OpenCable™ FOCIS™ Sets Four
Working Groups

Among its purposes, FOCIS provides developers of interactive content, applications and services with an opportunity to help influence the OpenCable Application Platform (OCAP) as it is being drafted and developed. As part of the OpenCable project, OCAP is being designed to establish a common authoring system for interactive applications that would run on OpenCable host devices, thereby freeing developers from creating multiple versions and formats.

As with other CableLabs projects, OpenCable is working to ensure that OCAP will be an open platform for application development. "OpenCable wants to make it easy for application developers to write their application once and to deliver it in a portable fashion that would execute on all OpenCable compliant devices," said Don Dulchinos, Vice President of Advanced Platforms and Services at CableLabs and head of the OpenCable initiative. "FOCIS also will expedite broadband content creation for cable consumers, which in turn benefits our members," Dulchinos added.

FOCIS "is a forum to facilitate information sharing and collaboration for the OCAP specifications," Dulchinos noted. "It’s designed to bring together interactive service providers engaged in content development, applications, and services compatible with the OCAP specification, as well as new vendors exploring or entering into the broadband cable market."

Last year, meetings were held in May at the National Cable Television Association’s Cable 2000 show in New Orleans, and in December at the California Cable Television Association’s Western Show. The purpose of these initial meetings was primarily to educate the development community, many of whom are entering the cable broadband space for the first time. Attendees were given overviews of CableLabs, the OpenCable project, and the FOCIS initiative.

However, the February 9 meeting was scheduled as a "working session," and attendees were asked to come ready to participate and get involved with the FOCIS effort. The program included a discussion of the previous day’s OpenCable Developer’s Conference (please see related story), an OCAP overview, and business opportunities for FOCIS members.

CableLabs’ staff passed signup sheets around the room to gauge levels of interest in four separate FOCIS working groups. A total of 27 attendees signed up for at least one working group, and many committed to two or even three groups. The total for all four working groups is 44 interested parties.

FOCIS members also will gain exposure to potential buyers of their products through face-to-face meetings, contacts, and product demonstrations planned with key executives from major cable operating companies.