SCTE Spices Up Expo With New Pavilions, Exclusive Tours

This year’s SCTE Cable-Tec Expo will feature a couple of new pavilions and some CTO tours in addition to the usual fare of keynotes and exhibits. The conference, scheduled for Oct. 20 -22 at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, also will offer 15 technical sessions.

The association expects some 10,000 attendees this year.

The first new pavilion will focus on the networked home. "A lot of the MSOs are looking at new technologies and terminal gear," said SCTE President and CEO Mark Dzuban. "We thought we’d support that."

The SCTE also is providing space for a CableLabs pavilion. CableLabs will demonstrate a variety of test tools and ideas to assist in deployment of interactive digital video and wireless technologies. In addition, there will be exhibits of proactive cable network maintenance and next-generation architectures.

Regarding the new CTO tours, arrangements are being made for cable CTOs to lead small tours of approximately 12 people around the show floor, with the CTO talking about products and ideas he or she finds particularly interesting. The tours are open “by invitation only” to operators at the director level and higher.

Of those tours, Dzuban said, "There’s a lot of interest. We haven’t finalized (the details). We’re trying to figure out how to manage it."

Aside from the new stuff, attendees will see a “green” pavilion again this year. Dzuban said the 2009 green pavilion presented a lot of concepts for how cable might implement energy-saving programs, lower its carbon footprint, recycle and the like.

"Last year was somewhat of a philosophical approach," he said. "When you understand the concept, then put a budget together and then build it out, it’s almost a 12-month time frame." This year’s pavilion will have more real-world examples and products, including the SCTE’s own project of installing photovoltaic panels on its headquarters in Exton, PA.

As far as sessions go, the SCTE received a record-breaking 230 abstracts, from which it has culled 15 technical sessions. (For the complete list of sessions with topics and speakers, click here).

-Linda Hardesty