The Passing of Cable TV Pioneer Rex Porter

His honors and awards include:

• SCTE Hall of Fame
• SCTE Emeritus Member
• SCTE Circle of Eagles
• Cable Television Pioneer

Porter got his start in cable after serving eight years in the Air Force. He was Chief Technician for Decatur (Ala.) Cable in 1964, and later Chief Engineer for United Video Systems and a Regional Sales Manager for ATC in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Porter was one of 43 engineers who formed the SCTE at the 1969 National Cable Television Association (NCTA) meeting in Chicago. He later helped start the Connecticut and Cactus Chapters of SCTE, and the Loyal Order of the 704.

In 1974 Porter started as Western Regional Sales Manager for Times Wire. Porter managed a demonstration that introduced fiber to the cable industry at the 1976 Western Show, transmitting a single channel of TV through one kilometer of fiber on the show floor. He was Vice President of Sales and Marketing Worldwide for Times Wire by 1977 and inducted in to the Cable Television Pioneers that same year. In 1980 Porter left Times Wire and managed a manufacturing plant for Capscan Company, which was sold a year later.

Porter was Vice President of Sale and Marketing for Gilbert Engineering in 1981, and that year partnered with Paul Levine to start Communications Technology magazine and International Technology magazine for a publishing company based in Denver. From 1986 to 1989 Porter was a vice president for Times Fiber but left in 1989 to work on patent for a 3-piece connector with Earl Gilbert. Porter was SCTE member of the Year in 1987.

Porter was Western Vice President of Sale for national distributor Midwest CATV from 1990 to 1991, when the company was acquired by Antec. Porter’s first attempt at retirement was in 1991. He was inducted into the SCTE Hall of Fame in 1992. From 1996 to 2003 he was Editor In Chief of Communications Technology and International Technology for Phillips Publishing. In 2005 Porter became Director of New Business for MasTec Construction, and in 2011 he joined the strategic team of OpenVault.

Porter recorded his oral history for the Cable Center in 2001. He also was the interviewer for the oral histories of 12 of his engineering colleagues: Ed Callahan; Jim Chiddix; Ron Cotton; Ron Covell; Tom Elliott; Richard Green (2002); Gordy Halverson; Ted Hartson; Ron Hranac; Paul Levine; Bill pion; Hub Schlafly; Dave Willis.