2020 Progress Update: The 10G Platform
Originally posted on 10GPlatform.com The global technology community is about to descend on Las Vegas next week for CES 2020 and one common element of just about every device, service and technology that will be featured is how connectivity – and increasing bandwidth – are powering a whole range of immersive consumer experiences. This trend isn’t surprising, new or groundbreaking but underscores the need for powerful networks to keep up with our digital demands. In anticipation of this growing demand for more bandwidth and uninterrupted connectivity, the broadband industry led by NCTA – The
Then and Now: How Broadband Advancement Powered the Decade
The last ten years saw digital assistants, smart light bulbs, streaming sticks, and tons of other disruptive technologies. Those innovations require a steady internet connection to do their jobs, something we now take as a given. That’s because over the last decade, both broadband adoption and speeds saw massive growth. At the end of 2009, just over half of Americans had a broadband connection. Today, that number has grown to 80 percent. Not only are more Americans connected, their connections are faster. According to Akamai, the average peak connection speed in the US was 3.8 Mbps in 2009
Streaming the Decade
Back in 2009, binging a TV show usually meant buying each season on DVD and watching every episode on a TV or laptop with a DVD drive. Maybe if the show was new enough, it would have full seasons available for purchase on iTunes. Or perhaps you were able to find old episodes on-demand to catch up on the latest season. But for the most part, the TV watching experience looked a lot like it had for decades; tune in on time or record the episode to watch later. The next decade would change how we watch and even think about TV. Disc drives have mostly been phased out of computers, and many people
The Rapid Rise of Esports, Powered by Fast Broadband
Eager fans fill an arena, proudly wearing their favorite player’s jersey. But this isn’t a football game; the crowds are cheering on professional gamers as they compete live alongside their teammates for the championship. This is esports, and it represents a rapidly growing new form of entertainment. Take the fun of video games and combine it with the spectacle of live sports, and it’s no surprise that 84 million Americans are expected call themselves fans by 2021, surpassing all other professional sports leagues but the NFL. In fact, 44 percent of Gen Z say they’ve watched an esports match
How Technetix, NCTA's Newest Member, is Preparing Cable Networks for the Future
Broadband networks have completely transformed life in almost every way possible over the past several decades. Advanced technologies like virtual reality, augmented reality, artificial intelligence, and holograms all rely on the robust broadband networks that internet service providers build and continue to upgrade as the 10G future looms near. In turn, ISPs rely on their partnerships with technology providers to continue to innovate and evolve their networks. Technetix, a global cable broadband technology provider and new member of NCTA, plays a large role in bringing networks up to speed
10G and Smart Cities Ready to Take the Spotlight at the Cable-Tec Expo
The annual SCTE•ISBE Cable-Tec Expo kicks off tomorrow in New Orleans, as thousands of cable engineers and technology experts gather to experience the combination of thought leadership and engineering innovation that the event is known for. As the largest and premiere trade show in the Americas, the expo also marks the end of a special year for the organization as it celebrated its 50th anniversary of bringing technical leadership and professional development to the industry. In an earlier interview this past summer with NCTA, SCTE•ISBE President & CEO Mark Dzuban shared his thoughts on how
Engineering the Future: SCTE•ISBE CEO Talks About Changing Technologies
The Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE) and its global arm International Society of Broadband Experts (ISBE), the industry's go-to organizations for technical leadership and professional development, just celebrated 50 years this summer. At the helm is Mark Dzuban, who is also celebrating over 50 years in the industry. Dzuban, who became President & CEO in 2009, grew up in the business watching his father work as an engineer in the 1950's. "As a kid, I saw the real early days of having to build your own equipment, and how it manifested itself," said Dzuban. In anticipation of
What's In Store for the Future of Work?
Over the last couple of decades, researchers have been developing technologies like artificial intelligence and light field displays and exploring ways they can be incorporated into our daily lives. That’s also true of the team at CableLabs, the cable industry’s R&D arm. This week, CableLabs released the latest video of the Near Future series, which gives viewers a peek at how technology will transform different areas of life in the coming years. In the latest video, viewers get a glimpse of what work life might look like in the next 10 years. In the video, the main character prepares for and
How Super-Fast Internet Revitalized Small Businesses in a Small Town
Over time, many Americans have moved to large urban centers to follow jobs, often in the technology sector, leaving smaller towns behind. For a place like St. Francis in northwestern Kansas, that meant the population was actually shrinking. On top of that, internet service was slow and unreliable. “We had a lot of problems just maintaining a stream of music in here which would cut out and just disappear,” said Kale Dankenbring, who had moved back to St. Francis with his wife to open a coffee shop. His wife, Heidi Plumb added, “Before when people would come in to try to do their work, they’d
What Technology Do NASA and the Cable Industry Share in Common?
The 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing has Americans all over the country in celebratory mode as people everywhere honor humankind's achievement through various events, gatherings, and TV specials. Years prior to the internet and digital era, that same voyage that brought fame to the names Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin also gave the nation a taste of the amazing and innovative things to come as the U.S. space program's incredible technology paved the way towards a future where almost anything seemed possible. In fact, the cable industry’s ability to connect millions of homes and