After being left homeless when the convention center in which it was to be held was designated as a COVID-19 emergency medical facility for the rest of the year, SCTE•ISBE Cable-Tec Expo 2020 will take place virtually October 12-16. Members of the cable MSO community will be able to take part for free, thanks to presenting sponsors Charter Communications, Comcast, Cox Communications, and the SCTE Foundation.
Details of the agenda and how to participate in the largest cable MSO event in the Americas are expected to be posted on the event’s website soon. The event is expected, as usual, to include the annual Fall Technical Forum conference program as well as an exhibitor presence, the latter of which SCTE•ISBE is calling an “Exhibitor Gallery.” The Fall Technical Forum will cover such topics as artificial intelligence, operational transformation, advancements to the cable community’s 10G platform, and lessons learned from COVID-19, among others.
Other highlights will include future-oriented presentations in the Imagine Zone and the annual SCTE•ISBE awards celebration. Expo 2020 is co-chaired by Ed Marchetti, senior vice president of operations for Comcast, and Tom Monaghan, senior vice president, field operations for Charter Communications.
“The move to a virtual event is a tangible demonstration of the power of connectivity. Though there is undeniable value in meeting face-to-face, the increasingly global nature of our industry and the day-to-day demands placed on cable operators have made it difficult for some to attend in previous years,” said Tom Adams, executive vice president, field operations for Charter Communications and chair of the SCTE•ISBE Board of Directors. “The cable industry is built on a culture of resiliency and innovation. A virtual Cable-Tec Expo will not only allow us to come together despite current global circumstances, it will also enable more of our colleagues to participate.”
SCTE•ISBE had planned to hold Cable-Tec Expo in Denver’s Colorado Convention Center October 13-16. However, late last month Colorado Governor Jared Polis’s executive order naming the convention center as the site of an emergency medical facility for COVID-19 patients was extended through the end of the year (see “Extension of governor’s decree leaves 2020 SCTE Cable-Tec Expo homeless” on Lightwave’s sister site Broadband Technology Report).
The decision appears to have gone over well with the cable MSO community. “ACA Connects is so glad to hear the news that SCTE’s Cable-Tec Expo is going virtual, because this event has really become the place where all of our industry gathers,” commented ACA Connects President and CEO Matthew M. Polka, whose own event also has gone virtual. “The COVID-19 crisis has affected so many meetings in our industry this year, including our own ACA Connects Summit, but we know the team at SCTE will bring the very best of Expo to those who have attended before and to an even wider audience virtually to see the many great things our industry does every day. We look forward to our ACA Connects sessions at Expo and thank SCTE for the opportunity to join and support them in every way!”
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