November 4, 2009

Expo Links Globally

Attendance at Cable-Tec Expo in Denver was down 18 percent from a year ago; or 2,000 off the 11,000 mark set in Philadelphia in June 2008. 

But the event continues to attract attendees from around the world, both vendors and service providers.

As in years past, the SCTE convened a breakfast at last week’s event for international attendees. SCTE President Mark Dzuban, VP Marv Nelson and Roger Blakeway, president of the UK-based SCTE addressed the morning gathering.

At last year’s Cable-Tec Expo in Philadelphia, the two SCTEs signed a mutual cooperation agreement that reaffirmed their relationship.

According to Marv Nelson, the two groups have renewed their attention to this question: “How do we get the benefits of the SCTE into other regions of the world?”

The breakfast event a week ago included, on a cursory sampling, service providers from Hungary, Japan, Ireland, England, Germany, Taiwan, the Caribbean and Brazil. 

The actual number of non-North Americans represented at this year’s Expo was much higher, exceeding 50 countries, according to the SCTE. (See list, below.)

Attending the breakfast were engineers from one such operator, NET (or Net Servicos), the largest MSO in Brazil—if not Latin America.

“We have 10 million homes passed,” said Rodrigo Duclos, NET director of technology and project management. In all, the Sao Paolo-based company operates 97 systems throughout Brazil, employing some 5,000 technicians (who mostly drive cars, not vans, Duclos said).

Consolidation within the county’s market is “still happening,” said Duclos. NET’s largest owners include the Brazilian Global Media Group and Mexican-based TelMex. Trends in Brazil mirror those in the U.S.

“HD is really gaining momentum,” Duclos said, albeit from a lower base. NET is now up to seven or eight channels of HD.

—Jonathan Tombes


Countries represented at Cable-Tec Expo 2009

Argentina
Aruba
Australia
Belgium
Bermuda
Canada
Chile
China
Colombia
Costa Rica
Denmark
Dominican Republic
Ecuador
El Salvador
England
France
Georgia
Germany
Granada
Guatemala
Honduras
Hong Kong
Hungary
India
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Jamaica
Japan
Korea
Mexico
Netherlands
Netherlands Antilles
Norway
Panama
Peru
Philippines
Poland
Portugal
Reunion
Russia
Singapore
South America
South Korea
St. Christopher and Nevis
St. Lucia
Sweden
Switzerland
Taiwan
Turks and Caicos Islands
Ukraine
United Kingdom
Uruguay
Venezuela
Virgin Islands

Source: SCTE