President and Chief Executive Officer, CableLabs, 2008 Cable Hall of Fame
Richard R. Green is President and CEO of Cable Television Laboratories, Inc. (CableLabs®). In this position he heads the research and development organization responsible for charting the cable television industry’s course in technology. Green has served in this role for the past 20 years.
Under Green’s leadership, CableLabs has managed key technology developments that have helped the cable industry expand services to include high speed data delivery and telephony, new business lines that generate $15 billion and $5 billion annually, respectively. The development of the Data over Cable Services Interface Specification (DOCSIS?) has resulted in cable’s dominance of the High-Speed Data market in North America and the retail availability of high-speed cable modems. The data service provides a base for a successful and growing business in telephony for the cable industry.
Of current importance is the deployment of interactive television services including targeted advertising and web-based video services now being deployed under the advanced digital devices (OpenCable?) project. Other initiatives focus on sophisticated use of packet technology on cable systems to deliver multimedia services (PacketCable?), extending DOCSIS into the home (CableHome?), Go2BroadbandSM, an industry-wide service locator, and CableB2B, an initiative to support the automation of regular, day-to-day business communication between cable system operators and Internet content providers.
Prior to CableLabs®, Green held the position of senior vice president of Broadcast Operations and Engineering at the Public Broadcasting Service where his contributions included construction of national network origination and transmission facilities. He was instrumental in establishing Public Broadcasting as a leader in High Definition Television and digital audio transmission technology. Prior to his role at PBS, he helped organize and establish the Advanced Television Systems Committee, a multi-industry-supported organization founded to develop voluntary national standards for advanced television. He held the position of Executive Director of that organization until 1983.
From 1980 to 1983, Green was director of the CBS Advanced Television Technology Laboratory in Stamford, Conn. In addition to his work at CBS in digital television and high-definition TV, Green participated in international standardization efforts that date from the late 1970s and chaired the committee that developed CCIR (now ITU-R) Recommendation 601, a worldwide television standard for digital signals. He is currently chairman of SG9, a United Nations signatory committee (ITU-T) charged with the responsibility of recommending worldwide standards for advanced television services.
Green served as Director of Engineering at Time Fiber Communication from 1979-1980. In that role he developed technology for cabling of fiber and electro-optic and laser technology for application in cable distribution.
From 1977 to 1979, Dr. Green managed ABC’s Video Tape Post Production Department in Hollywood, and from 1972 to 1977, he directed basic research in laser technology for the Hughes Aircraft Co. in Los Angeles. Green served as a senior staff scientist for Boeing Scientific Research Laboratories (1964-1972), and as an assistant professor at the University of Washington (1968-1972).
Green is a member of Phi Beta Kappa, the CTAM Board of Directors, the IEC (International Engineering Consortium) Board of Directors, the National Cable Television Center and Museum Executive Committee, is Chairman of Study Group 9 of the International Telecommunications Union, is Chairman of the Communications Technology Advisory Board, is a member of the FCC Technical Advisory Council, and is a Cable Television Pioneer. He also is a member of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, and a fellow of the Society of Motion Picture and TV Engineers.
He is the author of more than 55 technical papers on topics ranging from TV production to electro-optical and laser research. Green was voted CED’s Man of the Year in 1991 and was selected by ElectronicMedia as one of 12 people in the US media to watch in 1993. He is the recipient of the 1999 NCTA Vanguard Award for Science & Technology. Green managed and produced the first HDTV programs in the U.S. in December of 1981.
A native of Colorado Springs, Green holds a B.S. degree from Colorado College (1959),
A M.S. in physics from the State University of New York in Albany (1964), and a Ph.D. from the University of Washington (1968).
