October 2, 2019 - Public Issue ACA CONNECTS: KEY DEVELOPMENTS ACA Connects Offers FCC Proposals To Maximize RDOF Support Utilized By Smaller Broadband Providers ACA Connects, in Sept. 20 comments filed with the Federal Communications Commission, applauded the FCC for launching the $20.4 billion Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) and awarding support by using a reverse auction. However, ACA Connects explained the proposed rules for the program would not maximize participation in the auction and therefore both waste scarce government support and fail to bring higher performance broadband services to unserved eligible areas. ACA Connects recommended the FCC modify its weighting methodology to encourage providers to bid to offer higher performance services. The FCC also can increase participation by using individual census blocks as the minimum geographic area. ACA Connects President and CEO Matthew M. Polka explained, “In proposing the Rural Digital Opportunity Fund, the FCC has ‘caught the broadband train.’ The RDOF has the potential to bring high performance broadband services to unserved rural America and best use limited government funds. But that will only occur if the FCC adopts rules that encourage the maximum number of potential bidders to participate.” Read more. ACA FILING (9/20): FCC Comments re Rural Digital Opportunity Fund and Connect America Fund ACA CONNECTS' REGIONAL SHOW: KANSAS CITY, MO. The ACA Connects public policy team hit the road this year to stage regional meetings designed to ensure ACA Connects members are kept as current as possible on developments in Washington, D.C. The fourth and final "Regional Roadshow" occurred Wednesday, Sept. 25, in Kansas City, Mo. at the Kansas City Marriott. Opening remarks came from ACA Connects Chairman Patricia Jo Boyers, a Missouri resident who said her near term goal is the repeal of retransmission consent. Mrs. Boyers pointed to the introduction of the Modern Television Act of 2019 as a potential legislative vehicle for achieving that goal. Other speakers included ACA Connects President and CEO Matthew M. Polka; ACA Connects EVP Member Services & Finance/Chief of Staff Robert Shema; ACA Connects Senior Vice President of Government Affairs Ross Lieberman; and Alpine Group EVP Ansley Erdel. Additional comments came from Judy Meyka, NCTC's EVP of Programming, and Jared Baumann, NCTC's VP of Broadband Services. Attendee registrants included: Sparklight; Waverly Utilities; Conway Corp; Citizens Telephone & Cablevision; Midco; ImOn Communications; Eagle Communications; Leverage Consulting; Allo Communications; Vast Broadband; Vyve Broadband; and Indianola Municipal Utilities. ACA Connects Chairman Patricia ACA Connects President and Jo Boyers CEO Matthew M. Polka ACA CONNECTS AT THE MID-AMERICA SHOW Following the ACA Connects' regional session, the Mid-America Cable Telecommunications Association (MACTA) held its annual conference at the same Marriott hotel in downtown Kansas City, Mo. The Sept. 26 MACTA event featured a sitdown interview with Phil Spencer (right), with questioning led by ACA Connects President and CEO Matthew M. Polka. Spencer is CEO of Northland Communications & MegaBroadband Investments, which recently announced definitive agreements to acquire Vyve Broadband and Eagle Communications. Both transactions are scheduled to close in Q4 2019. Later in the program, Polka and ACA Connects EVP Member Services & Finance/Chief of Staff Robert Shema were inducted into MACTA’s Pathfinder class of 2019. The Wendell Woody Pathfinder award was established in 1997 to recognize an elite group of cable industry professionals who actively participated for at least 20 years and made a significant impact on the industry during that time. OTHER ACA CONNECTS FILINGS ACA Connects has been actively representing independent cable in many other ways and on many issues in Washington, D.C. Those efforts are described in the filings, letters, and testimonies linked below for your review: (9/25): FCC Ex Parte re Expanding Flexible Use of the 3.7 to 4.2 GHz Band w/ Offices of Cmmsrs Carr, Rosenworcel, and Starks and WTB, IB, OET, and OEA. (9/23): FCC Comments re Establishing the Digital Opportunity Data Collection and Modernizing the FCC Form 477 Data Program ​​(9/20): FCC Comments re Review of EEO Compliance and Enforcement in Broadcast and Multichannel Video Programming Industries ACA CONNECTS PODCASTS What’s retransmission consent all about? Why will “free TV” cost consumers about $11 billion in 2019? Why have TV stations blacked out their signals a record 230 times in 2019? In this edition of DC2U, ACA Connects’ podcast and videocast, ACA Connects President and CEO Matthew M. Polka explores these issues with three noted communications policy experts. From left to right: Mike Chappell, Executive Director of the