Dave Fellows

Last updated

Dave Fellows
Dave Fellows.jpg
Born
David Munro Fellows

September 19, 1952 (1952-09-19) (age 71) [1]
Waltham, MA
NationalityAmerican
Alma mater Harvard University
Northeastern University
Occupation(s)Technologist, engineer, scientist
Years active1978 – present
EmployerLayer3 TV
Organization(s)Chief scientist for Energy 2020
Data Standards Subcommittee Chair
[2]
Board member ofLayer3 TV
Anadigics
AwardsVanguard Award for Science and Technology
[3]

David Fellows (born September 19, 1952) is an American engineer, entrepreneur, and scientist. He is the co-founder and chief technology officer of Layer3 TV, and served previously as the chief technology officer for Comcast and AT&T Broadband. [4] [5]

Contents

Fellows is also an athlete. He competed in the 1976 Olympic Games as a member of the US Rowing team. [6] [7]

Early life and education

Fellows is the son of Gordon W. Fellows, a microbiologist from Wayland, Massachusetts. [8] In high school, he ran track. [6]

He received a bachelor's degree in engineering and applied physics at Harvard University and a master's degree in electrical engineering from Northeastern University. [9] He also completed post-graduate studies at Harvard Business School. [10] [11]

Career

GTE Laboratories, Siemens, Scientific Atlanta

In 1976, Fellows was hired as a research scientist at GTE Laboratories, where he worked on fiber optics, digital signal processing, satellite communications, and technology related to the development of ISDN. After consulting on an integrated circuit strategy, he was promoted to vice president at GTE's headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut. He later returned to GTE Laboratories as a liaison to the product division, and subsequently served as VP of R&D for transmission products, focusing on digital loop carrier and fiber technology. [9] He continued to be associated with GTE and GTE Transmissions Systems (which was acquired by Siemens) until 1987, when he was named president of the transmissions systems business division of Scientific Atlanta. At Scientific Atlanta, he developed technology used to deliver video via satellite and cable. [12] [13]

In 1979, Fellows filed his first patent. Awarded in 1982, it enabled devices to power down and use only the energy required to monitor for signals indicating a need to be recharged. [14]

Continental Cablevision, Media One, Pilot House

In 1992, Fellows was hired as senior vice president of engineering and CTO at Continental Cablevision, where he worked with Amos Hostetter, Jr., the company's founder. [15] [16] Under his supervision, Continental launched the high-speed on-line data service, Highway 1, implementing and developing data-over-cable connections and hybrid fiber coaxial (HFC) architecture. Fellows became CTO of MediaOne Group when it acquired Continental in 1996, and additionally served as the interim CTO of Roadrunner, which was partially owned by MediaOne. [17] [18] [19] [20]

Fellows left MediaOne in 1998 to help with the care of his son Christopher after he was diagnosed with a brain stem tumor. [21] During this time, Fellows founded Pilot House Ventures and served as a principal. Largely funded by Hostetter, Pilot House invested in early-stage technology companies, including enterprise software, network infrastructure, internet, and communications companies. [16] [22]

AT&T Broadband, Comcast

In 2001, Fellows was named CTO of AT&T Broadband; after its merger with Comcast, he became Comcast's executive vice president and CTO, overseeing the company's 15,000 engineers and technicians. [ citation needed ] He created the architecture for television, broadband, and voice delivery, and in 2005, Fellows replaced the core of the legacy cable infrastructure with a "mini internet," which resulted in Comcast's delivery of video programming based on Internet protocols and equipment. [23] [24] He also developed Comcast's “Triple Play” strategy of bundling together cable, broadband and television subscriptions. [4]

Genovation Capital, Layer3 TV

In 2010 Fellows partnered with Broadbus founder Jeff Binder and Broadbus CEO Vin Bisceglia to form Genovation Capital. It partnered with TPG Capital and the private equity firm Silver Lake to evaluate startups and companies to invest in or buy, focusing on communications, media and the Internet sectors. [25] [4]

In 2013, Binder and Fellows co-founded Layer3 TV, a cable company which uses an IP-based video platform to deliver video in unicast streams. [26] The company spent several years building out its technology and negotiating content deals before launching in the fall of 2016. [27]

