Presenting the Perfect Cable Connection

By Jana Henthorn

Who Better to Help Tell Cable’s Technology Story than SCTE•ISBE?

If you visit The Cable Center —  and we hope you do —  there’s a must-see exhibit that’s essential to experience. It’s the Edward D. Breen Technical Archives, a stroll-and-enjoy amalgamation of everything from early-era “coffee can” amplifiers to glowing vacuum tubes, to impressive racks of blinking digital devices. An hour here seems to pass by in minutes as you’re immersed in a virtual history tour of cable’s amazing journey in communications technology. (If you can’t be here in person, here’s the next-best-thing: a digital walk-through.)

At the entrance to the Breen Archives is a signature element you can’t miss (and won’t want to): A wall-sized timeline of cable’s technical history that touches on the great, game-changing achievements of our industry, from the earliest amplification techniques to the digital video revolution to the miracle that is DOCSIS®.

This illustrated timeline would not have been possible without support and encouragement from members of SCTE•ISBE, our industry’s outstanding membership organization for technical cable telecommunications professionals. SCTE•ISBE members have contributed enormously to making this one-of-a-kind experiential exhibit happen. In fact, it’s impossible to conceive of how we could tell this essential story without the contributions of SCTE•ISBE members like the inestimable Ron Hranac — Cathy Wilson, and many others.

Bigger Story

Behind the colorful timeline affixed to a wall is a bigger story about collaboration between SCTE•ISBE and The Cable Center. Beyond the support for our Technical Archives (named after the corporate wunderkind and former Motorola Inc. President Ed Breen), SCTE•ISBE has been instrumental in contributing to The Cable Center’s broader mission of recording, sharing and celebrating knowledge about our industry and where it’s going. From partnering with The Cable Center on SCTE•ISBE Cable-Tec Expo panel presentations to hosting our SCTE•ISBE colleagues with events like the SCTE•ISBE Circle of Eagles ceremony to sharing stories through The Cable Center’s Hauser Oral and Video History project, SCTE•ISBE and its members are vital contributors to The Cable Center community.

It’s an alliance that makes perfect sense. The Cable Center shares with SCTE•ISBE a broad commitment to sharing knowledge and encouraging innovation in an industry that has amazing stories to tell, and an amazing future to bring about. We’re equally proud to be part of the annual Cable Pioneers recognition ceremony during Cable-Tec Expo, that celebrates amazing people who have made amazing contributions to our industry’s growth and development.

Our collaboration hasn’t come about by happenstance. The Cable Center team has long recognized we share a common bond with the premiere professional association that develops technology standards and supports the vital personnel development that undergirds everything our industry accomplishes. That’s why we’ve made concerted efforts to deepen our partnerships with SCTE•ISBE and to identify areas of collaboration. The good news: We’re just getting started.

A closing thought: One of my favorite quotations expressed within our Technical Archives collection is from Mike LaJoie, who was the longtime CTO of Time Warner Cable. He proudly proclaims that the cable industry possesses “the absolutely greatest networks on the planet.” One big reason for that revolves around SCTE•ISBE and the work it does every day. Because of that, we’re privileged to be a partner with SCTE•ISBE. And we can’t wait for what’s next.

Edward D. Breen Technical Archives ribbon cutting, December 11, 2017. From left to right, Frank Drendel, Jana Henthorn, Dr. John Malone, Edward D. Breen, and Cathy Wilson.