7:30am – 9:00am
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Breakfast
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9:00am – 9:05am
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Housekeeping Reminders
Speaker: Courtney Seely, EVP & Chief Legal Officer – CableLabs
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9:05am – 9:15am
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Welcome to the 2025 Smaller Market Conference
Speakers:
Michael Dean, VP Government Relations – NCTA
Larry Foland, VP MTO Relations – CableLabs
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9:15am – 10:15am
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Regulatory and Policy Update: The Known Knowns, the Known Unknowns, & the Unknown Unknowns
The United States government is undergoing major changes in leadership in both the executive and legislative branches, as well as within independent agencies, including the FCC. Our goal for this session is to explore expected regulatory and policy trends that have the potential to significantly impact member businesses and operations, including [government funding, trade and tariffs, competition policy, spectrum policy, and security policy].
Speakers:
Michael Dean, VP Government Relations – NCTA
Alex Minard, VP & Lead Legislative Counsel – NCTA
Mark Walker, VP Technology Policy – CableLabs
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10:15am – 10:35am
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Break
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10:35am – 11:00am
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Starlink and Beyond: What the Rise of LEO Means for Broadband
Starlink is continuing its rapid expansion, having doubled its global subscriber base in under a year twice in a row. It has launched new services like aviation and direct-to-cell and is preparing to deploy V3 satellites with significantly increased bandwidth capacity. Meanwhile, other low Earth orbit (LEO) players are emerging as competitors. This presentation explores recent developments in the sector and assesses their implications for cable providers, highlighting both competitive threats and opportunities presented by the growing importance of satellite connectivity in the broadband industry.
Speakers:
Hans Geerdes, Principal Strategist – CableLabs
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11:00am – 12:00pm
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Connecting Investment and Product Strategy to Outcomes
How does product evolution, introducing a 1 Gbps symmetric service, for example, when driven by network investment, such as increasing the upstream split, impact MSO business outcomes? The mid-tier operator (MTO) community serves a diverse set of markets that differ in demographics and competition, creating opportunities for members to learn from others’ experiences as they plan the networks and products of the future. In this session, we’ll cover recent changes that members have made, the observed impact of these changes on the business and competition, and how CableLabs plans to support the MTO community by cataloging and analyzing member experiences for broader sharing.
Speakers:
Victor Esposito, Chief Technical Officer – Ritter Communications
Bill Chatwell, Vice President, Technology – Midco
JR Walden, Chief Technical Officer – Mediacom
Moderator:
Jacob Malone, Principal Strategist & Director User Behavior & Economics – CableLabs
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12:00pm – 1:00pm
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Lunch
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1:00pm – 2:00pm
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Building the Best Network for Streaming Video
This panel examines the evolving landscape of video services and OTT strategies, focusing on the challenges and opportunities in transitioning from traditional managed video. Topics to include: The future trajectory of managed video products, end-of-life planning, OTT, HSD only subscribers, key learnings, feasibility and pace of deactivating QAM infrastructure in favor of IP-based delivery, navigating the rise of aggregators and OTT’s growth and overall relevance.
Speakers:
Weidong Mao Senior Fellow, Technology & Product – Comcast
Duncan Whitney, Chief Product Officer – GCI
Vipul Patel, Vice President, Video Engineering – Charter
Moderator:
Jeff Chen, EVP & Chief Relationship Officer – CableLabs
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2:00pm – 3:00pm
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The Age of Reliable Connectivity: Metrics, Action and Messaging
In an increasingly competitive environment, reliability has become a cornerstone for success in the broadband industry. However, reliability has quickly become more than just a technical benchmark—it’s a defining factor in customer satisfaction and competitive differentiation. This panel will explore how providers can measure, communicate, and maintain reliability while differentiating themselves as the market continues to become more crowded.
Speakers:
Damian Poltz, Senior Vice President, Wireline Network – Rogers
Fakhri Dajani, Senior Director, Network Engineering – Eastlink
Jarrod Head, SVP Technology Services – Cable One
Lyle Znaniecki, Vice President, Access Networks – Mediacom
Moderator:
Mark Bridges, CTO – CableLabs
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3:00pm – 3:15pm
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Break
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3:15pm – 3:35pm
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Planning Committee Introduction
The Planning Committee will then lead a group discussion on agenda topics for the Fall 2025 MTO Briefing. What topics would you like to hear about? What do you not want to talk about? This will be an open discussion for all attendees to give input on our next gathering.
MTO Planning Committee
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3:35pm – 3:50pm
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SCTE Update
Speakers:
Cory Pavicich, Director Certifications & Product Management – SCTE
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3:50pm – 4:50pm
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Executive Leadership Unplugged
To wrap up the day, a panel of C-level executives from several operators will discuss what they heard, what they think, and their vision for 2025 and beyond.
Speakers:
Ben Dold, President – Midco
Bill Bauer, Chief Executive Officer – WinDBreak
Andy Parrott, Chief Executive Officer – Vyve
Bud Keys, Chief Executive Officer – Westman
Moderator:
Larry Foland, VP Mid-Tier Operator Relations – CableLabs
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4:50pm – 5:00pm
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Wrap-Up
Speakers:
Michael Dean, Vice President Government Relations – NCTA
Larry Foland, Vice President Mid-Tier Operator Relations – CableLabs
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5:30pm – 7:00pm
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Open Reception
There is an open reception for all attendees of the CableLabs Winter Conference.
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7:00pm – 10:00pm
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Smaller Market Dinner
This is an invitation-only dinner for CableLabs MTO members.
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March 10, 2025
FREE