The SCTE Standards Program continues to bring operators, technology suppliers and subject-matter experts together to turn broadband innovation into operational success, solving shared industry challenges and pioneering technologies and operational models that make next-generation networks possible.
Over the past year, the program has advanced work spanning AI, network operations and reliability, next-generation media, energy management, infrastructure and workforce knowledge. New standards and operational practices have been published, existing standards have been modernized and new projects are already underway to address emerging industry needs.
Together, these accomplishments demonstrate the value of SCTE as an industry hub for collaboration: We aim to turn technological change and operational challenges into practical, interoperable solutions that advance the broadband ecosystem.
Building What’s Next
The broadband industry continues to evolve, advancing intelligent and autonomous networks to new architectures, operational models and services. The SCTE Standards Program brings experts together early to develop common approaches, reduce fragmentation and address shared challenges while technologies are still taking shape.
- Preparing for autonomous network operations with Agentic AI. “Agentic AI for Autonomous Cable Network Operations,” a newly approved project will develop vendor-agnostic operational guidance for deploying and operating autonomous AI agents across broadband access, core and edge-compute environments. The work will address data and analytics foundations, agent infrastructure, graduated autonomy, governance, security, evaluation and accountability — with the long-term goal of enabling faster issue resolution, reducing operational burden and supporting increasingly autonomous and resilient networks.
- Establishing a common vocabulary for AI and machine learning across the industry. “Lexicon for Data, Analytics, Artificial Intelligence, and Machine Learning,” the second approved project, will establish a common vocabulary for these technologies across the cable industry, including terminology for agentic AI. The industry reference will harmonize terminology from existing standards and frameworks and provide common definitions and usage guidance to support clearer communication and interoperability across operators, vendors, and other industry stakeholders. In the short term, it will help improve collaboration and accelerate deployment of AI/ML use cases; in the long term, it will provide a foundation for future standards and operational practices while supporting scalable AI/ML adoption and reducing operational risk.
- Creating a scalable foundation for FAST and next-generation linear services. “Next Generation Linear Channel Assembly: Scaling FAST and Other Use Cases” (SCTE 301 2025) brings established SCTE technologies — including SCTE 35, SCTE 224 and SCTE 250 — into modern streaming workflows. The recommended practice provides a common framework for assembling channels, exchanging schedules and metadata, enabling advanced advertising and distributing content consistently across platforms. By reducing fragmentation among platforms, vendors and delivery technologies, SCTE 301 helps make new services easier to deploy and scale.
- Advancing signaling for converged broadcast and streaming. Building on more than two decades of industry use of the Emmy® Award–winning SCTE 35 standard, “Digital Program Insertion Cueing Message Part 2: Event-Based Signaling” (SCTE 35-2 2026) introduces a modern event-based signaling approach. It improves interoperability and supports dynamic advertising, content replacement, FAST channels, and advanced streaming workflows across traditional and IP environments.
The technologies will continue to change. The role of standards is to give the industry common technical foundations that allow companies to innovate on top of them.
Making Broadband Networks More Reliable and Resilient
Much of the value of standards is experienced where it matters most: in networks that work reliably, products that interoperate, and technicians who can identify and solve problems efficiently.
Over the past year, the SCTE Standards Program continued to strengthen that foundation, from network-wide operational practices down to individual components.
- Moving network maintenance from reactive to proactive. “Understanding and Troubleshooting Cable RF Spectrum” (SCTE 280 2022) and “Understanding and Troubleshooting Cable Upstream RF Spectrum” (SCTE 294 2024R1) provide common technical frameworks for interpreting downstream and upstream network data to detect and troubleshoot impairments. Their value is now extending directly into workforce development through SCTE’s new five-course Proactive Network Maintenance (PNM) series. The training translates standards into a consistent workflow (analyze, localize, prioritize, repair, validate), helping technical teams identify developing problems before they become service-impacting events.
- Improving interoperability where network components connect. The new “Test Method for Center Conductor Contact Force, SCTE 91, 5/8–24 RF & AC Equipment Port, Female” (SCTE 302 2025) establishes a standardized method for measuring center-conductor insertion and withdrawal forces in 5/8–24 HFC connectors. Common criteria help manufacturers and laboratories validate designs, ensure proper equipment mating, and support reliable connectivity and interoperability.
- Reducing installation-related failures. The revised “Test Method for Withstand Tightening Torque – ‘F’ Male” (SCTE 98 2026) provides a consistent method for verifying that F Male connectors can withstand specified tightening torque without stripped threads, interface damage or nut failure, helping manufacturers, laboratories and operators improve product reliability and field performance.
- Strengthening network protection. The revised “Surge Withstand Test Procedure” (SCTE 81 2025) provides a standardized method for evaluating the susceptibility of power and data ports on broadband products to electrical surges.
- Keeping operational standards current. Additional revisions during the year addressed hybrid fiber coax (HFC) outside-plant status monitoring, cable modem IPv4 and IPv6 eRouter functionality, signal leakage and other technologies that remain essential to reliable broadband operations.
“PNM is more than a cable industry buzzword; it’s one of the key technologies that sets our networks apart, helping us identify and resolve issues before customers ever notice them. The best problems to have are the ones customers never feel, and that is exactly what PNM enables.
Just as valuable is the opportunity to collaborate with other subject matter experts in advancing PNM technology and developing the technical standards and practices that support it. Participating in that process provides the opportunity to engage directly with industry experts, bringing together diverse ideas, experiences, and technical perspectives to address real-world challenges. That collaboration not only strengthens the resulting technical work but also expands my own knowledge and perspective through direct engagement with experts from across the industry.
PNM is also a foundation for automation, enabling operators to build more reliable, resilient, and scalable networks. By working together to advance these capabilities, we are helping shape both the technology and the practices that will support the networks of the future.”
