June 6, 2007

An Interactive Keynote

By Jim Barthold

Interactivity's coming to the SCTE in the form of a keynote address that promises to be as much about listening as about talking.

When Kyle McSlarrow, president-CEO of the NCTA steps up to the podium - or whatever contrivance they have on the stage in Orlando - he'll surely address his specialty, regulation and the insider workings in Washington, DC. But just as surely, he'll open his ears to hear how technology impacts his job.

It will be really nice if both ends of the conversation can be held in a common language without the need for an interpreter.

No jargon allowed

"All of us are guilty of" using technical jargon, McSlarrrow said. "We have all the same ridiculously inside-the-beltway terms of ours, too."

It might be tough, but McSlarrow hopes to avoid using those terms while explaining "the kinds of challenges we actually face in Washington and the opportunities that we either have today or want to get in terms of legislation or actions before the FCC."

A high priority, he said, is showing that OCAP is a big part of cable's future and doing so by avoiding the tech jargon.

"I've banned that term (OCAP) and refuse to call it anything other than the OpenCable platform," he said. "There's an opportunity both in the sense of making sure that we all understand the kinds of opportunities the platform presents for our customers and the kinds of partnerships, relationships we need to develop with developers and applications providers. It's a great story for Washington; it's a story of openness and innovation."

Tech for policy geeks

He hopes to hear other stories from the tech community.

"There's a closer relationship with the nuts and bolts of engineering and the policy side. In Washington there is little understanding of how fast this industry is moving. With cable, specifically, there is little understanding of just how different we are as an industry technologically."

That's where he hopes a conversation between "the policy geeks" and the technology community gathered in Orlando will further his understanding of the space.

"I want to know. I need somebody to tell me what is coming around the corner. Sometimes the challenges are technical; sometimes they're actually regulatory, legal," he said. "We're going to need people to flag them for me, and if it's important enough, we'll get people here at NCTA to work on them."

- Jim Barthold