After getting off to a relatively late start, cable technologists are starting to get pretty serious about their embrace of SDN, NFV and other virtualization technologies.

For one thing, cable operators and vendors are now pursuing ways to cut, or at least limit, energy consumption as they start to shift from hardware-intensive networks to software-based architectures. In line with this move, they're also studying how virtualization approaches can help them save precious space in their congested headend facilities.

In a webinar produced in tandem with the Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers (SCTE) Wednesday, we will delve into the energy-savings implications of virtualization. Senior executives from Comcast Corp. (Nasdaq: CMCSA, CMCSK), SCTE and two key equipment vendors -- Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq: CSCO) and Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK) -- will spell out what they're doing and seeing with SDN, NFV and related cloud-based technologies. You can find out more information and sign up here for the one-hour webinar, which starts at 11:00 a.m. ET.

The webinar, entitled "How Cable Can Virtualize Real Energy Savings," is part of a larger initiative that we're conducting around SCTE/ISBE's Energy 2020 program. With SCTE, Comcast, Cisco and Nokia, we are also crafting a white paper and shooting video interviews on the subject. (See How We're Energizing Savings With SCTE.)

Want to know more about virtualizing the cable architecture? Then sign up for our special SCTE Cable-Tec Expo breakfast forum, Tuesday, September 27, at the Pennsylvania Convention Center in Philadelphia.

Besides digging into the energy-savings implications of virtualization, cable technologists are also studying the potential cost savings of SDN, NFV and other cloud-based approaches. At SCTE Cable-Tec Expo in Philadelphia next week, several companies plan to spell out the projected savings they are seeing from early trials and business use cases, including Nokia and Amdocs Ltd. (NYSE: DOX).

Teaming up once again, Light Reading and SCTE will tackle that subject in a special breakfast forum at Cable-Tec Expo next week. The free, 75-minute forum -- featuring senior executives from SCTE, Cox Communications Inc. , Amdocs, Juniper Networks Inc. (NYSE: JNPR) and Viavi Solutions Inc. -- will take place Tuesday, Sept. 27 in the Pennsylvania Convention Center, just before the main show's opening general session. You can sign up for the breakfast forum right here.

So, if you think virtualization isn't becoming a reality for cable, better think again.

— Alan Breznick, Cable/Video Practice Leader, Light Reading