EDITORial
Editor’s Letter
female is a superpower, your difference is what makes you special,” is something I heard over and over this time around. “Having a unique perspective is an advantage,” Maria Popo told me. She’s right. Ian Nock takes us around an imaginary trade show on page 60, showing us how NOT to run a booth; full of good advice, this lighthearted piece will be invaluable to exhibitors as we approach trade show season in the Spring. Then we interview Tim Richards, fresh from stepping down as Chair of IBC, and he tells us about his plans as well as his impressions of where digital media is heading, a quarter of a century in. We also talked to Dean Checkley at Flomatik, whose company is about to rebrand, and you’ll be able to take a deep dive into four technical papers, two from ProLabs, plus Calix and RTBrick. Finally, SCTE Members have a special offer from two training partners – Borderless Performance are offering Emotional Intelligence training to SCTE members FREE OF CHARGE – this is a very special offer and time sensitive so please turn to page 58 to find out more and book your place. Our good friends at ClimateEQ are also offering a 10% discount to SCTE Members for their Carbon Literacy training courses and you can find out all about it on page 46. Thanks to everyone involved in making this issue such a good one, especially Cotswold artist Anna Dillon for her kind permission in letting us reproduce one of her paintings for the cover, and we look forward to seeing many of you in person at our March event at One Great George Street in London (page 17).
2025 has got off to a very busy start! It’s nearly March and our feet have barely touched the ground. I’m delighted to bring you another bumper issue of broadband Journal, this one very much concerned with rural broadband, complementing our March 18 event in London, SCTE ® Presents: Rural Broadband & The Last Mile, sponsored by Corning, Technetix and Abloy (opposite). A very hot topic right now and we have a fantastic line up of expert speakers covering the business, obstacles and technology that characterise this most niche of sectors; there will be opportunities for analysis, debate and networking throughout. You may still be fortunate to grab a place if you act fast - this event has proved one of our most popular yet. In line with the theme of rural broadband is a Long Read focusing on the achievements and challenges facing the altnet industry as we turn the corner into 2025; the murmurs of consolidation began two years ago but have yet to develop into the roar that many were predicting. We look into the reasons why and what is likely to happen next (page 12). You’ll hear from our sponsor Corning on the subject of last mile FTTH deployments on page 52 and our friends at Calix reveal the surprisingly positive impact of broadband in rural areas of the US, further to an extensive survey with the Center On Rural Innovation (page 64). Additionally, it’s International Women’s Day on March 8 and to that end we are delighted to celebrate the substantial achievements of women in technology. You can read all about Maria Popo, Merrion Edwards, Sandie Brodier and Sheema Prema on page 78. “Being
Melissa Cogavin Broadband Journal SCTE ® , Society for Broadband Professionals melissa@theSCTE.eu www.theSCTE.eu
Melissa Cogavin
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Volume 47 No.1 MARCH 2025
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