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Editor, 
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FEATURE STORY
100 Million Reasons to Ready Your Nets for Home Nets
More than 100 million home networks will exist worldwide by the end of 2009, according to a recent study by IMS Research (http://www.imsresearch-usa.com). The growth of this market is primarily driven by consumers' desires to share broadband Internet access and digital TV content within the home.
It Ain't Just Data -- In 2003, it was estimated that 90% of home networks were just used for data networking. As the technology to provide true A/V networking becomes more available, reliable and affordable, majority of consumers with a home network are likely to want to connect their CE equipment to it. This would enable them to view and hear stored music, video and pictures on various devices throughout the home. IMS Research forecasts that by 2009, 56% of home networks will combine both data and A/V elements.
"While the standalone data network is forecast to decline, by no means should it be assumed that data networking will be eliminated from the home network," commented Jack Mayo, market analyst at IMS. "Data networking, especially the sharing of broadband access, is virtually certain to remain a key element of the home network, with 92% of networks in 2009 expected to include a data component."
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ENGINEERING NEWS
2004 Readers' Choice Award Winners
Communications Technology, official trade journal of the SCTE (http://www.scte.org) announce the winners of its 2004 Readers' Choice Awards. The winners in five categories are as follows:
Advanced Video
Scientific-Atlanta, Explorerr 8300 Multi-Room(tm) Digital Video Recorder
Cable Telephony
Acterna, DSAM 3500/3600 Digital Services Activation Meter
High-Speed Data
Sandvine, Worm DoS Traffic Mitigation
Operations Support Systems
Acterna, TechComplete Closeout Testing Solutions
Outside Plant
Alpha Technologies, DOCSIS Power Monitor
"Cable-Tec Expo attendees were very impressed with this year's round of Readers' Choice finalists, with a record number of broadband professionals casting votes," said Jerry Gunderson, publisher of Communications Technology. "The competition was stiff, and the winners in each category exemplify the best new technologies our industry has to offer. Communications Technology congratulates all winners and commends the top-notch products that competed as finalists."
Communications Technology's Readers' Choice is an annual awards program that honors the industry's most innovative new products. Companies exhibiting new products at the 2004 SCTE Cable-Tec Expo were eligible for nomination. A panel of industry experts served as judges and narrowed the nominees down to a list of finalists. Attendees at SCTE's Cable-Tec Expo, June 15-18 in Orlando, FL, voted for the winners.
For details on the winners, don't miss the August issue of Communications Technology.
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SCTE ANNOUNCEMENTS
Attend the "Advanced VoIP Deployment Symposium"
Presented by SCTE and Communications Technology magazine, this one-day, hot-topic event--sponsored by Acterna, Motorola, Nortel, Siemens, and Sigma Systems--is set for Tuesday, Sept. 14 in Philadelphia. Get details/register today at http://www.scte.org/events/index.cfm?pID=1000.
Next SCTE Live Learning(tm) Opportunity Wednesday, July 21-- SCTE Live Learning(tm)--sponsored by Fujitsu, Cisco Systems, and Scientific-Atlanta--brings you "PacketCable(tm): Provisioning the Service and Guaranteeing Quality." Get details/register today at http://www.scte.org/events/index.cfm?pID=940.
Calling All Papers for SCTE's ET 2005 -- Do you have a technical paper proposal for SCTE's 2005 Conference on Emerging Technologies? Deadline: Aug. 6. http://scte.org/events/index.cfm?pID=1018.
SCTE Standard on CableLabsr OCAP(tm) Specification Achieves ANSI Approval -- June 30 was the big day. Get details at http://www.scte.org/news/detail.cfm?ID=288.
SCTE Cable-Tec Expo 2004 Sessions Recorded Live -- Order the CD-ROMs from Digitell Inc. by phone, fax, or postal mail. http://www.scte.org/events/index.cfm?pID=729
Purchase Your SCTE 35th Anniversary Shirt -- Show your SCTE spirit with style. http://www.americanbus.com/aces/open/SCT100/default.asp
ABTA 2004 Coming in August -- ABTA, the Brazilian Pay TV Association, will hold its ABTA 2004 Pay TV/Telecom Trade Show & Conference Aug. 10-12 at the ITM Expo in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Visit http://www.abta2004.com.br.
Tap Into the SCTE Scholarship Fund -- Apply a scholarship toward most any professional development opportunity. http://www.scte.org/documents/pdf/SCTE%20Scholarship%20Application.pdf
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If you find CT's Pipeline to be a valuable resource, e-mail this issue to your colleagues and tell them it's just one of the many exclusive benefits of SCTE membership--only a click away at http://www.scte.org/membership/index.cfm?pID=27.
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Copyright ©2004 Access Intelligence, LLC. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without expressed written permission of Access Intelligence, LLC is strictly forbidden. Access Intelligence, LLC • 1201 Seven Locks Road • Potomac, MD 20854
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Steve Johnson
Doing More With Fewer Resources
SCTE Member Since 1977
Title: Senior Director, Engineering Technology, Time Warner Cable, and SCTE (www.scte.org) Board Director, Region 10
Current duties: Johnson represents Time Warner Cable in technical standards meetings including SCTE, ATSC, CEA and National Electrical Code. He also serves as a liaison between Engineering and TWC Legal to respond to standards and governmental related technical issues.
How did you first get involved in cable and SCTE? "All through high school and college I was an avid ham radio operator and tinkerer. Playing with RF in headends, from antennas, from earth stations, and through the coaxial plant was a natural extension from my hobby. I joined the SCTE when I moved to Denver with United Cable. My early involvement included publishing a Basic computer program for CATV engineering calculations that was distributed through SCTE. I also was one of the speakers at the very first Cable-Tec Expo at Dallas in 1983."
What prompted you to run for a seat on the board? "I have served on many SCTE committees over the years. When I lived in Region 2, I was on the board for six years. I enjoyed the experience and felt that it was a way that I could contribute to the industry and to the continuation of the Society. I've enjoyed the social and professional relationships with other members over the years. As the Society grows on a national level, I think it is important for local chapter input to still be heard. The role of the regional director is to represent the members in his area and communicate on their behalf at the national level."
What do you see as the key issues to be addressed in your region? "With the maturing of the industry, we have all been asked to do more with fewer resources. As we adopt new technologies, training remains a critical issue. Having to do more with less creates time management problems. You have to squeeze training in between all other obligations. SCTE Chapter seminars are good, cost-effective training resources. However, putting on these local seminars every month or two, finding volunteers and freeing up attendees from their daily responsibilities is an ongoing challenge. Thankfully, we have enough people in the Society who believe enough in these activities to keep the chapters together and functioning to serve local members."
What are the biggest technology issues facing the industry as a whole? "The biggest technology issue is achieving compatibility among industries. We're rapidly moving down a path to more and more direct interface with consumer-owned electronic devices. This should eventually be a large capital savings for us, but it creates many challenges for us in the short term. Historically, we have used proprietary solutions. As we transition to more customer interfaces, standards are becoming a greater necessity, if our services are to work with customer-owned devices. We want the customer to have the same experience with our product whether it's through our set-top box or their own cable-ready device."
Where to you see the industry going in the next five years? And what does that mean for SCTE? "Obviously, in the next five years, we will see less analog and more digital; less coax and more fiber. Convergence is an overused word, but we are seeing the boundary lines becoming less distinct among our service groups: video, data and telephone. This means maintaining diligence in standards work for compatibility across platforms and continuing professional development to stay abreast of the changes in our business."
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