Due to concerns nationwide over the spread of the COVID-19 virus (aka Corona virus) and the desire to protect attendees, the Cable-Tec Games originally scheduled for March 16th have been postponed to a future date.

We hope to reschedule the games at the appropriate time, so please check back for updates. Thanks for your understanding, and keep washing those hands!

2020 will see two new faces on the Iowa Heartland SCTE Chapter Board of Directors.

Julie Bent of Mediacom was elected to serve a two-year term during the elections held in November 2019. Eric Lage of Reinbeck Telecommunications Utility was appointed to fill the remaining year on the Board term previously held by Dave Schilling of Cedar Falls Utilities, who resigned effective 12/31/19.

At their January 7, 2020 Board meeting, the following officers were chosen for 2020:

• President: Dave Fyffe, ImOn
• Vice President: Ron Grigsby, RDG Telecom
• Treasurer: Josh Robinson, USA Communications
• Secretary: Julie Bent, Mediacom

Thank you to all the Board members for continuing to serve!

The National Cable Telecommunications Cooperative (NCTC) has reached an agreement with Harmonic to offer Harmonic's CableOS virtualized cable access program to NCTC members.

CableOS is designed to give small to medium sized operators a more affordable pathway to offering DOCSIS 3.1 on their networks. CLICK HERE for an article about the new agreement at TVTechnology.com.

Matt Watrous of Mediacom was this year's overall winner of the Iowa Heartland SCTE Cable-Tec Games, held February 27, 2019 in Ankeny.

Taking the silver medal in second place overall was Luke Brown of Mediacom. Phil Metz of Mediacom came in third overall.

A total of 17 participants joined the Games this year. The Chapter would like to extend a big THANK YOU to everyone who participated, and to all of the games instructors/judges for their assistance!

Our best attended training session of 2018 is making a return engagement in April 2019!

Fiber 1-2-3 will begin with an industry overview, including industry trends and standards and a look at where the fiber market is going. Next, Steve and Tim will discuss fiber splicing best practices. This will include a live demo and hands-on time with fiber splicers. 

Other topics will include how to do a mid-sheath, splicing drops, proper installation of a splice closure from beginning to end, fiber troubleshooting, Duraline, and future path-new technology.

If you work with fiber, this is a must-attend session! 

To make Fiber 1-2-3 accessible for even more technicians, the Chapter is holding the training on April 9th in Carroll, Iowa at the Carrollton Inn. The April 10th sessions will be at the IAMU facility in Ankeny.

CLICK HERE to visit our registration page and sign up. If you company has a direct billing agreement with the Chapter you can sign up by clicking on your company's logo. If not, click the SCTE-ISBE logo at the bottom and register at the National SCTE website (payment required).

At it's annual planning meeting on January 10, 2019 the Iowa Heartland Board of Directors elected officers to serve for the calendar year 2019.

David Schilling (Cedar Falls Utilities) was elected Board President for a second one-year term. David Fyffe (ImOn Communications) will also serve his second one-year term as Vice President.

Josh Robinson (USA Communications) was named Board Treasurer, continuing in the role he assumed in 2018. And Curtis Dean (SmartSource Consulting) will serve a final year as Secretary before he is term limited.

A reminder that the Iowa Heartland Board will be meeting on Thursday, January 10, 2019 to plan the schedule of Chapter trainings for 2019.

We'd like to keep building on the momentum from a successful 2018 by providing the kinds of training that benefit Iowa's hard-working telecommunications workers. If you have an idea for a training topic, email Curtis Dean, Chapter Secretary, at curtiswdean@gmail.com. 

Four current members of the Iowa Heartland Chapter SCTE Board of Directors will return to serve another two-year term and will be joined by two new Board members.

Voting by SCTE members ended Friday. Re-elected to new terms were current Board President Dave Schilling of Cedar Falls Utilities, Board Treasurer Josh Robinson of USA Communications, and Board members Dishon Clark of Mediacom and Ryan Malek of Router 12 Networks.

New Board members will be David Riley of Mediacom and Brandon Halsne of Osage Municipal Utilities. 

Thank you to the new and returning Board members for their service to the Chapter and all of the telecommunications technicians in Iowa!

The Iowa Heartland SCTE's Cable-Tec Games will be in new location this year, making it more convenient for participants from central and western Iowa.

The games will be Wednesday, February 27, 2019 at the Iowa Association of Municipal Utilities Office and Training Complex in Ankeny. While the Chapter has held numerous trainings at the IAMU facility over the years, this is the first time the Cable-Tec Games have been here. For the past several years the Games were held at Kirkwood Community College in Hiawatha or Marion.

Registration is now available for participation in the Cable-Tec Games. There is no charge to participate in the Games and the competition is open to both SCTE members and non-members. For a complete description of the Games and the day's schedule, visit the "Events and Trainings" page.

The Iowa Heartland SCTE Board will be meeting in January with to goal of establishing our local training and events for 2019. And we'd love to hear your ideas about what types of training opportunities would most benefit you in your telecommunications career!

In the past two years, we've provided low-cost training sessions on a number of topics, including fiber optics, DOCSIS, home networking, network powering, and many others. Is there a topic that you'd like us to address? If so, please send an email to Chapter secretary Curtis Dean at curtiswdean@gmail.com. We'll share it with the Board and hopefully it can be included in our 2019 training opportunities!