CableLabs and SCTE•ISBE: Partners in Cable Technology

By Phil McKinney

At CableLabs, we develop and specify technology that allows the cable industry to support the growing requirements of broadband access. Through our 60-member companies around the world, partnerships with top-tier universities and a collaborative ecosystem inside and outside the cable industry, we are able to create global impact. Our focus is on the innovations that are three to eight years out. One of our most recent innovations was Coherent Optics to address the increasing need for network capacity by increasing the speed of fiber optics by 200 times.

Developing the innovations is exciting, but insufficient. The way we make an impact is by commercializing these innovations so that our members can deploy them in their respective markets. One technology that is in this commercialization phase is full duplex (FDX) DOCSIS 3.1. The specification enables DOCSIS 3.1 hybrid fiber/ coax (HFC) networks to support shared 10 Gbps by enabling upstream and downstream traffic to use the same spectrum simultaneously. As new technologies and applications emerge that enable customers and their devices to share interactive high-resolution video, our networks will be prepared to support the speed and latency requirements.

One important way CableLabs enables the commercialization and adoption of new technologies is through our relationship with SCTE•ISBE. CableLabs and SCTE•ISBE have had a very collaborative relationship for many years. In fact, CableLabs was instrumental in helping SCTE•ISBE originally establish its Standards Programs which are instrumental in codifying CableLabs specifications into ANSI approved standards. This strong relationship continues to this day. Their collaboration is based on two things:

• First, the very complementary roles the respective organizations play in the cable industry. CableLabs is focused on innovation and technology development over the next eight-year time horizon and collaborates with the entire cable ecosystem to bring these to market in a timely manner. SCTE•ISBE is focused on applied technology, formalizing standards, best operational practices and preparing the field for adoption and deployment of these technologies. One can view these complementary roles as a conveyor belt for innovation with multi-billion-dollar impact from research to development to deployment and operations.
• Second, the very strong cultural alignment of the two organizations. We both exist to serve the cable industry and we both do so through close collaboration with the entire cable ecosystem, including cable operators and their suppliers.

In addition, CableLabs contributes technical papers, partners on technology symposiums or webinars and is an exhibitor at SCTE•ISBE Cable-Tec Expo. SCTE•ISBE staff participate in CableLabs R&D projects to facilitate the transfer of knowledge between the two organizations and SCTE•ISBE also attends CableLabs’ various conferences.

The priorities of the cable industry are first and foremost in the mind of CableLabs. Our mission is to develop innovations that allow our members to be the providers of choice in the markets they serve. It’s with our partnership with SCTE•ISBE that this mission is realized.

Phil McKinney

President and CEO,
CableLabs

As President and CEO of CableLabs, the research arm of the cable industry, Phil McKinney’s job is to create the future of broadband communication and move the industry forward. With a strong focus on innovation, he is responsible for leading the development of technologies and specifications for the secure delivery of high speed data, video, voice and next generation services. Phil joined CableLabs after retiring in December 2011 as CTO at Hewlett-Packard Company. Since 2005, he has shared his expertise in innovation and creativity, in an approach he refers to as “paying it forward,” through his award winning weekly podcast Killer Innovations™.

Shutterstock