Rowing career

As a student at Harvard, Fellows was recruited for the university's rowing team. [6] He captained the Rude and Smooth boat, which went undefeated and won the unofficial national title in 1974. [28] [29] [30] He rowed for seven United States national rowing teams between 1973 and 1979, including the teams of the 1975 and 1979 Pan American Games, where he won a bronze and a silver medal, respectively. He was the captain of the 1976 Olympic rowing team. [29] [30] [31]

Affiliations and recognition

Fellows serves as the chief scientist for the Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers Energy 2020 Initiative and is the chair of the Data Standards Subcommittee. [2] He was the chair of the DOCSIS Certification Board and is on the board of directors for Anadigics.He is the winner of the SCTE Vanguard Award for Science and Technology and a Cable Pioneers honoree. [10] [2]

Personal life

Fellows and Derderian, married in 1974, have three children. [9] After Christopher Fellows' brain tumor was treated by pediatric neurosurgeons at Boston Children's Hospital using a borrowed Yttrium Argan Ganet laser, Fellows and Derderian raised the funds to purchase a laser for the hospital. They later endowed the Christopher K. Fellows Family Chair in Pediatric Neurosurgery at Children's Hospital. They also established two additional funds to support the hospital's pediatric neurosurgery department. [21]

Fellows, also a runner and cyclist, continued to row following his competitive career. He was named to the Harvard University Athletic Hall of Fame in 1998. [32] [33]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cable television</span> Television content transmitted via signals on coaxial cable

Cable television is a system of delivering Television Programming to consumers via Radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through Coaxial cable, or in more recent systems, light pulses through Fiber-optic cable. This contrasts with broadcast television, in which the television signal is transmitted over-the-air by radio waves and received by a television antenna attached to the television; or satellite television, in which the television signal is transmitted over-the-air by radio waves from a communications satellite orbiting the Earth, and received by a satellite dish antenna on the roof. FM radio programming, Broadband, telephone services, and similar non-television services may also be provided through these cables. Analog television was standard in the 20th century, but since the 2000s, cable systems have been upgraded to digital cable operation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cable modem</span> Broadband Internet access device

A cable modem is a type of network bridge that provides bi-directional data communication via radio frequency channels on a hybrid fibre-coaxial (HFC), radio frequency over glass (RFoG) and coaxial cable infrastructure. Cable modems are primarily used to deliver broadband Internet access in the form of cable Internet, taking advantage of the high bandwidth of a HFC and RFoG network. They are commonly deployed in the Americas, Asia, Australia, and Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Multichannel multipoint distribution service</span> Wireless communications technology

Multichannel multipoint distribution service (MMDS), formerly known as broadband radio service (BRS) and also known as wireless cable, is a wireless telecommunications technology, used for general-purpose broadband networking or, more commonly, as an alternative method of cable television programming reception.

Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification (DOCSIS) is an international telecommunications standard that permits the addition of high-bandwidth data transfer to an existing cable television (CATV) system. It is used by many cable television operators to provide cable Internet access over their existing hybrid fiber-coaxial (HFC) infrastructure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rouzbeh Yassini</span> Inventor of Modem

