Cable Tech Talk

NCTA maintains an ongoing effort to keep the news media abreast of important developments in the cable and telecommunications industry. As part of this effort, NCTA regularly issues Media Releases to inform the news media about industry issues and activities. For more in-depth coverage of complex issues the NCTA provides Issue Briefs.  See the official blog.
May 22, 2013

Taking Important Strides in Implementing Energy Efficiency Agreement

The Steering Committee for the unprecedented Set-Top Box Energy Conservation Agreement that NCTA and CEA announced last December convened its second meeting in Denver last Friday to continue implementation of the significant commitments that will lead to annual energy savings of $1.5 billion for American consumers.  All of the Agreement Signatory companies participated in the meeting: Comcast, DIRECTV, DISH Network, Time Warner Cable, Cox, Verizon, Charter, AT&T, Cablevision, Bright House Networks and CenturyLink, and manufacturers Cisco, ARRIS, and EchoStar Technologies.

The Committee continued its work on developing more aggressive energy efficiency targets for next generation set-top boxes.

May 22, 2013

How Far Will You Go at The Cable Show?

This year’s The Cable Show is shaping up to be a show of “firsts.” It’s the first year we’ll be hosting Hiring our Heroes, a job fair for veterans and their families. It’s also the first year cable TV show producers will be sitting on General Session panels. And it’s the very first year we’re promoting Steps Ahead, a pedometer challenge.

In partnership with Walker Tracker, Steps Ahead is a fun way to keep track of how many steps you’ve taken and how many miles you’ve walked each day during The Cable Show. Once the show is over, you’ll be able to see what your total mileage was and how you stack up against everyone else keeping track. There’s no prize for walking the most – it’s all in good fun. But a little competition amongst friends never hurt!

May 21, 2013

9 Fictional Cable Towns Where We’d Like to Live [SLIDESHOW]

If the first rule of real-estate is “location,” the second must be “must actually exist.”

But ignoring that second rule, here’s a list of fictional cable towns we’d seriously consider if we were moving.

May 20, 2013

Who Makes Cable Tech Better, Faster, and Greener?

Most people don’t think about the technology that delivers cable service to their home. The goal is, after all, for customers to be able to relax and just enjoy the content. But cable technology is pretty interesting, especially as it relates to energy efficiency. There are millions of set-top boxes and cable modems in America – making sure they consume as little power as possible while still doing everything we need them to do is a key challenge in ensuring cable technology remains a welcome addition in the connected home.

The important mission of making better cable tech is the responsibility of an organization called CableLabs. In many ways, cable technology begins and ends with CableLabs. They’re cable’s R&D consortium that, among many contributions, is responsible for developing high-speed DOCSIS cable modems, digital voice services and the advanced video distribution systems we utilize every time we use cable.