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Development of DOCSIS

Starting in the summer of 1995, a small group undertook an audacious goal: design a best-of-breed cable modem that would make the Internet fast. In an era of slow, dial-up connections and elongated page load times, these individuals set out to bridge the divided worlds of cable telecommunications and digital networking in a way that could scale to reach millions of users—and effectively spark a revolution in “broadband” communications.

Their work, which would crystallize in the form of DOCSIS®—an international standard for high-speed Internet connectivity—would ultimately touch the lives of individuals and organizations around the world. It ignited an unprecedented creative and economic revolution that would enable and sustain some of the most innovative ideas and applications in the history of communications—from YouTube to Pandora to Skype to Facebook to Twitter…and beyond. The DOCSIS revolution would come to be known as the cable industry’s greatest contribution to the global telecommunications landscape. And it continues to empower ideas and innovations today.

Now, for the first time, the behind-the-scenes story of the creation of DOCSIS is told in breakthrough accounts by key figures in the technology’s origination. This video is the first in a series of videos about the development of DOCSIS.

Souls of DOCSIS E-Book

“Robert Cruickshank III is the author of Souls of DOCSIS, an engaging, first-person account of how a small group of individuals and their companies overcame tremendous technology and marketplace obstacles to create a solution for supercharging the global Internet. Cruickshank, one of the early employees working on telecommunication projects at CableLabs, brings readers into the inner circle as he describes how, piece-by-piece, the building blocks for broadband Internet came into place. Combining interviews, first-person recollections and original reporting into a highly readable, you-are-there depiction, Souls of DOCSIS provides a penetrating glimpse into the dawning days of a revolutionary technology.”  –Stewart Schley, longtime cable industry editor and reporter

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Biography

robert cruickshank

Robert Cruickshank III built and led the CableLabs team that developed, tested, and certified the DOCSIS standard cable modem. Currently, Cruickshank serves as Operations Architect at Cablevision Systems. He has more than 20 years experience in the cable industry, including: VP Engineering and interim CTO, Road Runner; VP Operations and Business Support Strategies, ARRIS; VP Worldwide OSS Market Strategy, C-COR; and Co-Founder of Stargus Inc.

Cruickshank graduated with his BS and MS in Mechanical Engineering from the Worcester Polytechnic Institute and completed five years of post-grad research in civil engineering and intelligent buildings at the University of Colorado.

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