Editor's Letter: A Time for Every Purpose

In Golf for Dummies (a book I keep next to Modern Cable Television Technology on the reference shelf) Gary McCord recommends hitting the links as much as possible in the fall so you’ll get tired of the game and won’t miss it going into winter.

Not that I’ve been able to act on that specific advice, but it comes to mind with respect to this month’s two articles on DOCSIS 3.0. Penned by top-ranked teams at Cisco and Arris, they offer clear technical overviews, focusing on migration paths that are available to operators.

Now is a good time to catch up on this technology. The positions on integrated and modular approaches to cable modem termination systems (CMTSs) have begun to crystallize. It will take a while for those debates to break open, maybe not until the next turn of the seasons. Many of you can afford to read up now, and then take a break.

Those of you who are DOCSIS engineers engaged in those debates, on the other hand, get no time off. For better or worse, you’re like golfers in Arizona and Florida. Winter? What winter?

This month’s cover story on data overload may have more universal and year-round appeal. It’s aimed at technical operations managers, but as Charter’s Keith Hayes explains, the "triage" approach has wide applicability. You just need to make sure you can gather the equivalent metrics on pulse, temperature, and blood pressure. 

Another don’t-miss is the second part of Ron Hranac’s “Migrating to All-Digital.” Missed Part 1? Find it on our new Web site (www.cable360.net/ct). While you’re there, review Hranac’s March 2006 column, which explains the logical nature of channel bonding, and more on DOCSIS 3.0. And please click the “Watch Video” icon. We’ve got seven video stories now playing, and plenty more material worth reviewing in this season of cable’s multiple and ongoing technical migrations. Jonathan Tombes
Editor
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