American Television Alliance (ATVA); Trent Duffy, Partner with HDMK and ATVA spokesman; and John Simpson with Ride TV, an independent programmer. The podcast comes at a critical time with Congress in the process of reauthorizing the Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act Reauthorization Act of 2014 (STELAR), which not only requires TV stations to bargain for retrans in good faith but also prevents them from signing exclusive retrans deals that would likely impede competition among multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs). Congress is also taking a close look at the Modern Television Act (H.R.3994), a bipartisan bill sponsored by Rep. Steve Scalise (R-La.) and Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) that would abolish retransmission consent and establish other policy reforms. This podcast was recorded Sept. 4 in Washington, D.C. ACA Connects is an ATVA member. Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/aca-connects/dc2u?refid=stpr Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/0Ov1uKk7TH56PkblcmbeTn ACA Connects The Hub: https://acaconnects.org/thehub/ You Tube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rs_Mv2AV1Ns&feature=youtu.be ACA Connects DC2U Podcast/Videocast: 5G, C-Band Spectrum, and More Rural Fiber Deployment – The Experts Discuss the “5G Plus Plan” and What It Means for America Want some real news from a few key D.C. policy insiders on the fate of the C-Band spectrum? Then search no further than this edition of DC2U, ACA Connects’ podcast and videocast hosted by ACA Connects President and CEO Matthew M. Polka. To get a good idea of the underlying issues and policy alternatives related to clearing the C- Band, Polka turned to three policy experts: ACA Connects Senior Vice President of Government Affairs Ross Lieberman, Charter Communications Vice President of Regulatory Affairs Colleen King, and Competitive Carriers Association (CCA) Senior Vice President & General Counsel Alexi Maltas. ACA Connects, Charter, and CCA combined to craft a proposal that needs Federal Communications Commission approval called the “5G Plus Plan.” The plan will free up a large swath of C-Band airwaves via an FCC auction for use by mobile communications providers planning to deploy 5G technology. The 5G Plus Plan will also generate billions in revenue for the U.S. Treasury; some of the auction revenue will fund an extensive fiber network especially needed by smaller multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs) that will no longer be able to rely on C-Band airwaves to receive satellite- delivered programming after the conclusion of the FCC’s C-Band auction. Complex and controversial with many parties at the table, the C-Band spectrum debate will be one of the most important issues the FCC will attempt to resolve this year. To get a sense of where the FCC is headed – a vote is expected this November – this new DC2U podcast is a good place to start. The podcast was recorded Sept. 4 in Washington D.C. Links: Spotify | iTunes | YouTube | Stitcher | ACA Connects: The Hub Please find this podcast edition on other sites by searching (for now) ACA Connects or DC2U. PREVIOUS PODCASTS: Diane Christman: Senior Vice President and Chief Program Officer at the Cable Center Podomatic: https://bit.ly/2knsXdF Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/aca-connects/id1349457640 The Hub: https://acaconnects.org/thehub/ Duke Wimberly, a star of Ride TV’s “Cowgirls” series ​​Podomatic: https://bit.ly/2ML7o2Z Apple: https://apple.co/2HyY9ic The Hub: https://acaconnects.org/thehub Jay Thomson, CEO at the Canadian Communication Systems Alliance Inc. (CCSA). Podomatic: https://bit.ly/2zeEm34 Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/aca-connects/id1349457640 Website: https://acaconnects.org/thehub/ Todd F. Schurz, President and Chief Executive Officer of Schurz Communications in Mishawaka, Ind., and Katherine Gessner, President of MCTV in Massillon, Oh. Podomatic: https://bit.ly/2N6LAhV Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/aca-connects/id1349457640 ACA Connects Website: https://acaconnects.org/thehub/ ACA CONNECTS: NEWS HEADLINES BELD To Turn Off Cable TV On Dec. 2 (Telecompetitor, 9/24) BELD, a broadband provider in Braintree, Mass., owned by utility Braintree Electric Light Department, announced that it now offers gigabit service but will no longer offer cable TV service as of December 2. The news illustrates a growing trend – broadband providers de-emphasizing video in favor of higher-speed broadband, which can support streaming video as an alternative to traditional pay TV. BELD is even helping customers find streaming video cable replacement options. To support its new strategy, BELD put together some attention-getting and user-friendly online resources to advise customers how to make the