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SESSIONS
Workshop sessions are grouped into 2 tracks, designed to help you identify the workshops most pertinent to your job function. The two tracks are:
Track ENG: Engineering
This track targets the design, development, and integration of new technologies and applications for the network. It emphasizes engineering the network to accommodate changes likely to impact the network within the next 12 to 18 months. |
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Track OPS: Operations and Fulfillment
This track focuses on day-to-day operations, emphasizing the deployment of new technologies and applications. Whether in the home, the distribution network, the back office, or the headend, every new service impacts operations. These sessions will help plan for new services as well as improve efficiency of operations. |
ENG 1 Big Bang or More Pragmatic Evolution? Practical Migration Strategies to PacketCable™ 2.0
This workshop dives into the practical considerations of ways to migrate toward PacketCable™ 2.0 without disrupting the vibrant growth of VoIP customers on your network. As the PacketCable™ architecture allows the overlay of a parallel service creation and delivery environment, key subsystems preparation and testing are described in preparation for "day one" of the first PacketCable™ 2.0 service introduction. The pragmatic issues surrounding the introduction of your first PacketCable™ 2.0 service are explored (e. g., How do I convert a NCS household to a SIP client?). Finally, a path toward incremental addition of capabilities to unlock the full potential of PacketCable™ 2.0 is described that provides operational flexibility with a timeline for success.
Speakers:
'Big Bang' or More Pragmatic Evolution? Practical Migration Strategies to PacketCable™2.0
Mark Tubinis, CTO, Cedar Point Communications
PacketCable™2.0 Project Introduction and Overview
Kevin C. Johns, Director, PacketCable™ Architecture, CableLabs®
Offered:
Thursday, June 26 from 11:00 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.
Friday, June 27 from 1:30 to 2:45 p.m.
ENG 2 Bringing the Back Office Front and Center
The complexity and lack of standards in the back office create challenges for the ever-increasing suite of interactive products available from the cable community. This session examines the nature of various back office components and offers up ideas on integrating back office systems with new products.
Speakers:
Customer Self-Service Portal
Peter Brown, Senior Director, OSS and IP Development, Mediacom Communications
Unlocking the Value of Your Subscriber Data for Advanced Advertising
Brian Cappellani, CTO, Sigma Systems
Offered:
Thursday, June 26 from 11:00 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.
Friday, June 27 from 1:30 to 2:45 p.m.
ENG 3 Broadcast Digital TV Transition: Delivering Analog Channels After the 2/09 DTV Deadline
This two-part session will discuss the broadcaster's perspective of the DTV Transition followed by a discussion of the technical issues involved in creating an analog cable channel, and all its required attributes, from those broadcast digital transmissions. Topics to be covered include aspect ratio conversion, down conversion (letterbox 16:9 vs. center-cut 4:3) closed captioning (native CEA 708 DTV captions vs. CEA 608 NTSC captions), ratings (V-chip vs. content advisory descriptor and PSIP), understanding the roles of Active Format Description (AFD) and Bar Data, and supporting carriage and re-creation of common VBI signals such as AMOL and TVG2X program guide data.
Speakers:
Preparing for the Broadcast Analog Television Turn-Off: How to Keep Cable Subscribers' TVs from Going Dark
Matthew Goldman, Vice President, Technology, TANDBERG Television
The DTV Transistion: Broadcaster Perspective
David Donovan, President, MSTV, Inc.
Offered:
Thursday, June 26 from 11:00 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.
Friday, June 27 from Noon to 1:15 p.m.
OPS 1 Defining, Evaluating, and Troubleshooting Digital Video Quality
Cable operators clearly desire to provide a quality viewing experience for the customer. But how do you gauge the extent to which this goal is achieved? The SCTE HMS Subcommittee has defined several tools to assist. The latest is the release of SCTE 142 for measuring and monitoring digital video impairments in a cable system. This session will provide helpful direction in how to leverage this new standard. When the quality is not what it should be, then it's time to isolate where the degradation is occurring. This session will discuss and illustrate techniques to efficiently track down and isolate common digital video, SDV, VOD, and HFC transient impairments that impact the Quality Viewing Experience.
Speakers:
Service Quality Monitoring and SCTE 142
Rich Chernock, CTO, Triveni Digital
Troubleshooting Common Intermittent Digital Video Impairments and How to Prove to Your Vendor It Really Happens
James Welch, Senior Consulting Engineer, IneoQuest Technologies
Offered:
Thursday, June 26 from 11:00 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.
Friday, June 27 from Noon to 1:15 p.m.
