Cable engineers don't ever seem to really "retire." Many end up consulting, joining boards with industry suppliers, or otherwise keep their hands in the game and remain connected to their cable roots in one way or another.
And some just don't consult, but start up their own firms. Such is the case with longtime Comcast engineer Charlie Cerino, who “retired” from the MSO in April following a career that started there in 1978 as a system engineer tasked with helping the operator build plant in the Philadelphia suburbs. Cerino, who continues to serve as president of the Multimedia over Coax Alliance (MoCA), confirmed that he has launched a company called CDOCS LLC.
So, what's that about?
“Well, we joke that CDOCS stands for Charlie’s Department of Common Sense. But comprehensive design of communication systems is closer to reality,” he told me in an email exchange, noting that it the work will involve “all phases” of system design – from space planning to technical organizational assessments.
And he won’t be going at it full time, at least for now. “So I plan to start slow and choose how involved I get,” noted Cerino, who last served as vice president of technology at the Comcast Center in Philadelphia.
And Cerino’s still president of MoCA, a role he’s had since May 2007. Cerino said he’s working on an agreement with Comcast to stay on the board of MoCA “and continue the work I have been doing to promote the standard.”
Adoption of MoCA among cable and satellite TV providers has risen steadily during Cerino’s tenure. According to a new forecast from Infonetics, sales of set-tops with embedded MoCA technology grew 23% in the second half of 2012, while MoCA adapters, though still shipping in small amounts, jumped 129%. Infonetics expects MoCA-capable set-tops to account for 46% of home networking device sales by 2017.
