Leading the Way in 2020 and Beyond
By Mark Dzuban
“Lead, not follow.”
With our 50th anniversary behind us and a wonderland of new opportunities ahead, is there a better mantra for — dare I say it? — our next 50 years?
While the past decade in particular has been marked by ventures into uncharted areas, our mission now is even bolder and broader: to blaze new trails for the industry — and new challenges for ourselves.
How do we ensure that the industry opens all of the doors that are being unlocked by the fast-approaching arrival of 10G? How do we open the floodgates for other industries to collaborate with cable to meet consumers’ demand for new life-changing services? How do we ensure that the cable workforce has the skills needed to stay ahead of the pack amidst a wave of new technologies and applications?
Let’s not forget how 10G dominated the discussion at SCTE•ISBE Cable-Tec Expo last fall: Dean Kamen, a giant of technology innovation, and Fedex’s Preetha Vijayakumar explained how the platform could create new partners for our industry. A who’s who of leading industry executives pushed the thinking forward around the technology, the applications and the market opportunities. And Charter and Liberty Global gave us more than a peek into how 10G can reinforce cable’s leadership in the Smart Home/Smart Cities sector.
We’ve taken that momentum and run with it. Over the last few months 10G has been the catalyst for an avalanche of SCTE•ISBE leadership including:
- Seven new standards working groups that will address technology and partnership opportunities, including: Aging in Place/TeleHealth; Telemedicine; Autonomous Vehicles; Smart Cities; Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning; Human Factors Affecting Network Reliability; and Extended Spectrum (1.8 and 3.0 GHz) Passives.
- Sharpening our story and bringing it to new partners, particularly those from outside of the industry, in order to take full advantage of 10G’s ability to deliver life-altering — and in some cases life-saving — services to consumers.
- Bringing on board additional resources rich in cable and innovation knowledge to amplify our team’s engineering efforts and accelerate the outputs that will launch new 10G and other opportunities for our members.
- The continued tuning of Cable-Tec Expo, Americas’ largest cable and technology trade event, in advance of a return to Denver under the leadership of two operations superstars, Comcast’s Ed Marchetti and Charter’s Tom Monaghan, Oct. 13-16.
Within the past few years, the cable industry has resoundingly affirmed the value of SCTE•ISBE and Expo. Our mission now is to lead the implementation of new innovation and technology as the Society works alongside our global industry partners including NCTA and CableLabs to envision how to meet members’ future needs, and create the technical foundation that will bring 10G to life.
Here’s where you come in: We can — and will — implement the steps that are creating new markets and accelerating service velocity, but it’s up to operators and technology vendors to leverage our programs to drive business results and maximize ROI. Here’s how to make that happen:
- Cable-Tec Expo — Make sure your company is on site in force to capture the knowledge shared in Denver Oct. 13-16. (More at expo.scte.org).
- SCTE•ISBE Standards — Have a seat at the table as standards and best practices are developed by actively participating in the program and its working groups.
- Learning & Development — Take advantage of our best-in-class curricula that are aligned to zero in on the current and future needs of the industry to create the workforce of the future.
- Leadership Institute — Boost the futures of promising team members through enrollment in our programs at Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business and Georgia Tech.
- Optimization of Expertise — Skills are the new currency. Make sure you and your team access SCTE•ISBE lessons and information that are designed to prevent workforce knowledge gaps and ensure that you have the skills you need to have the career you want.
“If you’re not the lead dog,” the sled team analogy goes, “the view never changes.” As we head into the next decade — and our next 50 years — we look forward to helping the industry spot and take advantage of all of the opportunities that lie ahead. Fasten your safety belts; change is just ahead!
Mark L. Dzuban
President/CEO, SCTE
As President and CEO of SCTE•ISBE, Mark Dzuban is continuing a lengthy career of telecommunications leadership. Mark has been instrumental in positioning SCTE•ISBE as a leader in energy management and technical education, driving creation of the Energy 2020 program, the CORTEX Expert Development System™ and other programs and services that build value for cable system operators, technology partners and individual members. Mark was honored with the prestigious NCTA Vanguard Award in 2011.
Images from Shutterstock