OPS 2 Delivering on the Promise of Business Services
Business customers have high expectations from their service providers. A number of technical considerations must be made to effectively deliver business class voice and cellular backhaul. At the same time, operators need to ensure that they leverage as much of the existing network infrastructure as possible. What are the technical considerations and options that enable the cable operator to deliver to this market?
Speakers:
Cellular Backhaul: A Review of Today's Most Critical Real-World Issues and the Methodologies Used to Combat Them
Andrew B. Sachs, Director, Strategic Marketing, JDSU
MSO Considerations for Delivering Business Services
Chris Gugger, Senior Director, Market Development, Cedar Point Communications
Offered:
Thursday, June 26 from 9:30 to 10:45 a.m.
Friday, June 27 from 1:35 to 2:45 p.m.
ENG 4 DOCSIS® 3.0 Deployment Strategies
DOCSIS® 3.0 is here and promises to deliver new revenue streams and capabilities to cable operators. This session will explore the methodology and deployment strategies for DOCSIS® 3.0, while preserving the existing DOCSIS® 1.x infrastructure. Both vendor and operator points of view are presented.
Speakers:
DOCSIS® 3.0 Migration
Chris Kohler, Senior Director, Engineering, Broadband Solutions Group, Motorola
DOCSIS® 3.0 Migration From a Cable Operator's Perspective
David Haigh, Lead Engineer, Midcontinent Communications
Offered:
Thursday, June 26 from 9:30 to 10:45 a.m.
Thursday, June 26 from 11:00 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.
ENG 5 DOCSIS®-Where Do We Go From Here?
How can the DOCSIS® platform and network architectures evolve going forward to support increasing numbers of HSD users and growing bandwidth/subscriber pressures, as well as new applications such as IP video? As developments such as channel bonding, modular CMTS, separation of upstream and downstream, etc. increase complexity in the DOCSIS® network, what can we do to simplify network planning and traffic engineering? In this workshop, two of the industry's leading DOCSIS® architects will address these forward-looking issues.
Speakers:
Network Design Language™: NDL 1.0
John T. Chapman, Cisco Fellow and Chief Architect, Cable Business Unit, Cisco Systems
On the Evolution of the HFC Network and the DOCSIS® CMTS: A Roadmap for the 2012-2016 Era
Tom Cloonan, Chief Strategy Officer, ARRIS
Offered:
Thursday, June 26 from 8:00 to 9:15 a.m.
Friday, June 27 from 1:30 to 2:45 p.m.
ENG 6 Flipping the [Video] Switch: Turning on SDV and Gearing up for a Rapid Migration to a Unicast Universe
Switched Digital Video (SDV) is fast becoming a tool of choice for cable operators as they seek ways to deliver niche, "long-tail" programming and a much broader menu of high-definition services using a fixed amount of spectrum. During this session, engineers from Comcast will explain the primary challenges and design considerations for deploying SDV in Motorola headend and set-top environments, covering areas such as service group sizing, upstream traffic analysis, and support for ad-inserted channels and for inherently one-way CE devices. Additionally, representatives from BigBand Networks and Time Warner Cable, which have deployment experience in both Motorola- and Scientific Atlanta-based cable networks, will explore the features and benefits of session-based encryption, a technique that's used today for on-demand programming but also will encompass SDV as networks evolve to support switched unicast video applications and open the door to a swath of addressable advertising opportunities. While multiple services employ session-based encryption, the presenters will propose how a single, unified encryption architecture can expedite service rollouts.
Speakers:
Challenges and Design Considerations for Deploying Switched Digital Video
Phillip Gabler, Distinguished Engineer, Comcast Cable Communications
Session-based Encryption in Switched Environments
Charles Hasek, Principal Engineer, Time Warner Cable
Offered:
Thursday, June 26 from 8:00 to 9:15 a.m.
Friday, June 27 from Noon to 1:15 p.m.
ENG 7 Following the Rainbow to the Pot of Gold: Optimizing Implementation of Lightwave Multiplexing
Varied choices exist today for utilizing multiple wavelengths over existing fiber. However, choosing the right approach and understanding the capital and operational impacts of each are critical to technical and financial success. Planning begins with a fundamental understanding of the differences between WDM, CWDM, and DWDM and the many implementation options. Beyond the technical differences, the capital cost should be paid for in operating expense savings and/or increased revenue. This session will present the technical capabilities of optical multiplexing and explore ways to utilize optics to increase operational efficiencies.
Speakers:
Not All WDM Systems Are Created Equally
Timothy J. Brophy, Director, Network Architectures, Cisco Systems
WDM/CWDM/DWDM: Segmentation Primer-Maximizing Capacity for Revenue
Shawn M. Esser, Senior Product Manager, Motorola
Offered:
Thursday, June 26 from 9:30 to 10:45 a.m.
