scte member focus
specially for industry partners, next to running my own little consulting business. That is what I truly love, that is my calling. I enjoy nothing more in my professional life than teaching communications engineering. What was it like working in Hawai‘i - not many of us in the telecoms sector get to boast about that. I did my complete bachelor and master studies in the Islands. The University of Hawai’i is a good school for electrical engineering: it’s up there in the rankings. Consequently, the first three years in college were extremely work-intensive. After that I was thinking like an engineer which made it easier. That’s when I started learning how to surf and became quite a beach boy. During graduate school I was a research assistant; I was working on fly-by-wire systems for the Boeing 777 and 787, as well as the F-22 aircrafts, which also became my thesis topic. So, as far as work is concerned Honolulu is just another American city. However, it’s not far to the beach when you ‘stay pau hana’, when you are done with your work. I return often; my oldest daughter is born and raised Hawaiian, and I have a lot of friends there. What memories really stand out for you over the years you’ve been involved in this industry? When I started out, we were trying to get an upstream implemented and DOCSIS running. Today we are dealing with converging architectures delivering gigabit throughputs. Hardly anything is not tied into networks, even baby diapers are online these days. A long journey across a quarter of a century, but every step along the road techies like us were looking forward to that next step which was going to be even cooler. That somewhat boyish glee in innovation within the industry stands out. Most and above all, I remember my students, no matter whether I taught them a day or a semester. The longer I am in the industry, the more of my students I get to meet again as a part of this industry. It gives me joy and a little pride to see them strive, and sometimes I even hear that I taught them something useful along the line.
Telecoms has changed a lot over the last 10-20 years; what for you is the biggest shift? Communications technology needs to evolve in a constant fashion. After an upgrade is before an upgrade in the broadband industry. Jakob Nielsen stated many years ago, that data throughput increases by about 50% per year, an observation that holds to this day. Network operators need to accommodate for this fact. One of the game changers in this respect was the introduction of OFDM into the coaxial footprint, as well as coherent optics into the fibre-lines. The biggest difference however seems to be the convergence of technologies and architectures in the industry. 15 years ago, we were dealing with separate networks; today we are dealing with our world being one network, consisting of interfaced segments of different architecture and topology, sporting a lot of AI-application. What do you get out of being a member of the SCTE? What would you like to see more of? Both the European and American SCTEs had to evolve just like the industry they represent. Starting out as societies for cable engineers, they need to cover a much broader field of topics and interests now. We are not simply cable engineers anymore; we are communications engineers. I am a big fan of the magazine and the lectures, because they do reflect the convergence of networks and technologies currently experienced very well. Please keep it up and keep up with the pace of development. The SCTE’s annual Gala Dinner is my absolute industry favorite. My American daughter Lianda loves to take the opportunity to come to Europe to dress up like a princess. So, for me the SCTE combines my family with my cable family in a wonderful manner.
Volume 48 No.2 MAY 2026
11
Made with FlippingBook - Online magazine maker