WVU alumnus and cable modem pioneer Rouzbeh Yassini recently shared the story of how his technology helped bring high-speed internet into millions of American homes in an episode of the BBC World Service’s Witness History.
Yassini studied electrical engineering at West Virginia University with plans to attend medical school. During his final two years at WVU, however, his studies in telecommunications changed his career path.
“Telecommunications, just like medical, has no boundaries, and is just as unknown to mankind as medical is,” Yassini said.
After working for General Electric and the data networking company Proteon, Yassini became convinced that existing coaxial cable lines, traditionally used to deliver cable television, could also be used to transmit internet data. At the time, many believed new wiring would be needed to connect homes to the internet.
When his idea was rejected by company management, Yassini continued developing the technology independently. He founded his own company in 1990 and began testing cable modem technology in residential homes in Stow, Massachusetts. After overcoming interference that initially disrupted the signal, his team successfully transmitted data from a home to a company.
Rather than keep the technology proprietary, Yassini licensed it royalty-free to the telecommunications industry. His company later developed a mass-market cable modem for home use, helping accelerate the adoption of broadband in the United States.
Yassini recounts this history in The Accidental Network: How a Small Company Sparked a Global Broadband Transformation.
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