Cable Industry Set to Plug ’10G’ at CES

The NCTA is partnering with CableLabs and Cable Europe to try to steal some of the marketing thunder from 5G wireless chest-thumpers at CES this week.

The orgs will convene a 9 a.m. Wednesday morning event at the Four Seasons in Las Vegas, aiming to hype what they’re calling “10G.”

“Industry leaders from NCTA, CableLabs and member companies will participate,” the announcement said.

The event, titled “The Future of the Broadband Network,” will showcase emerging multi-gigabit-capable HFC technologies including Full Duplex DOCSIS and Extended Spectrum DOCSIS—technologies, the cable industry believes, that are being overlooked amid what it sees as the wireless industry’s latest marketing gizmo, 5G. 

As for the "10G," it's a reference to the 10 Gbps speeds that Full Duplex's backers believe will be widely delivered by the technology in a few years.

“With groundbreaking, scalable capacity and speeds, the 10G platform is the wired network of the future that will power the digital experiences and imaginations of consumers for years to come,” said NCTA president and CEO Michael Powell, in a statement. “As an industry, we are dedicated to delivering an exceptional national infrastructure that will power digital advancement and propel our innovation economy into the future.”

Related: NCTA’s Powell: 5G is 25% Technology, 75% Marketing

It was Powell who, at the SCTE’s Cable-Tec Expo Show in Atlanta in October, who lamented the fact that cable wasn’t doing enough to market “10G.”

Notably, in its announcement today, NCTA indicated that it has even trademarked the term "10G."

In fact, it's an industry-wide initiative, with Arris among the companies today rendering blog posts tub-thumping 10G.

“CableLabs creates the technology that supports the deployment of high-capacity broadband networks and gigabit services at scale for the industry,” added CableLabs president and CEO Phil McKinney. “With the 10G platform, CableLabs will help ensure the broadband infrastructure will be in place globally with the capacity and performance needed in the future to fuel new innovations and emerging technologies that will transform and enhance the way we live.”

Daniel Frankel

Daniel Frankel is the managing editor of Next TV, an internet publishing vertical focused on the business of video streaming. A Los Angeles-based writer and editor who has covered the media and technology industries for more than two decades, Daniel has worked on staff for publications including E! Online, Electronic Media, Mediaweek, Variety, paidContent and GigaOm. You can start living a healthier life with greater wealth and prosperity by following Daniel on Twitter today!