ACA Connects All-Star Lineup An All-Star Lineup of ACA Connects Sessions at TIS 2023

By John Higginbotham ACA Connects EVP & COO

We are just a few short weeks from The Independent Show (TIS) in Minneapolis, Minn., and ACA Connects Staff members are ready to talk to ACAC Members on several topics at TIS 2023. You’ve probably read in an article by Pam Gillies in this issue of Independent Communications News (ICN), what the National Content & Technology Cooperative (NCTC) is planning for TIS, so here’s what you can expect to take away from ACA Connects’ sessions this year.

We lead off Monday with the

ACA Connects Members Meeting just before lunch. There, we will hear from ACAC President and CEO Grant Spellmeyer and ACAC Chairman Patricia Jo Boyers concerning the state of our advocacy while looking ahead to the remainder of 2023 and into 2024. Staff will cover election results for the Board of Directors, and recognize Members for their contributions to the overall Membership during the past 12 months.

Exhibits open Monday, July 31, as lunch concludes and ACAC will operate a booth again this year. We look forward to seeing you there and answering your questions, or just stop by and say hello. The ACAC booth will be open Monday from from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. CT, Tuesday, August 1 from 9:30 a.m. – Noon and again from 1:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. Also on Monday, ACAC and NCTC legal teams are once again offering their popular Legal & Regulatory Roundtable. The room is always packed, so get there early for the 2 p.m. start.

Moving on to Tuesday, August 1, following the keynote from Zconomy author Jason Dorsey, the ACAC team will provide the latest public policy news in an “Update from Washington.” Topics will include the $42.45 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment (BEAD) Program; the ACACrelated issues at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC); the status of the three nominations to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) pending before the U.S. Senate; and the future of Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). Please note: There will be loads of important info flowing from this discussion.

After lunch Tuesday, ACAC will conduct its breakout sessions. Retrans, retrans, broadband labels! We’ll focus first on what Washington, D.C., thinks about the video market and if there are opportunities to improve the retrans regime with Chairman Boyers and Alpine Group Principal & Chairman Rhod Shaw. Next, we’ll have a panel discussion with retrans experts digging deeper into the latest regulatory and judicial developments in the video space, plus insights on what you might expect when you get to the retrans negotiation table this year.

And last, ACAC Chief Regulatory Counsel Brian Hurley will lead a panel discussing Broadband “nutrition labels” with an emphasis on the looming requirements and the implementation challenges that providers are likely to face.

Rounding out ACAC’s TIS sessions on Wednesday morning August 2, is “BEAD is Here: Will You Gopher the Funding?” It is well known to TIS attendees that BEAD Program’s massive funding is an historic investment to close the digital divide. The clock is now ticking for States/ Territories to prepare their BEAD implementation Initial Proposals; hearing directly from State Broadband Leaders could not be timelier.

There’s something for everyone in this all-star lineup of sessions, and we trust you’ll come away prepared for 2023 and beyond. If you haven’t registered yet, visit http://www.theindependentshow. org to register and review the full agenda and exhibitors. The whole ACAC team is looking forward to seeing you in Minneapolis! ■