The “Broadband Nation” exhibit that will be on display at The Cable Show 2009 – being held April 1-3 in Washington, D.C. – was announced months ago, but new details about the 20,000-square-foot centerpiece exhibit have emerged.
Comcast is providing the broadband network to power the exhibit, which will give visitors a hands-on opportunity to experience products and services available to consumers today – and in the future – for the home, school and office.
The exhibit will feature technologies from 35 companies: ActiveVideo Networks, Advanced Digital Broadcast (ADB), AMD, Arris, Aurora Networks, C-SPAN, Cerner Corp., Cisco Systems, Clearwire Communications, CNN Newsroom, Comcast, Comcast Media Center (Hits AxIS), CommScope, DDD, Discovery Communications, Discovery Education, Dolby Laboratories, Disney Enterprises, Exceptional Innovation, Florida Virtual School, General Electric, Hewlett-Packard, Intel Corp., Lifesize Communications, Mediacom Communications, Midmark Corp., Motorola, OpenPeak, Promethean, Samsung, Scripps Networks, Sony Electronics, Starz Entertainment, The Guitammer Co . and VRX Simulators.
And Broadband Nation will feature the following venues:
- The Broadband Nation visitors’ center will feature enterprise services and telepresence technology.
- A cable network operations center will offer a look at advanced network management tools.
- A retail/coffee shop will display broadband wireless video and music streaming and download services, as well as multiplatform news and information.
- A suburban home will demonstrate whole-home entertainment and automation technologies, home health care services, smart appliances, energy management, advanced interactive TV and digital voice services.
- A rural school will display in-classroom, broadband-enabled technology, advances in distance learning, online collaboration, school health care and Internet safety applications.
- A rural clinic will demonstrate secure storage and transport of electronic medical records, remote doctor/patient visits, remote specialist consultation, and the latest in automated patient check-in and online care.
- An entertainment complex will offer glimpses of 3-D digital cinema, in-living room 3-D, 3-D broadband video games and 4-D special effects.
- An urban loft will feature a look at connected home platforms, mobile media and cable interactive TV.
- An in-vehicle car will demonstrate WiMAX-enabled broadband on the move.
“Broadband technology already has had a dramatic and positive impact on the lives of millions of Americans and it will undoubtedly play a vital role in the nation’s economic recovery,” NCTA President and CEO Kyle McSlarrow said. “The cable industry has helped lead the nation into today’s broadband era, so we’re proud to have the opportunity to display, in one setting, how broadband can improve the lives of all Americans. This is one exhibit that shouldn’t be missed.”
Scripps Networks and HGTV will decorate and furnish both homes in Broadband Nation, and LG Electronics will provide high-definition (HD) flat-screen TV and computer displays, as well as digital signage, throughout the exhibit.
More information, including a full list of partner demonstrations and concept renderings, is available here.