RFMD’s RFPP2870 and RFCM3080 GaN-based push-pull amplifi ers are designed to drive GaN-based fi nal stage power doubler amps. The RFPP2870 and RFCM3080 feature 28 dB gain at 1 GHz, have -20 dB typical input and output return loss, and deliver low distortion levels of -68 dBc CTB and -75dBc CSO.
RFMD is located at booth 2324.
Radx’s new edge QAMs Start-up Radx Technologies is looking to
jump into the cable market with program-mable edge QAMs that can be optimized for the application. The QAMs are built using FPGAs from Xilinx and digital/analog converters (DACs) from Analog Devices.
Radx’s contribution to the product is its FrontierEQ IP cores, which include J.83 Annex A/B/C cores that are available for 32 to 160 unicast channels and up to 640 unicast/broadcast channels. The cores are supported within a single FPGA, a frequen-cy-agile Digital Up-Converter (DUC) that enables arbitrary placement of channels at specifi c frequencies, and a Digital Pre-Dis-tortion (DPD) module (based on non-linear correction technology licensed from Analog Devices) that improves DAC linearity.
Radx is located at booth 2304.
SeaChange’s Nucleus is here to ensure that video service providers can master the shift
to personalized media consumption throughout the home. We call it Nucleus because it
enables every device at home to connect and share all media. It works with QAM today
and it's ready for IP tomorrow.
Spare the challenges. Secure your place in subscriber homes.
WHOLE HOME DVR | MEDIA SHARING THROUGH DLNA | SMARTPHONE AND TABLET AS REMOTE CONTROL | AND MUCH MORE
SEACHANGE® NUCLEUS™ SOFT BOX. THE MARKET DISRUPTOR.
Complete conference coverage atwww.CEDmagazine.com CABLE-TEC EXPO Show Daily Day One October 17, 2012 28
IPTV: Coming soon
ier 2 and Tier 3 communications service providers (CSPs) have been
riding the migration of video toward IP in or-der to bring advanced services to less densely populated areas in the U.S.
With IP-based video technology maturing, there is a growing number of smaller companies able to provide subscribers in their typically exurban-to-rural areas with services and features that include larger pack-
ages of top-ranked channels (with more of those channels in HD), multi-room DVR, TV Everywhere-type services and hybrid features like Caller ID on TV.
The issue is the rate of the transition, and under what circumstances, which include myriad variations in network type and architecture, network
gear, customer premises equipment (CPE), and services offered and other business strategies.
There is nothing even vaguely ho-mogeneous about the circumstances
By Brian Santo, Editor-in-Chief
Smaller operators are using IPTV to deliver
Stout
Enthusiasm among smaller service providers is waning for integrating disparate IPTV network components from different vendors. IPTV is just too complex, and smaller companies have limited resources required to do the integration and sub-sequent maintenance. That's why Tier 2 and Tier 3 service providers are increas-ingly adopting solutions that are end-to-end, or nearly so, such as Microsoft's Mediaroom.
T
Complete conference coverage atwww.CEDmagazine.com CABLE-TEC EXPO Show Daily Day One October 17, 2012 29
to a town near you
of Tier 2 and Tier 3 CSPs, but if there is one factor that provides a neat division into two categories, it is provenance in either the cable or telco side of the business (with the over-builder experience frequently similar to that of the telcos).
Many former phone companies have jumped straight to IPTV, defining “IPTV” as having an IP-based network transmitting everything, including video, in IP format. AT&T U-verse is the most extensive ex-ample, but there are scores of others whose networks range from DSL-based networks like AT&T’s to fiber-to-the-home (FTTH) systems.
It turned out that as a class, telcos ended up with a fairly large share of broadband stimulus money. The program was aimed at extending the availability of broadband services in areas that are more remote and/or less affluent, but for the telcos that are adding to existing IP networks or that are migrating to an IP network, those services can naturally include IPTV.
On the cable side, no big U.S. MSO has gone the full-on IPTV route yet, and the number of Tier 2 and Tier 3 cable operators that have tried it remains small.
The difference is economic. Cable compa-nies already have video delivery networks –networks that don’t easily support IP. Scrapping their HFC networks and writing off that investment is not an option.
Of course, cable companies have parallel DOCSIS networks that constitute a means to migrate to all-IP, and they are being used for that purpose. Broadband custom-ers started using cable operators’ IP-based DOCSIS channels to access streaming video sources such as Amazon and YouTube.
MSOs eventually began to offer streaming on-demand and to support delivery of video to mobile devices.
Over-the-top (OTT), TV Everywhere and multi-screen services are IP TV. Of course, the battle to maintain the space between “IP” and “TV” when describing those services was lost before it began. From technologists’ perspective, the distinctions between IPTV and different types of IP TV (with a space) are significant, so the term always threatens to be a source of confusion, but look at it from the consumer perspec-tive: It’s all video, and few subscribers care about the delivery details.
IP driversThe shift to IP is being driven by two
major trends: the rapid increase in the con-sumption of video on mobile devices and the need to find efficiencies from infrastruc-ture/delivery.
On the plus side, IP has been around for so long and has become so intrinsic in networking that the cost of running an IP-based network keeps dropping, and IP networking is certain to be around for many, many years to come.
