Expo 2018 — Vision of the Future
Another SCTE•ISBE Cable-Tec Expo® is set to share a glimpse into the “Vision of the Future” as industry leaders meet Oct. 22-25 in Atlanta, for the largest cable telecom event in North America. Nothing else comes close.
With a record 100+ thought-provoking speakers, 40+ workshops and close to 400 exhibiting companies and attendees representing 60+ countries, Cable-Tec Expo is the cable industry’s largest, energized and most technical knowledge exchange event of the year.
For more than 30 years, Cable-Tec Expo has combined thought leadership, engineering innovation and deal-making to make it the pre-eminent venue for exceptional value. And this year promises to be more exciting than ever.
Within the pages of this issue, read thought-provoking articles from a number of the featured speakers at this year’s Expo, including:
“Essential Infrastructure for Tech Facilities: Why, What and How” by Sherita T. Ceasar, Senior Vice President of Technology Environments and Strategy, Comcast Cable
“Increase ROI with Experiential Learning” by Mark L. Dzuban, President/CEO, SCTE
“Unleashing the Speed of Innovation” by Kevin Hart, Executive Vice President, Chief Product and Technology Officer, Cox Communications
“A Partnership for Future Success” by Matt Polka, President and CEO, American Cable Association
Hope you enjoy reading this issue and I’m looking forward to seeing you at the Expo!
Personal Story: Conscientious Tech Makes My Day
After several years of minor television, Internet, and voice connection issues, an experienced, professional and determined Comcast technician recently made my day.
I initiated a service call on a Friday evening in early July upon returning home from a quick getaway to no television, Internet, or voice service. A disaster right? What was I to do? No access to my daily cable news, catching up on the latest episode of HBO’s “Succession” or watching Sunday afternoon golf.
Of course, prior to placing the call, I tried all the basics I was capable of — resetting cable boxes, checking all connections, ensuring power to the active splitter, and disconnecting and reconnecting the main line at the foundation — all to no avail.
After explaining to the Xfinity customer service representative that I worked from home, he accommodated me with a Sunday afternoon appointment. By the time my appointment came around, my service had begun working again, however, I opted to keep the appointment, which turned out to be a good decision.
Quincy London, Comcast, CT3, showed up and made a thorough evaluation of my overall system. He identified a poor splice at the main box that was causing my Internet service to intermittently lose connection. Mr London, a 15-year Comcast veteran, not only improved my service on his initial visit, he took the extra initiative to schedule another service call to install a new line from the tap to my home, running through my crawl space, gaining 10 dB in performance and solving my problems.
This experience got me thinking about how important the front-line, customer-facing technicians are to our industry. I did not disclose to Mr. London my role as the publisher of Broadband Library in advance. I was not looking to gain any special treatment or accommodations — I can only assume that he treats all of his customers as he did me, with professionalism, courtesy, and skill, doing his best to improve customer service and customer experience.
As our dependence on technology and the complexity of cable broadband offerings continue to develop, technicians will continue to perform valuable and expanding roles.
Jerry R. Lundwall
Publisher, Broadband Library
President, Lundwall Communications, Inc.
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Publisher and entrepreneur, Jerry led the art departments at three major-market daily newspapers; founded and built a 30-person integrated communications creative agency — leading all creative, marketing, sales and business operations; spearheaded major marketing initiatives for several Fortune 500 companies within the cable, broadband, technology, and entertainment sectors; and co-published several books and magazines during his career.
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