Turning Energy Goals into Engineering Practice
Energy efficiency is both an operational and economic priority. The SCTE Standards Program helps turn broad sustainability goals into measurable engineering practices that operators can apply across networks and facilities.
This year’s work spans the full cycle of measuring, baselining, optimizing and preparing new powering technologies.
- Modernizing how equipment energy performance is measured. Updates to “Performance Metrics for Energy Efficiency & Functional Density of Cable Data Generation, Storage, Routing, and Transport Equipment” (SCTE 210 2025), “General Test Procedures for Evaluation of Energy Efficiency Metrics and in Support of Functional Density Metrics” (SCTE 231 2026) and “Key Performance Metrics: Energy Efficiency & Functional Density of CMTS, CCAP, and Time Server Equipment” (SCTE 232 2026) strengthen standardized approaches for evaluating energy efficiency and functional density. The latest version of that document reflects distributed access architectures such as Remote PHY and flexible MAC architecture implementations, helping operators and suppliers make more consistent comparisons and better-informed technology and facility-planning decisions.
- Creating better energy baselines. The revised “Cable Operator Energy Audit Framework and Establishment of Energy Baseline” (SCTE 212 2026) expands practical guidance for collecting and maintaining energy-use data across access networks and critical facilities. It can help operators improve plant and utility records, identify billing anomalies, establish reliable benchmarks and find opportunities to reduce energy costs.
- Optimizing critical-facility cooling without compromising reliability. “Critical Facility Climate Optimization Operational Practice: Understanding the Impact of HVAC Set Point Modification” (SCTE 253 2026) provides guidance for understanding how cooling-system set points affect energy consumption, equipment performance and network reliability. Better-informed operating decisions can reduce energy costs and equipment wear while protecting critical infrastructure.
- Preparing for the next generation of standby power. A newly approved project will develop an “Operational Practice on Lithium Battery Systems for Broadband Network Standby Power.” The work will provide operator-focused guidance for safely selecting, integrating, deploying and maintaining lithium-based systems, including considerations for safety, system design and code compliance.
This portfolio demonstrates how standards can connect sustainability objectives with practical engineering decisions that improve both efficiency and network performance.
Getting Proven Practices into More Hands
Creating a standard is only part of the job. Industry knowledge creates greater value when people can access it, understand it and apply it.
Over the past year, SCTE continued to expand the reach of standards-based knowledge.
- Making essential construction guidance freely available. The updated “Recommended Practices for Coaxial Cable Construction and Testing” (SCTE 180 2025) became available for free download, joining “Recommended Practices for Optical Fiber Construction and Testing” (SCTE 181 2025). Together, these comprehensive resources provide current guidance for building and testing broadband infrastructure safely, efficiently and reliably — from project management and cable placement through bonding, grounding, splicing, activation and testing.
- Expanding the “What Is…?” technical knowledge series. The “What Is…?” (SCTE 293) series continued to grow with new monographs covering noise figure, signal leakage field strength and carrier-to-noise ratio. These concise resources are designed for technical training, introductions to unfamiliar topics and refreshers for experienced professionals.
- Connecting standards directly to workforce skills. The new PNM curriculum demonstrates how SCTE’s standards and education programs can work together. “Understanding and Troubleshooting Cable RF Spectrum” (SCTE 280 2022) and “Understanding and Troubleshooting Cable Upstream RF Spectrum” (SCTE 294 2024R1) provide the common technical framework; standards-based training helps technicians and Network Operations Center (NOC) personnel turn that framework into repeatable troubleshooting practices in real networks.
The result is more than a portfolio of specifications; it’s a growing body of shared industry knowledge that can be put to work in product development, network planning, field operations and workforce development.
“I’ve been involved with SCTE’s Standards Program for many years, and one of the greatest values of that experience has been the opportunity to collaborate directly with technical experts from across the industry. Having a seat at the table where ideas are discussed, challenged, refined, and ultimately developed into standards and industry references provides a unique opportunity to contribute one’s expertise while learning from the perspectives and experience of our peers.
Through SCTE’s Network Operations Subcommittee Working Group 1, which I am privileged to chair, that collaboration has resulted in a series of technical monographs focused on the fundamentals of RF technology and related topics. To date, 13 monographs have been published, with additional works progressing through approval and development.
While these resources are intended to become timeless references for SCTE members and the broader industry, the value of participating in the Standards Program goes well beyond the finished documents. Being part of the development process means having a voice in the technical conversations that help shape our industry, building relationships with fellow experts, and expanding one’s knowledge along the way. For me, that opportunity to collaborate, contribute, and have a seat at the discussion table is one of the most personally rewarding aspects of the Standards Program.”
The Next Success Starts with Participation
Every aforementioned accomplishment began with people from across the industry choosing to participate.
The SCTE Standards Program brings operators, vendors and other industry experts together through an ANSI-accredited process to identify common problems, evaluate approaches and develop solutions that the entire broadband ecosystem can use.
And the work is far from finished.
- Agentic AI is moving from concept toward real network operations. Now is the time to help establish operational, governance and security practices that will guide its adoption.
- New power technologies are creating new operational questions. Participants can help develop practical guidance for safe and resilient lithium battery deployments.
- Networks, devices and operating environments will keep evolving. Existing standards need experts who can ensure that they remain relevant, while emerging challenges will require entirely new approaches.
- Participation gives your organization a voice. The people at the table bring real-world requirements into the standards process and directly influence the technical resources the industry will rely on.
The SCTE Standards Program is more than a library of completed documents. It’s where the broadband industry works together to turn emerging challenges into shared solutions.
The accomplishments of the past year show what collaboration can achieve.