Dallas Clement
Senior VP, Strategy & Development, Cox Communications

As usual, the new year will start with a bang, and I don't mean the falling ball in Times Square. For those of us in cable and telecom, the true celebration of what 2006 portends actually comes a few days later with the start of the Consumer Electronics Show.

The Vegas show has become required attendance for cable execs and their teams, and there certainly will be a bevy of reps from our industry looking for the latest and greatest on display at CES. Fortunately, my schedule and overall experience in Vegas are well managed by CableLabs, helping filter out some of the overwhelming sensory overload – but not so much so that I won't get at least a small dose of the raucous, madhouse atmosphere that makes CES… well, CES.

My “wish list” for the show is a long one, but here are four of the main devices, technologies, platforms and enablers of increased convergence that I look forward to seeing in action at CES:

1) Microsoft’s Vista operating system and media center PC, which will be demoed at CES attached to a cable-card. The Vista/cable card connection highlights some very interesting possibilities in merging data and entertainment-centric domains. Indeed, I expect to see a variety of applications and solutions at the show that merge video, data and voice at all levels to enhance home entertainment.

2) Intel’s Viiv technology that features exceptional processing power focused on digital video entertainment. This platform allows OEMs to build PCs that will be able to protect and showcase high-quality content and, I’m sure Intel hopes, will help cement the PC’s position as a central device in the next generation of home entertainment options.

3) Additional platforms that will enhance consumers’ ability to research, find and index all manner of the vast Internet content being developed at a rapid pace.

4) All things wireless, including Wi-Fi, WiMAX, cellular advancements, etc. As we execute the vision of cable’s recently announced JV with Sprint Nextel, we’ll be looking to leverage the venture to take advantage of wireless innovations, especially in fixed-mobile convergence. So, my eyes will definitely be open to those opportunities during CES.

Of course, part of the spectacle and promise of CES is the unexpected, so I look forward to seeing and experiencing probably thousands of other technologies and developments that will help cable continue to deliver the best experience for our customers.