NCTA And SCTE Join In Call For Next Wave In Cable Innovation

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA) and the Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE) today issued a joint call for submissions for both the 2009 NCTA Technical Papers and for SCTE's Conference on Emerging Technologies. Highlights of accepted papers will be presented during Cable Connection Week – Spring, the cable industry's new biannual week of consolidated industry events to be held April 1-7, 2009, in Washington, DC.

Cable Connection Week will mark the first time the NCTA Technical Program and the SCTE Conference on Emerging Technologies have run in conjunction to each other, which made the joint submission process possible. An expert screening committee will select the top proposals and designate an author's participation in either the NCTA or SCTE program to best match subject matter with content in each of the two complementary programs.

Marking its 50th year of promoting advances in cable technology, NCTA's prestigious Technical Papers Program will present a special track of panels focused on new broadband applications that may soon reach the market. The program will continue as part of The Cable Show '09, NCTA's 58th Annual International Convention and Exposition – and the inaugural event of Cable Connection – Spring. The Cable Show ‘09 runs April 1 – 3 at the Washington Convention Center.

The SCTE Conference on Emerging Technologies also runs April 1 – 3 but will focus on specific platforms and products that will be delivered in the next three to five years. The theme will be "Architecting the Network of the Future" with a focus on efficient bandwidth utilization for the home environment of 2014. By pairing the NCTA and SCTE technology events, Cable Connection – Spring will offer an opportunity for industry engineers and other technology experts to gather for a valuable exchange of ideas that lead to better capital investment decisions.

In addition, the CableLabs® Law and Technology Seminars will take place on April 3 as part of Cable Connection – Spring. Now in its eighth year, the Law and Technology Seminars provide a private forum to bring cable lawyers and technologists together for discussion of the legal and public policy implications related to cable technologies.

"NCTA's technical papers program has helped foster and promote many of the remarkable innovations that have kept the cable industry on the cutting edge of the telecommunications world for a half century," said Dr. William Check, NCTA Senior Vice President of Science and Technology. "We are pleased to be working with our colleagues at SCTE and CableLabs to make Cable Connection – Spring the epicenter of innovation for the broadband industry."

"Cable Connection Week – Spring will be the place to be for cable industry technology professionals," said Marv Nelson, SCTE Interim President and CEO. "The joint technology programs now being planned by SCTE, NCTA and CableLabs will offer a great opportunity to experience and learn about the next wave of broadband innovation."

Proposals for NCTA and SCTE consideration are due by December 1, 2008. While any subject matter relevant to broadband cable and telecommunications engineers is eligible, topics of particular interest for 2009 are:

• Wireless broadband data and voice architectures and protocols, including WiFi, WiMAX and Mobile/Handheld
• Interactive advertising, including measurement, reporting and addressability
• Techniques for scaling cable network bandwidth utilization and efficiency
• Advancements in managing bandwidth in cable broadband networks
• Digital audio and video coding, conversion and processing
• Advanced optical platforms and solutions specific to services delivery in cable networks
• System-on-chip and other integrated silicon solutions applicable to delivery of services through cable systems
• Business and operational support systems
• Other advanced broadband technology topics related to next generation cable network architecture.

Proposals will be reviewed and judged by a screening panel of top industry technologists, chaired by Dan Pike, Chief Technical Officer, GCI Cable, Inc. Judging will be based on the premise, reference value, content and intended audience of each paper. Multiple entries will be accepted but product pitches and previously published works cannot be considered.

"Bringing both the NCTA's Technical Papers Program and the SCTE Conference on Emerging Technologies together is a terrific way for engineers to highlight their innovations before the entire broadband industry," said Pike. "We look forward to welcoming some of the brightest minds in the industry to share their ideas and help move our industry forward."

Prospective authors interested in preparing and presenting a paper during Cable Connection – Spring should submit a proposal using the online submission form available at www.nctatechnicalpapers.com no later than December 1, 2008.

Additional, up-to-the-minute information for The Cable Show is available via the official web site (www.thecableshow.com) or from NCTA's Department of Industry Affairs, at 202/222-2430. Information on Cable Connection – Spring is available via the official web site (www.cableconnectionweek.com).

NCTA is the principal trade association for the U.S. cable industry, representing cable operators serving more than 90 percent of the nation's cable television households and more than 200 cable program networks. The cable industry is the nation's largest broadband provider of high-speed Internet access after investing more than $130 billion to build a two-way interactive network with fiber optic technology. Cable companies also provide state-of-the-art digital telephone service to millions of American consumers.

The Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE) is a non-profit professional association that provides technical leadership for the telecommunications industry and serves its members through professional development, standards, certification and information. Since 1969, SCTE has continually expanded its resources and services to meet the changing needs of its members in a rapidly evolving industry. Today more than 14,000 CTOs, engineers, system operation managers, technicians, and field operations personnel from the U.S. and 70 countries worldwide depend upon SCTE to deliver the tools they need to maintain their competitive edge.

About CableLabs
Founded in 1988 by members of the cable television industry, Cable Television Laboratories is a non-profit research and development consortium that is dedicated to pursuing new cable telecommunications technologies and to helping its cable operator members integrate those advancements into their business objectives. Cable operators from around the world are members. CableLabs® maintains web sites at www.cablelabs.com; www.packetcable.com; www.cablemodem.com; www.cablenet.org; and www.opencable.com. CableLabs®, DOCSIS®, CableHome®, PacketCable™, OpenCable™, OCAP™, CableCARD™, CablePC™, M-Card™, PCMM™, DCAS™, Go2BroadbandSM, tru2way™ and CableNET® are marks of Cable Television Laboratories, Inc. All other marks are the property of their respective owners.

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