On the down side, IP was not designed to support video, and progress in IP video networks has been fitful. On the telco side, evolution has been gradual. ■
a richer palette of services, but it’s not easy.
Total Wireless Broadband Subscriptions per 100 Inhabitants - Dec. 2011
Penetration rates of broadband in the U.S. have been increasing enough to jump the U.S. from 24th in the world to 7th, according to the most recent numbers avail-able. Part of the reason is that broadband is becoming readily more available in less densely populated and less affluent neighborhoods. IPTV – in all its forms –piggybacks on broadband accessibility. The expansion of broadband in these areas is, de facto, an expansion of IPTV. The results are from December 2011, the most recent figures available for the latest report of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) published in August.
Read this feature in its entirety in CED’s October issue, located in the Cable-Tec Expo publication bins.
Complete conference coverage atwww.CEDmagazine.com CABLE-TEC EXPO Show Daily Day One October 17, 2012 30
Dean Kamen is keynoting SCTE Cable-Tec Expo.
Let me say that again: Dean Kamen is keynoting SCTE Cable-Tec Expo.
There’s no way to say that without it sounding like a pro-motional announcement, but maybe that’s what it should be. Because no matter how innovative we are – and, trust me, my hat is off to the cable community when it comes to new approaches – no one exemplifies the entrepreneurial spirit and innovation like Kamen.
Kamen’s can-do spirit has been responsible for making the impossible possible. He’s created portable devices that have transformed the lives of kidney patients and diabetics. He’s the genius behind the Segway Human Transporter. And in a nod to simpler times, he’s even reinventing the fountain soda.
At Expo, Kamen will join a keynote conversation with Mike LaJoie as part of our opening session. The official agenda says that they’ll discuss “entrepreneurship and innova-tion, helping the next-generation cable workforce to prepare for 21st-century jobs, and next-generation energy sources and thinking for modern broadband networks,” but anybody who knows Mike – and Dean, for that matter – knows that those are just guidelines.
For one thing, there’s a lot of ground to cover just within those areas. And for another, there’s no guarantee that Mike and Dean won’t go off the charts in pursuit of other topics of interest. I’d pay to hear either one of these guys talk to his shadow, but the idea of being in the room when they’re exchang-ing ideas – that’s priceless.
It’s indicative of how far cable engineering and operations have come that we’re sharing thoughts with one of the giants of our time. I’d like to talk a bit about what we hope to discuss, but first it’s important that we talk a bit about the rest of the cast we’ll have with us for the opening session today in Orlando.
In one of the most unique opening sessions to grace the Expo stage, we’ll be hearing from four women who are among the most highly regarded technologists in our industry, as well as from four engineering professionals who are setting the pace within the small- to mid-size operator community.
The women’s event will showcase viewpoints on where our industry is going and how it can get there from four thought leaders who are well-known to SCTE members: Nomi Bergman, president of Bright House Networks; Charlotte Field, senior vice president of infrastructure and operations for Comcast; Carol Hevey, executive vice president of Time Warner Cable; and Yvette Kanouff, executive vice president of engineering and technology for Cablevision Systems.
On the small- to mid-size operator panel, four innovators who work magic in local and regional markets – Michael Giobbi, CTO of Armstrong Communications; Wade Holmes, vice president of technology for BendBroadband; Joseph Jensen, CTO of Buckeye CableSystem; and
Kelly Rehm, technical operations manager and general manager of Massillon Cable TV/Clear Picture – will discuss the challenges that face the Tier 2 and Tier 3 companies that are key to making cable’s footprint ubiquitous.
We’re expecting other guests for the open-ing session, but I’d like to come back to Kamen and why it’s so important that we listen to what he has to say. While it’s fabulous simply to have Kamen with us at Expo, what I’m most interested in is how we can foster greater inno-vation within our ranks, as well as how he sees advances in medicine and elsewhere aligning with cable for the greater good.
As evidenced by 440 U.S. and foreign patents, Kamen has been highly successful in transferring his passion for revolution-ary thinking to his associates at DEKA Research & Development. As we drive new educational programs – both to bring more talent into cable and to advance the careers and knowledge of our current engineering and operations professionals –what can we learn from the way Kamen motivates his teams? And how can we emulate programs such as Kamen’s FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) and Time Warner Cable’s Connect a Million Minds to drive learning even at the scholastic level?
I’ll also be listening closely to hear more about medical innovation. As the creator of portable dialysis units, wearable insulin pumps and other devices that have freed patients to live more mainstream lifestyles, Kamen has plenty to offer. How does he view cable’s ability to partner with the medical field for telehealth and e-medicine solutions?
And finally, what can Kamen’s enthusi-asm for an updated version of the Stirling Engine mean for cable’s energy management needs in the years to come? How can we incorporate an engine able to run efficiently on any fuel to ensure the availability of power anywhere in our networks?
I’m hoping we get the answers to these and other questions at the opening session of SCTE Cable-Tec Expo today. But no matter what we learn, one thing’s for certain: With Kamen and LaJoie sharing the stage, it will be something to see!
Kamen to keynote Expo
engineering-wise To read past columns,visit www.CEDmagazine.com
