PNM: In the 10G Era, More Important Than Ever
By Mark Dzuban
When cable announced its roadmap to 10G services earlier this year at CES, it was yet another reminder of how far our industry has come. Once an optional source of television content, we have become over the past several decades an important part of the telecommunications landscape for businesses around the world.
With great success comes great responsibility. Each time we’ve added new services or improved our networks we’ve increased our customers’ expectations for better performance. As we move from the availability of one gigabit service across 80 percent of U.S. homes today to the rollout of 10 gigabit service within the next decade, ensuring highest quality of service delivery will be more important than ever.
Designed to transform consumer experiences wherever people connect, 10G opens the door to new possibilities. Its promises of improved security, increased capacity, seamless connectivity and — especially apropos for this proactive network maintenance issue — reliably position cable to be a player in smart cities, healthcare, education, businesses and a multitude of other applications.
Whether it’s the implied promises to our residential consumers or the more formal service level agreements (SLAs) that can be part of business services packages, our networks represent commitments to our customers. It’s essential that we continue to rethink what’s needed to anticipate concerns and to use trends that might indicate imminent failure to address those issues in a predictive way before they impede service delivery.
New business opportunities are being met by cable networks that are increasingly complex. Increased dependency on the cloud means that greater attention needs to be paid to the reliability of the networks traversed by signals, as well as the need to reduce latency that disrupts the customer experience. Human factors — on the network operational side as well as consumer behavior — can impact network performance.
Fortunately, the same technological progress that is driving the availability of new services is spawning solutions that also can help us improve network reliability. Artificial intelligence can identify network issues, often before they occur. Apps are being developed that provide real time views of network conditions. And operational practices are being created that can help to minimize human disruption.
Ever since we created a PNM Working Group within the SCTE•ISBE Standards Program almost two years ago, our goal has been to accelerate development of technology, tools, operational guidelines and training that would help operators optimize service delivery and customer experiences. As Chris Bastian points out in his article on page 28, the results already have included test verification for DOCSIS 3.1 and a training manual refresh that zeroes in on key upstream measurements, among other successes. In collaboration with CableLabs, we ultimately will be converting CableLabs’ PNM architectural innovations into standards for the industry.
In the race to implement advanced PNM technologies and keep our industry’s competitive edge ultra-sharp, SCTE•ISBE’s role will be to work with CableLabs, NCTA and our operator and vendor partners to serve as the hub not only for standards, but for the learning and development that will boost workforce expertise and minimize human error. As well, SCTE•ISBE Cable-Tec Expo — the largest cable trade event in the Americas — will serve as a showplace for new PNM technologies, tools and knowledge sharing during its September 30 – October 3 run in New Orleans this year.
With the industry’s new commitment to 10G services, a new wave of opportunities is upon us. From telehealth services that increase doctors’ abilities to give patients the diagnostic care they need, when and where they need it, to holodecks that can unlock new ways for consumers to experience entertainment and “classroom” education and virtual reality capabilities that will pave new avenues for the transfer of knowledge, we’re at the threshold of capabilities that can capture the imaginations of our customers. As our customers rely more and more on our networks to deliver life changing benefits, implementation of comprehensive proactive network maintenance strategies will ensure that our networks can more than handle the task at hand.
Mark L. Dzuban
President/CEO, SCTE
mdzuban@scte.org
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 the cable system operators, technology partners and individual members. Mark was honored with the prestigious NCTA Vanguard Award in 2011.