Friday, June 27 from 1:30 to 2:45 p.m.
ENG 8 Get Going the tru2way™
The OpenCable™ specifications are being branded as tru2way™ and are being deployed on a national basis. This session will discuss the technical issues in deployment of two of the key tru2way™ components, the DOCSIS® Set-top Gateway (DSG) and the OpenCable™ Applications Platform (OCAP).
Speakers:
Get Going the tru2way™: Deploying DSG in the Cable Plant
James Want, Senior Manager, Digital Video Engineering, Charter Communications
OpenCable™ Applications Platform Components and Deployments
David Hunter, Project Director, Systems Integration, CableLabs®
Offered:
Thursday, June 26 from 8:00 to 9:15 a.m.
Friday, June 27 from Noon to 1:15 p.m.
ENG 9 Interactive Television and Advanced Advertising: The Best Is Yet to Come
This session will explore the industry standards and techniques for deploying Enhanced Television and Advanced Advertising Platforms that enrich the customer viewing experience through interactivity. Several standards have emerged to make this possible, including OCAP, eBIF, and SCTE 130. By utilizing each of these, the passive two-way experience of Cable 2.0 can be moved to the new world of interactive and customized Cable 3.0.
Speakers:
Deploying Enhanced Television With Addressability
Steven Riedl, Principal Architect, Time Warner Cable
EBIF: Bringing Web 2.0 Interactivity to Cable With Truly Immersive Advertisement
Roy Hasson, Customer Solutions Architect, Motorola
Offered:
Thursday, June 26 from 8:00 to 9:15 a.m.
Thursday, June 26 from 9:30 to 10:45 a.m.
OPS 3 It's Prime Time-Do You Know Where Your Network Is?
As operators work to stay ahead of DOCSIS® network congestion, how can they best determine areas and causes of congestion and prioritize capacity expansion efforts? And beyond HSD, how can operators proactively ensure maximum availability of video, voice, and data services (and the HFC network that carries them) with an integrated platform that is meaningful to various users such as management, technicians, and CSRs? The workshop will take a use-case approach focused on real-world deployments.
Speakers:
The OSS Lifeline
Carl Bolin, Senior Regional Technical Operations Manager, Bright House Networks
Proactive Network Visibility: "Mapping Is the OSS Final Frontier"
Robert F. Cruickshank III, Vice President, Operations and Business Support Strategies, ARRIS
Offered:
Thursday, June 26 from 8:00 to 9:15 a.m.
Thursday, June 26 from 11:00 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.
ENG 10 Let the Games Begin: Responding to Telco Video and Data Offerings in Residential and Commercial Markets
What are the facts about competitive telco architectures and services? This session will attempt to sort out the reality of IPTV versus the hype and discuss the competition's current and emerging PON architectures and the corresponding upstream/downstream throughputs available to both residential and business services markets. What might the cable industry's response be to these threats?
Speakers:
IPTV: Fact versus Fiction
Louise Spergel, Senior Manager, Alcatel-Lucent
Responding to Verizon's FiOS for Commercial and Residential Services
Victor R. Blake, Independent Consultant
Offered:
Thursday, June 26 from 9:30 to 10:45 a.m.
Friday, June 27 from 1:30 to 2:45 p.m.
OPS 4 Metro Ethernet Over DOCSIS®: Architectural Considerations
Most cable operators are looking to embrace the technical specifications defined by the MEF (Metro Ethernet Forum) in order to provide standardized network and service offerings suitable for business services while at the same time ensuring that they leverage existing capital investments. This session will review architectural considerations in an effort to align industry standardization efforts with the MEF specifications. The session also will review the status of the CableLabs® L2VPN specification, the experiences gained from early deployments, and how this specification lines up with the MEF specifications.
Speakers:
Carrier Ethernet Over DOCSIS®: A Proposed Target Architecture for DOCSIS® Service Providers
Mike Emmendorfer, Senior Director, Solution Architecture and Strategy, Office of the CSO, ARRIS
Metro Ethernet Over DOCSIS®
Brian Rose, Product Development Manager, Cox Communications
Offered:
Thursday, June 26 from 8:00 to 9:15 a.m.
Friday, June 27 from Noon to 1:15 p.m.
OPS 5 More QAM Channels, Optics, and Bandwidth-Oh My!: Troubleshooting Today's Optically Rich and Expanded Bandwidth
This workshop reviews current and future trends in the evolution of HFC networks, the challenges faced in rapidly evolving networks, and achievable troubleshooting practices based on practical experience, including specific tests, tools, and techniques. Techniques for managing the network's increase in bandwidth are discussed with real-world demonstrations of the continued necessity for quality tests and measurements.
