SCTE and CableLabs set DOCSIS 3.1, Wi-Fi symposium

The Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers and CableLabs have teamed up to form a one-day pre-conference symposium on Wi-Fi services and DOCSIS 3.1 on Sept. 22, a day ahead of, and in conjunction with, the SCTE's Cable-Tec Expo in Denver.

The full-day educational event, conducted at the Colorado Convention Center, will showcase the two most coveted technologies in the pay TV industry right now. With more than 18 billion Wi-Fi chipsets set to ship over the next five years, according to ABI Research, Wi-Fi has evolved to be the most ubiquitous wireless technology for Internet access and a key differentiator for pay-TV services. "It distinguishes us from the competitors and gives us a better business," Brian Roberts, Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) chairman and CEO told a keynote audience at The Cable Show in April.

Meanwhile, with Internet service providers including Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) and AT&T (NYSE: T) setting a new benchmark for broadband performances with speeds of 1 gigabyte per second and beyond, DOCSIS 3.1 is also quickly emerging as a must-have technology for pay TV companies competing in the broadband market.

Four sessions each on Wi-Fi and DOCSIS 3.1 will be featured, with morning sessions addressing carrier grade Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi analytics, cloud and radio resource management, community Wi-Fi, as well as Wi-Fi antenna design and surveying. The four afternoon DOCSIS 3.1 sessions will focus on current status and schedule, bandwidth opportunities, customizing bandwidth, and operational integration and proactive network maintenance.

Symposium speakers are still to be announced. Registration costs $270 for SCTE members and $375 for non-members, with prices going up after a Sept. 8 deadline. More information about the event, which is sponsored by Amdocs, can be found here.

The 2014 Cable-Tec Expo runs Monday through Thursday, Sept. 22-25.

"The flexibility and power of Wi-Fi and DOCSIS 3.1 are enabling cable operators to drive new levels of service innovation," said Ralph Brown, chief technology officer of CableLabs and SCTE board member, in a statement. "By partnering with SCTE, we can ensure that symposium attendees have access to the most advanced thinking on both technologies, including potential applications and deployment requirements."

For more:
- see this press release
- read this Multichannel News story

Related links:
Wi-Fi a must-have, cable CTOs say, with DOCSIS 3.1, 4K among top priorities
Wi-Fi chipset shipments will soar to 18B in next 5 years, study says
Cable's Wi-Fi ambitions are about much more than customer retention