CableLabs exec Belal Hamzeh exits to take VP post at Comcast

Belal Hamzeh, most recently the chief technology officer at CableLabs, has left that role to join Comcast as VP of access technology and systems engineering.

Hamzeh made note of the change on LinkedIn, calling Comcast a "company and team that I long admired for pushing the edge of innovation, execution and delivering next generation broadband with the Xfinity 10G network."

He's joining Comcast as the operator pushes ahead with distributed access architecture (DAA) and virtualization upgrades of its hybrid fiber/coax (HFC) network in preparation for DOCSIS 4.0, a CableLabs spec that will support symmetrical-multigigabit speeds. Comcast announced this week that it has upgraded "Gigabit Pro," its targeted residential fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) platform to support symmetrical 10-Gig speeds.

Comcast has been asked for more detail on Hamzeh's role at the operator.

Update: Comcast confirmed Hamzeh's role, noting that he will "be very involved in our DOCSIS 4.0 efforts and we're thrilled to have him on the team."

Hamzeh joins Comcast following a decade at CableLabs, where he most recently drove the long-term vision for the organization's efforts around wired and wireless network convergence and security technologies. Last April, Hamzeh, who reported to CableLabs CEO Phil McKinney, took over some key convergence-focused activities and projects that were formerly headed by Mariam Sorond, who left the organization last spring to become CTO of VMware's service provider and edge business.

Prior to his roles at CableLabs, Hamzeh served as chief product architect at Intel Corp., where his focus included 3G/4G architectures.

"Dr. Belal Hamzeh joined CableLabs 10 years ago and he has contributed greatly to the development of new technology innovations critical to the cable broadband industry," CableLabs said in a statement. "Belal has an excellent opportunity to bring his expertise to one of our member companies and we are very pleased that he will continue to collaborate with CableLabs in his new role."

CableLabs said Mark Bridges assumed the CTO role at CableLabs, effective June 1.

Bridges, who joined CableLabs in 2010, most recently served as VP of the future infrastructure group under the office of the CTO at CableLabs.

Bridges also served as director and chief architect at Avaya and was founder and CEO of VCS Inc., a systems integrator.

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— Jeff Baumgartner, Senior Editor, Light Reading