Rouzbeh Yassini, known as the "Father of the Cable Modem", is an Iranian-American inventor, engineer, and author, who has gained international reputation as a "broadband visionary" for his pioneering work in broadband industry and inventing the cable modem, establishing the cable modem industry standards (DOCSIS) through Cable Television Laboratories (CableLabs), the Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE) and the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). He is executive director of the University Of New Hampshire Broadband Center Of Excellence and Founder and board member of the YAS Foundation. Yassini is the author of “Planet Broadband”, a humanized look at broadband technology and its contributions to the society, as well as “Broadband Intelligent Series”, a series of white papers on digital services. He is a worldwide speaker and is often interviewed and quoted in the press for his vision on the future of broadband. His lifetime vision and dream is that all the people in the world have ubiquitous access to the broadband and be connected all the time. He believes that broadband connectivity is a fundamental right for all the human beings, what he has referred to it frequently as "Broadband Equality". Yassini was founder, CEO, and president of LANcity, the early pioneer in cable modems. He has worked with Cable Television Laboratories, Inc. (CableLabs) a research arm of the cable television industry in charge of the DOCSIS and on CableHome projects as the cable industry's point man on standardizing the cable modem's global footprint. He served as a senior executive consultant to the cable industry's CEOs while being president and CEO of YAS Corporation. He also has worked with Comcast and Cablevision on numerous programs relating to innovation of broadband technologies. From 2004 to 2007, Yassini worked with the CTO's office at Comcast to create the first industry standard IP-Set top Box specification known as the RNG specification. He has been involved in managing and advising companies ranging from $100 million to $50 billion and served as member of the board of directors on BAS, TrueChat, and Entropic from 2001 to 2008, and UPC Technical Advisory Committee. He created and chaired the Vendor and Operator Executive Advisory Forum of the U.S. Cable Center. He was a member of the Liberty Global Inc. (LGI) advisory technology board from 2001 to 2017. Yassini was director of Visteon from January 2015 to December 2020. As CEO and Chairman of Irystec, a Montreal-based firm founded in 2015 specializing in perceptual display processing technology, Yassini was able to successfully have the french auto company Faurecia acquire the company in 2020, despite the Covid pandemic. Working for more than 30 years in the broadband industry and achieving major accomplishments, Yassini received many awards from different organizations. He was named multiple times as CED Broadband 50 designate. CED Magazine named him “1998 Man of the Year” for creating and fostering the multibillion-dollar cable modem broadband industry. The National Cable & Telecommunications Association (NCTA) awarded Yassini with a 2004 Vanguard Award, the Cable Industry's highest honor in recognition of his contributions and dedication to the industry. The Cable Television Pioneers also inducted Yassini into the class of 2012 for his tremendous and meaningful contributions to the cable industry. He is a member of the Lane Department Academy as well as West Virginia University Academy of Distinguished Alumni.

Hybrid fiber-coaxial (HFC) is a broadband telecommunications network that combines optical fiber and coaxial cable. It has been commonly employed globally by cable television operators since the early 1990s.

The Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers or SCTE a subsidiary of CableLabs® is a non-profit professional association for accelerating the deployment of technology, technical standards and workforce development education related to cable telecommunications engineering and operations. Founded in 1969 as The Society of Cable Television Engineers, SCTE, has a current membership of more than 17,000 individuals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Altice USA</span> American telecommunications and media company; spin-off of Altice Europe

Altice USA, Inc., commonly known as Altice, is an American cable television provider with headquarters in New York City, owned by the Franco-Israeli businessman Patrick Drahi. It delivers pay television, Internet access, telephone services, and original television content to approximately 4.9 million residential and business customers in 21 states.

Charter Communications, Inc., is an American telecommunications and mass media company with services branded as Spectrum. With over 32 million customers in 41 states, it is the second-largest cable operator in the United States by subscribers, just behind Comcast, and the third-largest pay TV operator behind Comcast and AT&T. Charter is the fifth-largest telephone provider based on number of residential lines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Xfinity</span> American cable provider

Comcast Cable Communications, LLC, doing business as Xfinity, is an American telecommunications business segment and division of Comcast Corporation used to market consumer cable television, internet, telephone, and wireless services provided by the company. The brand was first introduced in 2010; prior to that, these services were marketed primarily under the Comcast name.

In telecommunications, cable Internet access, shortened to cable Internet, is a form of broadband Internet access which uses the same infrastructure as cable television. Like digital subscriber line and fiber to the premises services, cable Internet access provides network edge connectivity from the Internet service provider to an end user. It is integrated into the cable television infrastructure analogously to DSL which uses the existing telephone network. Cable TV networks and telecommunications networks are the two predominant forms of residential Internet access. Recently, both have seen increased competition from fiber deployments, wireless, mobile networks and satellite internet access.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ziply Fiber</span> American telecommunications company

Northwest Fiber, LLC, doing business as Ziply Fiber, is an American telecommunications company based in Kirkland, Washington. Ziply is a subsidiary of WaveDivision Capital, a private investment company, which is also Kirkland-based. The company started operations on May 1, 2020 when it completed its acquisition of Frontier Communications Northwest operations and assets for $1.4 billion; Frontier sold its Northwest operations after filing for bankruptcy protection in April 2020. Ziply Fiber's footprint covers the Pacific Northwest region, specifically the states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana. Its key offerings include fiber internet and phone for residential customers, Business Fiber Internet, and Ziply Voice services for small businesses; and a variety of internet, networking and voice solutions for enterprise customers. The company will also continue to support DSL and grandfathered TV customers. Ziply has stated that it plans on investing $500 million to improve its network and service throughout its footprint. This includes bringing fiber to nearly 85% of its network, which mainly encompasses rural communities. Currently approximately 30% have access to fiber as of June 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frontier Communications</span> American telecommunications company