Speakers:
1 GHz Plant Test Requirements and Troubleshooting
Francis M. Edgington, Vice President, HEYS Professional Services Inc.
More QAM Channels, Optics, and Bandwidth - Oh My!
Ray Thomas, Principal Engineer, Time Warner Cable
Offered:
Thursday, June 26 from 11:00 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.
Friday, June 27 from Noon to 1:15 p.m.
ENG 11 Proactive Network Maintenance Using DOCSIS® Pre-equalization
As DOCSIS® devices evolve and are equipped with elaborate monitoring tools, it becomes practical to use them for plant monitoring purposes. By using these devices as network probes, the operators can collect device and network parameters. Combining the analysis of the data along with network topology and device location, it is possible to isolate the source of a problem. A proactive maintenance plan can be developed using this information. This session details a methodology to make use of the DOCSIS® monitoring capabilities for proactive network maintenance.
Speakers:
Pre-equalization-based Proactive Network Maintenance Methodology
L. Alberto Campos, Principal Architect, Broadband Technologies, CableLabs®
Offered:
Thursday, June 26 from 11:00 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.
Friday, June 27 from Noon to 1:15 p.m.
OPS 6 Return Path Optimization
This workshop provides a brief review of return path fundamentals and the optimization of upstream plant and fiber links to support higher modulation orders and eventual migration to multiple QAM channels in a DOCSIS® 3.0 channel bonding scenario. The importance of optimizing the alignment of upstream fiber links will be emphasized, with recommendations on how it should be done. The workshop will include a hands-on demo of multiple QAM signal transmission through live FP and DFB fiber links, showing how to identify BER dynamic range and the importance of proper link setup.
Speakers:
Optimizing the Return Path for Higher Modulation Orders and the Migration to DOCSIS® 3.0 Channel Bonding
Ron Hranac, Technical Leader; Frank Eichenlaub, Senior Staff Engineer, and Don Sorenson, Systems Engineer, Cisco Systems
Offered:
Thursday, June 26 from 8:00 to 9:15 a.m.
Friday, June 27 from Noon to 1:15 p.m.
OPS 7 Revenue Assurance: Protecting Cable Networks Against Current and Next-Generation Fraud
Theft of cable service is getting more sophisticated. In addition to ongoing video products fraud, HSD and VoIP are becoming more vulnerable to IP-based fraud. This session will outline methods to enhance network security and protect CPE devices by utilizing network intelligence and improved provisioning processes.
Speakers:
Revenue Assurance Opportunity: Managing Cable Fraud Across Video and HSD
Dan Rice, Vice President, Technology Strategy, Advanced Technology and Services Group, ARRIS
Offered:
Thursday, June 26 from 8:00 to 9:15 a.m.
Thursday, June 26 from 9:30 to 10:45 a.m.
OPS 8 Troubleshooting DOCSIS®: RF and IP
This workshop provides a real-world, hands-on view of the most common DOCSIS® network impairments, how to identify them, and how to resolve them. Attendees will see troubleshooting techniques in a live demonstration using a variety of RF test equipment, a DOCSIS® 2.0 cable modem, and CMTS. Various RF impairments will be generated in a simulated cable plant and the effects observed on the test equipment and in the performance parameters reported by the cable modem and CMTS.
Speakers:
RF to IP: The Top Most Common DOCSIS® Killers and How to Identify Them
Brady S. Volpe, Vice President, Engineering and Technology, Sunrise Telecom Inc. and John J. Downey, Broadband Network Engineer, Cisco Systems
Offered:
Thursday, June 26 from 9:30 to 10:45 a.m.
Friday, June 27 from 1:30 to 2:45 p.m.
OPS 9 Upstream Challenges to Channel Bonding
This session highlights the importance of the return path as networks begin migrating to the higher throughputs available through channel bonding. The focus will be on deploying advanced modulations and wider bandwidth configurations on upstream channels and on troubleshooting, preparing the upstream for more carriers, and maintaining QoS on existing services.
Speakers:
Maintaining the Return Path in an Expanding Digital Environment
Carlene Gardner, Product Manager, JDSU
Upstream Bandwidth: A Shortfall on the Horizon
Ahmed Belyazid, CMTS DOCSIS® Engineer, Cox Communications
Offered:
Thursday, June 26 from 9:30 to 10:45 a.m.
Friday, June 27 from 1:30 to 2:45 p.m.
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