An Expo Milestone and a Transition to the Next Generation
By Mark L. Dzuban
As you no doubt know, Tom Rutledge moved away from his CEO role at Charter last November. Tom Adams retired from Charter last year. Tony Werner left his executive leadership role at Comcast. Matt Polka and Jana Henthorn retired from leading their industry associations. And there are many others. Now it’s my turn. This will be my last SCTE® Cable-Tec Expo® serving as president and CEO of the Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE®). As I prepare to retire at the close of a storied career, I look back proudly at my SCTE tenure as part of a generation that ushered in the original cable development. If you consider the folks who were the early adopters—the explorers, the groundbreakers, the innovators—you see the pioneers who established the value and the capabilities of our industry and built an enduring vision for the future.
I find myself looking back at technological development over the last 50 years. We went from nothing to the world of possibilities you see today. That’s a relatively short period of time! And there’s no better exemplar of that evolution than SCTE, which is enabling the industry to logically transition from our early work to the next generation of innovators. From essential training programs through the initiatives undertaken as part of its key partnership with CableLabs, SCTE is making sure that the next generation of folks coming through the ranks can compete successfully by delivering amazing broadband services to consumers and businesses.
Beginnings
My career at SCTE began February 1, 2009, but I started in the telecom business 55 years ago, in February 1968. And my interest in the industry came naturally: My father was involved in the early days of telecom. In the 1950s, he was an engineer at Westinghouse, building cable equipment in the basement on weekends. So, it was genetic! I had my amateur radio license at 10 years old, dimming lights, blowing fuses and stringing wire antennas across the yard. At 17, I got my FCC First Class Radiotelephone Operator License with Radar Endorsement.
My military service, including 16 months in Korea in Combat Readiness and United Nations War Damage Recovery (1966-67), enabled me to attend Middlesex College on the G.I. Bill. Later, I worked in broadcast at WOR-Radio and some of the major [New York radio] stations. I’d shop for equipment on Radio Row in New York, where I’d pick up WWII surplus radio equipment for just a few dollars. It was radio heaven.
Beyond my early years in broadcasting, I worked in commercial two-way radio and mobile before moving to cable. When everyone started talking about the convergence of mobile and fixed wireline, I knew the world had come full circle. In fact, when I graduated from Middlesex College in 1972, I was in the last class of radio frequency science and technology because the world was going digital. Five decades later, the industry is reconstituting those programs because of Wi-Fi and mobility. Only now, the convergence of mobile and cable is executable!
It’s always been about adjusting to what a constantly evolving world needs. Today, it’s all about wired and wireless convergence, allowing you to stay connected while moving from mobile to fixed wireless to fixed wireline—and the other way ’round—seamlessly. Whether at work or at play, whether learning or living, you need to be able to enjoy full convergence across networks. That’s the “one network” concept. We’re just beginning to understand how to transition to that reality. At our mobility pavilion at SCTE Cable-Tec Expo this year—just one of our new additions to the show floor—we’re going explore these converging technologies.
So, even as I enter a time of transition, stepping down from my role as president and CEO of this remarkable organization, CableLabs and SCTE continue to work together to drive the industry’s next generation forward.
Lessons in wisdom
My father used to say, “Be bold. Don’t be afraid. Don’t create self-imposed obstacles.”
With that simple lesson in mind, I understand that wisdom is really an inventory of knowledge and experience. SCTE—and, by extension, CableLabs—has a rich history of myriad personal and professional experience at its core, placing the organizations in the best possible position to bring to fruition the goals of an interconnected future.
We’re constantly working to prepare the next generation for what’s to come. We’re working closely with the folks leading the industry into the future so that they can shape new worlds based on what we’ve already accomplished. I’m grateful for where we are and what we’ve done, and I’m so excited about the ways the next generation will raise the bar to successfully compete in tomorrow’s marketplace. And we will continue to converge at SCTE Cable-Tec Expo to drive the industry forward!
What’s next?
I’m tremendously grateful to everyone who’s been a part of my journey. The greatest highlights from my time leading SCTE always involve the people. I think of SCTE’s amazing leadership—past and present—and staff who have made and continue to make a difference for our industry. The team has always been small but mighty, accomplishing a lot with a little, because our hearts and minds have always been committed to SCTE. Everybody who works in our business has a passion for it. That’s how you do great things with a few people and energize others. It comes down to passion.
As for me, it’s family time! I plan to spend more time with my wife Shawn, my son and daughter, and my grandkids. I’ll be enjoying our beach house on Long Beach Island where Shawn and I had our first date 46 years ago in my 1963 Willys Jeep Beach Buggy. We’ve spent a lot of time on the island over the years. I still volunteer with the Office of Emergency Management in Long Beach Island.
I also want to be more involved with the SCTE Foundation, funding impactful initiatives across our industry in training, education and workforce development. I’ll continue to stay involved with the SCTE Energy 20/20 program expanding our industry’s commitment to sustainability. And I will work with our Business Continuity Planning and Disaster Recovery Working Group, which is part of the Network Operations Subcommittee (NOS), focused on coordinating the cable industry’s disaster recovery strategy with FirstNet, the official high-speed, nationwide wireless broadband network for first responders.
I want to build on the success of last year’s Cable-Tec Expo. I have shared kudos with both Comcast’s Dave Watson and Liberty Global’s Michael Fries, Co-Chairs of Cable-Tec Expo in Philadelphia. For the first post-COVID gathering in real life, the bar was set extremely high, and I dare say everyone involved blew it out of the water!
There’s still a lot of work to be done, and I can’t wait to join you in Denver to celebrate 40 years of Cable-Tec Expo. Between the hard work of the CableLabs and SCTE teams, all the folks selected to share expertise as part of the Fall Technical Forum, the new pavilions and summit sessions, SCTE Cable-Tec Expo 2023 is going to be better than ever. Chaired this year by Chris Winfrey, president and CEO of Charter Communications, and Tony Staffieri, president and CEO of Rogers Communications, “EXPOnential” will assemble industry leaders from around the globe and showcase the most compelling technologies that are building the future of cable telecommunications. Please join me October 16–19 to celebrate four decades of Expo as we connect, collaborate and innovate.
Mark L. Dzuban
President and CEO, SCTE® a subsidiary of CableLabs®
Mark Dzuban is president and CEO of SCTE®, a subsidiary of CableLabs®. SCTE is a global not-for-profit member organization driving the acceleration and deployment of technology in the cable industry. With a career spanning more than 50 years in cable telecommunications, Dzuban has been named a Cable TV Pioneer, Cable Center Innovation Laureate, Cablefax Top 100 industry executive, and has received the Vanguard Award for Cable Operations Management.
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