Frontier Communications Parent, Inc. is an American telecommunications company. Known as Citizens Utilities Company until 2000, Citizens Communications Company until 2008, and Frontier Communications Corporation until 2020, as a communications provider with a fiber-optic network and cloud-based services, Frontier offers broadband internet, digital television, and computer technical support to residential and business customers in 25 states. In some areas it also offers home phone services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Multimedia over Coax Alliance</span> International standards consortium that publishes specifications for networking over coaxial cable

The Multimedia over Coax Alliance (MoCA) is an international standards consortium that publishes specifications for networking over coaxial cable. The technology was originally developed to distribute IP television in homes using existing cabling, but is now used as a general-purpose Ethernet link where it is inconvenient or undesirable to replace existing coaxial cable with optical fiber or twisted pair cabling.

Comcast MO Group, Inc. was created by US WEST Inc, one of the original Baby Bells Regional Bell Operating Companies, acquisition of Boston-based Continental Cable and combined with its previously acquired Atlanta-based Wometco/GTC. Wometco/GTC adopted the MediaOne name a year earlier. Media One Group was acquired in 2000 by AT&T Broadband, which was subsequently acquired by Comcast in 2002.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Internet in Denmark</span> Overview of the Internet in Denmark

In an international context Denmark is viewed as a somewhat peculiar country when it comes to internet access. The former state owned telephone company TDC owns the entire last mile infrastructure in terms of copper telephone lines and the vast majority of the coaxial cable infrastructure as well. Even though the Danish telecommunications infrastructure is very heavily dominated by one company, Danish internet customers still enjoy fair prices and a wide availability of different next generation access internet connections in comparison with most other EU countries. Furthermore, TDCs de facto monopoly on last mile infrastructure has come under attack. In the last decade regional power companies have formed national business alliances aimed at implementing FTTH for private and business end users.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julius Genachowski</span> American lawyer and businessman

Julius Genachowski is an American lawyer and businessman. He became the Federal Communications Commission Chairman on June 29, 2009. On March 22, 2013, he announced he would be leaving the FCC in the coming weeks. On January 6, 2014, it was announced that Genachowski had joined The Carlyle Group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Avram Miller</span>

Avram Miller is an American businessman, corporate venture capitalist, scientist and technologist. He served as vice president, Business Development for Intel Corporation (1984-1999). With Leslie L. Vadász, he co-founded Intel Capital. He led Intel's initiative to help create and expand residential broadband Internet access.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Comcast Business</span>

Comcast Business is a subsidiary of Comcast, which, through several iterations, has handled the sales, marketing, and delivery of internet, phone, and cable television to businesses. In 2012, Comcast Business grew by 34%, the fastest growth of any of Comcast's products in 2012, reaching $2.4 billion in revenue. In 2013, Comcast Business generated $3.2 billion in revenue, an increase of 26% over 2012 revenue.

Jeff Binder is an American entrepreneur and the builder of several startups in the technology, media, and telecommunications sectors. He is the former executive vice president of home and entertainment at T-Mobile after the company bought Layer3 TV, the company Binder co-founded and served as the CEO of until the purchase for $325 million. Layer3's service and platform eventually became T-Mobile's "T-Vision" once its version was launched by the company. Jeff Binder was also the founding CEO of Broadbus Technologies and an early investor and chairman of This Technology, which were sold respectively to Motorola and Comcast. He is brothers with renowned television producer, Steven D. Binder.

