In addition, for the second year in a row, the exhibit will showcase the growing number of cable retail products —available soon to consumers—which include cable modems, digital set-top boxes, and integrated television sets.

CableNET is a high-profile technology showcase that is exclusively part of the annual Western Show, being held this year in the Los Angeles Convention Center from December 15 to 17. Co-sponsored by the California Cable Television Association (CCTA) and Cable Television Laboratories, Inc. (CableLabs®), CableNET is an educational forum demonstrating the potential of the cable industry’s hybrid fiber/coaxial systems—and the expanding number of video, telecommunications, and entertainment applications and services it will deliver to cable customers.

The overall CableNET exhibit is made up of more than 100 demonstrations of services and applications from more than 70 companies, and occupies nearly 10,000 square feet of exhibit space. About 25 companies, some teamed together to demonstrate their interoperability, will be represented in the specialty areas.

"This year’s collection of companies demonstrating in-home networking is not only interesting, it’s important to our industry. Their technologies will be immensely helpful as cable deploys a variety of new services in customers’ homes," said Spencer R. Kaitz, President of CCTA.

The technologies being demonstrated for the in-home transmission of voice, video and data include wireless transmission, power line, Ethernet, telephone line, and coaxial cable distribution.

In-home networking participants include: 3Com; ADC Telecommunications; Arris Interactive, a Nortel Networks/ANTEC venture; Broadcom; Intelogis; Motorola; muNet.com; Kyushu Matsushita Electric Co., Ltd.; ShareWave; and Zoom Technologies.

"By providing attendees with a glimpse of our laboratory work underway to achieve retail availability of cable television digital set-top boxes, CableNET is doing something a little differently this year at the Western Show," said CableLabs president and CEO, Dr. Richard R. Green.

A key component of the retail strategy for cable is having a removable security module, called a point-of-deployment (POD) card that would be obtained from a cable operator to enable a retail set top.

"The 12 suppliers working with us in this portion of CableNET are working hard to help the cable industry to have digital set tops available for retail purchase next July. Their levels of development are remarkable, considering the short timeline we all are working under," Green added.

OpenCable interoperability host device (set top) providers include: General Instrument (GI); Microsoft; Panasonic; Philips; Samsung; Scientific-Atlanta (SA); and Zenith.

POD module participants include: GI; Mindport; NDS; NagraVision; Philips; SA; and SCM Microsystems.

Headend equipment providers for OpenCable are: DiviCom; GI; and SA.

Cable retail participants are: Microsoft; Pioneer; Sony; and Thomson Consumer Electronics (RCA).

Categories for remaining CableNET demonstrations are: Network and Resource Management; PacketCable™: Broadband Internet Telephony, etc., which will include five telephone booths using cable-IP to complete phone calls; Multimedia; Enhanced Broadband Services; Digital Services; and Cable Modems and Equipment.