Comcast's Schanz expected to issue energy challenge at SCTE Cable-Tec Expo

Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) Chief Network Officer John Schanz is expected to use the bully pulpit of a keynote address at the SCTE Cable-Tec Expo to "challenge the industry to create a new collaborative energy vision for the future."

John Schanz, Comcast

Schanz (Image source: Comcast)

The SCTE is putting a special emphasis on energy efficiency during the show, which begins Sept. 24 in Denver with a 90-minute session focused on the subject.

"We are looking to make a quantum leap since we recognize the incremental changes we have been making for decades will not get us where we ultimately need to be," Schanz said in the new release. "This session will lay out a framework that must be made now for the industry to fully reap the benefits of the Energy 2020 program by the beginning of the next decade."

Cable set-top boxes have come under fire recently as energy hogs, with a story in the Los Angeles Times noting that "a set-top cable box with a digital recorder can consume as much as 35 watts of power, costing about $8 a month for a typical Southern California consumer (and that) "the devices use nearly as much power turned off as they do when they are turned on."

While the industry refuted those claims, it's in its best interests to make an effort to conserve energy both in the homes of subscribers as well as across its entire operational base from the headend to the electronics in the field.

"Meeting cable's ambitious goals of slashing energy usage, costs and dependencies by up to 25 percent require active participation from the operator and vendor communities, Mark Dzuban, SCTE president-CEO said in the press release. "By driving new standards and performance metrics, Energy 202 is laying the foundation for future equipment purchases that can significantly change the industry's energy footprint and consumption patterns."

For more:
- the SCTE has this press release

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