References

  1. ↑ "David Fellows Bio, Stats". Sports Reference. Archived from the original on June 10, 2017. Retrieved June 25, 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 Santo, Brian (May 4, 2015). "Fellows joins Energy 2020 program as chief scientist". CED Magazine. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved June 19, 2015.
  3. ↑ Albiniak, Page (April 3, 2002). "Cable hands out Vanguard Awards". Broadcasting and Cable. Retrieved June 19, 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 Hempel, Jessi (April 10, 2016). "LAYER3 TV'S Crazy Plan to TAke on Comcast and Reinvent Cable". Wired. Retrieved June 23, 2017.
  5. ↑ Jarvey, Natalie (June 3, 2015). "Cable Startup Layer3 TV Raises $51 Million". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 19, 2015.
  6. 1 2 3 Boswell, Thomas (July 2, 1979). "Another Step for Scientists". Washington Post. Retrieved September 8, 2015.
  7. ↑ Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "David Fellows Olympic Results". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on April 18, 2020. Retrieved August 25, 2018.
  8. ↑ "Gordon W. Fellows, 69, Retired UMass microbiologist". Boston Globe. February 24, 1996. Archived from the original on September 14, 2018. Retrieved June 19, 2015.
  9. 1 2 3 Brown, Roger (December 31, 1996). "Keeping Continental on the Fast Track". CED. Retrieved June 25, 2017.
  10. 1 2 "Meet the Subcommittee Chairs". SCTE. Retrieved August 24, 2015.
  11. ↑ "DOCSIS Cable Modem Technology" (PDF). hit.bme.hu. Budapest University of Technology and Economics. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
  12. ↑ "VSATs". Computer World. February 1, 1988. Retrieved June 20, 2015.
  13. ↑ Kuhl, Craig (May 17, 2008). "2008 CABLE SHOW: A Growing Family Of Pioneers". Multi Channel News. Retrieved June 20, 2015.
  14. ↑ Baumgartner, Dave (May 4, 2015). "Dave Fellows Joins SCTE 'Energy 2020' Team". Multichannel News. Retrieved June 19, 2015.
  15. ↑ Nelson, Steve (1999). "Amos Hostetter". Cable Center. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
  16. 1 2 Scheisel, Seth (October 24, 2001). "AT&T Names 3 to Lead Cable TV Unit". New York Times. Retrieved June 20, 2015.
  17. ↑ Yassini, Rouzbeth (2003). Planet Broadband . Cisco Press. p.  41. ISBN   1587200902 . Retrieved June 20, 2015. Dave Fellows continental cablevision.
  18. ↑ Watson, Sharon (September 9, 1996). "HFC tops innovations in fiber". Telephony.}
  19. ↑ Hyatt, Josh (August 25, 1993). "Cable Firms to Offer PCS Link". Boston, MA: Boston Globe. p. 29.
  20. ↑ Lambert, Peter (August 30, 1993). "Continental, PSI Will Link Subs to Internet". Multi Channel News. p. 33.
  21. 1 2 Dinant, Neolle (March 12, 2002). "Family, doctor believes in miracles and medicine". Salem Evening News.
  22. ↑ Gest, Justin (October 5, 2000). "TECH Event Draws Crowd of Over 50". The Harvard Crimson. Retrieved June 25, 2017.
  23. ↑ Grant, Peter (October 13, 2005). "To Ward Off New Competitors, Comcast Builds a Mini Internet". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved June 20, 2015.
  24. ↑ "AT&T Corp Investor Presentation". SEC. Securities and Exchange Commission. Retrieved June 20, 2015.
  25. ↑ Viscarolasaga, Efrain (November 25, 2008). "New tech-focused investment funds dismiss down economy". Boston Business Journal. Retrieved June 20, 2015.
  26. ↑ Baumgartner, Jeff (April 23, 2017). "NAB 2017: Layer3 TV's CTO Says Customer is 'Center of the Universe'". Multichannel News. Retrieved June 23, 2017.
  27. ↑ Jarvey, Natalie (April 19, 2017). "Cable Startup Layer3 TV Launches in L.A. (Exclusive)". Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved June 23, 2017.
  28. ↑ Wood, Peter (July 11, 1976). "Crews in Crisis". New York Times. Retrieved June 25, 2017.
  29. 1 2 Powers, Harry (August 18, 2013). "Harvard salutes the late Harry Parker on Charles". Boston Globe. Retrieved June 19, 2015.
  30. 1 2 Powers, John (May 27, 1980). "Olympic Athletes: What Will". Chicago Sun Times. Retrieved June 19, 2015.
  31. ↑ Anderson, Andy (May 1, 2007). "The Greatest Eights". Rowing News. Retrieved June 19, 2015.
  32. ↑ "David Fellows, '74". Harvard Varsity Club. Retrieved June 25, 2017.
  33. ↑ "Head of the Charles Full Start List" (PDF). Regatta 2008. Head of the Charles. Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016. Retrieved July 22, 2015.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.