Dave Fellows

David Fellows (born September 19, 1952) is an American engineer, entrepreneur, and scientist. He is the co-founder and chief technology officer of Layer3 TV, and served previously as the chief technology officer for Comcast and AT&T Broadband.

Fellows is also an athlete. He competed in the 1976 Olympic Games as a member of the US Rowing team.

Early life and education Fellows is the son of Gordon W. Fellows, a microbiologist from Wayland, Massachusetts. In high school, he ran track. He also completed post-graduate studies at Harvard Business School.

Career GTE Laboratories, Siemens, Scientific Atlanta In 1976, Fellows was hired as a research scientist at GTE Laboratories, where he worked on fiber optics, digital signal processing, satellite communications, and technology related to the development of ISDN. After consulting on an integrated circuit strategy, he was promoted to vice president at GTE's headquarters in Stamford, Connecticut. He later returned to GTE Laboratories as a liaison to the product division, and subsequently served as VP of R&D for transmission products, focusing on digital loop carrier and fiber technology.

In 1979, Fellows filed for his first patent. Awarded in 1982, it enabled devices to power down and use only the energy required to monitor for signals indicating a need to be recharged.

Continental Cablevision, Media One, Pilot House In 1992, Fellows was hired as senior vice president of engineering and CTO at Continental Cablevision, where he worked with Amos Hostetter, Jr., the company's founder.

Fellows left MediaOne in 1998 to help with the care of his son Christopher after he was diagnosed with a brain stem tumor.

AT&T Broadband, Comcast In 2001, Fellows was named CTO of AT&T Broadband; after its merger with Comcast, he became Comcast's executive vice president and CTO, overseeing the company's 15,000 engineers and technicians. He created the architecture for television, broadband, and voice delivery, and in 2005, Fellows replaced the core of the legacy cable infrastructure with a "mini internet," which resulted in Comcast's delivery of video programming based on internet protocols and equipment. He also developed Comcast's “Triple Play” strategy of bundling together cable, broadband and television subscriptions. The company spent several years building out its technology and negotiating content deals before launching in the fall of 2016.

Rowing career As a student at Harvard, Fellows was recruited for the university's rowing team. He rowed for seven United States national rowing teams between 1973 and 1979, including the teams of the 1975 and 1979 Pan American Games, where he won a bronze and a silver medal, respectively. He was the captain of the 1976 Olympic rowing team.

Affiliations and recognition Fellows serves as the chief scientist for the Society of Cable Telecommunications Engineers Energy 2020 Initiative and is the chair of the Data Standards Subcommittee.

Fellows, also a runner and cyclist, continued to row following his competitive career. He was named to the Harvard University Athletic Hall of Fame in 1998.