SCTE Broadens Its International Angle

The Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers is taking on more global proportions with the launch of an international-facing training brand and the addition of Liberty Global to the group’s recently introduced “Corporate Alliance.”

On the training front, SCTE on Monday introduced the International Society of Broadband Experts (ISBE), a unit that will focus on training and provide certification resources to cable engineers and other operations pros around the world.

SCTE said ISBE will “service as an international gateway” to its library of educational and certification resource and is “aligned with the global activity of CableLabs.

SCTE noted that ISBE also aims to “eliminate existing brand confusion,” an apparent reference to the Society for Broadband Professionals, a U.K.-based organization founded in 1945 that also goes by “SCTE.”

“Cable system operators around the world face a universal challenge: the need to make sure that their workforces are prepared for the new technologies that are on the horizon,” said Mark Dzuban, president and CEO of SCTE, in a statement. “ISBE will bridge gaps in existing training curricula, bringing state-of-the-art content that is fine-tuned to address industry needs to cable engineering and operations professionals in every market.”

“Consumer demand for next-generation services is driving the need for increased training and certification for our technical workforce,” added Balan Nair, EVP and CTO of Denver-based Liberty Global, which operates extensively in Europe, as well as Chile and Puerto Rico. “The International Society of Broadband Experts’ ability to leverage SCTE resources will make available new training that is aligned with our operational needs.”

Liberty Global is also brining some international flair to the SCTE Corporate Alliance Program (CAP), an initiative launched in April that provides additional training and education tools to operator and vendor partners and aims to boost the Society’s membership base.

Comcast, Time Warner Cable and Suddenlink Communications were CAP’s charter members. SCTE announced the inclusion of Cablevision Systems, Charter Communications and Cox Communications in mid-August. On the supplier side, Arris Gropu and Alpha Technologies are on board as “beta vendor partners.” SCTE expects to launch a full vendor program for CAP sometime next year .

“With operations in 14 countries, Liberty Global required a single, recognizable source of workforce education across all of its markets,” said Daniel Howard, senior vice president and CTO for SCTE, said in a release. “By combining the global reach of ISBE with proven, effective SCTE resources that are the most up-to-date, we can expedite the availability of SCTE training that is considered the gold standard in the industry.”

At last check, SCTE had about 18,000 individual members.