Grant, BEAD, TIS, Retrans and a Lot More!

By Ted Hearn

ACA Connects VP of Communications

Inside this edition of Independent Communications News (ICN), we celebrate innovation and creativity amid rapid technological change. Our sector keeps testing the limits in some unexpected and dynamic ways – have you given ChatGPT a try? Enjoy ICN’s thought-provoking features and user-friendly, effortless navigation.

Let’s start with our cover story. Grant Spellmeyer stepped into his role as ACA Connects President and CEO just one year ago, taking his first public bow at the Independent Show at Disney World. Grant promised that a top priority would be to travel the country to visit ACAC Members where they live and work. Judging from Grant’s ICN article, he kept his word and then some. He’s been on the road almost constantly, a cyclone of activity, while at the same time positioning ACA Connects as the thought leader on all the big issues facing ACAC Members in Washington, D.C. Thanks, Grant for your policy acumen, bold vision, and steady leadership.

This issue of ICN comes just weeks ahead of the Independent Show in Minneapolis, Minn. In her matchless style, ACA Connects Chairman Patricia Jo Boyers urges her ACA Connects teammates hither and yon to register for TIS 2023 RIGHT NOW and show up because there will be so much to learn, especially about the

Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program, which contains $42.45 billion in broadband deployment and adoption grants for the states, territories, Washington, D.C., and Puerto Rico. A wave of cash like that doesn’t come around often, as Patty notes, so ACA Connects Members need to be prepared to share in the benefits stemming from BEAD’s noble goal of closing the digital divide once and for all. Patty also underscores that ACAC will do all it can to ensure BEAD money does not overbuild existing, privately funded broadband infrastructure.

Want some help from ACA Connects staff while at TIS 2023?

John Higginbotham, ACAC’s

Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer, has many of those key details in his article. And please take his advice and do stop by the ACA Connects TIS 2023 exhibit floor booth, even if it’s just to say hello and grab a tchotchke or two. And our good friend, Pam Gillies, VP of Marketing and Communications, NCTC, has her own interesting outlook for TIS 2023.

ACA Connects staff always takes great pride in helping make ICN such an interesting read.

This ICN has efforts by Senior Director of Meetings & Industry Affairs Stacey Leech, Chief Regulatory Counsel Brian Hurley, and Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Mike Jacobs. Topics include our Associate Member Program (AMP) and ACAC Community Champions 2023 Contest (Stacey), the scourge of robocalls (Brian) and TV stations’ gradual transition to NextGen TV (Mike). Alpine Group VP Curtis Philp, as only he can, tells us what to expect on Capitol Hill for the balance of the year.

This issue of ICN highlights what many in the multichannel video programming distributor (MVPD) community would consider a lowlight: Retransmission consent. In his article, Cinnamon Mueller partner Bruce Beard notes the coming of the new election cycle in the fall. Please heed Bruce’s friendly advice: “As you enter into negotiations, you need to know and remember that there have been recent changes and interpretations of the rules.”

ICN has broad appeal because ACA Connects’ partners routinely contribute. So we’d like to thank the fine contributions to this issue from AMP participants NCTI, Calix, Adara Technologies, OpenVault and Technetix.

For ICN’s sharp layout and professional look, we thank ACA Connects’ Digital Media Specialist Nathan Penrod, whose passion for style, design and innovation is reflected in all 48 pages of this issue of ICN, and is confirmed by the wonderful feedback he routinely receives from grateful readers.

Enjoy your new edition of ICN! ■

Ted Hearn is Vice President of Communications of ACA Connects. He is responsible for interacting with media representatives as well as preparing and distributing nearly all ACA Connects external communications. These communications include: Press releases, statements, speeches, the ACAC Daily Media Sweep, and the biweekly ACAction Brief.

Publisher John Higginbotham 502.330.4057 jhigginbotham@acaconnects.org Editor Ted Hearn 202.713.0826 thearn@acaconnects.org

Advertising/Business Stacey Leech 724.971.6388 stacey.leech@acaconnects.org

Creative Director Nathan Penrod 412.715.2494 npenrod@acaconnects.org

Subscriptions aca@acaconnects.org

ACA CONNECTS STAFF

President & CEO

Grant Spellmeyer

Assistant to the President & CEO

Tomeika Slappy EVP & COO

John Higginbotham

VP Communications

Ted Hearn

Chief Regulatory Counsel

Brian Hurley

VP Regulatory Affairs

Mike Jacobs

Director of Regulatory Affairs

Bill Tortoriello

Sr. Director of Meetings/Industry Affairs

Stacey Leech

Grassroots Manager Caroline Persinger Digital Media Specialist Nathan Penrod