The American
Cable Association
www.americancable.org
Suite 212, One Parkway Center, Pittsburgh, PA 15220-3505
Phone: 412-922-8300 Fax: 412-922-2110
The American Cable Association is an association of independent cable television
businesses and owners of smaller cable systems that work together to ensure
the future competitiveness and viability of their businesses. Association members
primarily serve customers in small towns and rural areas across America. The
association solely represents independent cable businesses through active participation
in the regulatory and legislative process in Washington, D.C.
Gives your independent cable business important exposure in Congress, the FCC and other agencies. A constant
voice is critical because lawmakers, policymakers and their staffs are an ever-changing
cast, and they must be made aware of companies like yours.
Safeguards and promotes your business interests. Your competitors are hard at work pushing their agendas.
Our job is to look out for your interests and to tell your story.
Conferences designed specifically for owners and managers of independent cable businesses.
Our national conference is the only one of its kind in the industry.
Access to the association’s “Grassroots Resource Network.” Need help with an operational,
technical or other issue? Our staff will connect you with another member or
source who has the experience.
You will receive the association’s official newsletter — ACAction for up-to-date info concerning the association’s activities, members-only
ACAList (email list serve), and a free subscription to Independent Cable News
(ICN). FlashFaxes cover breaking news and urgent action items. ICN provides
in-depth news and analysis, product developments, marketing tips and other topics
of interest to our members.
Equal representation for all member companies, ensuring
that your voice is heard in all policy matters.
The American Cable Association,formerly the Small Cable Business Association (SCBA), is a group that solely
and exclusively represents the interests of independent cable television businesses
and smaller cable systems across the United States. The association currently
represents approximately 930 businesses that serve approximately 7.5 million
subscribers.
Each association member typically serves small towns and rural
areas where home density is usually no greater than 20 homes per mile. The average
association member system serves 1,000 subscribers. The association’s members
range from a high of several members serving several hundred thousand subscribers
down to a low of another serving below 100.
The association advocates the concerns
of smaller, independent cable businesses before Congress, the Federal Communications
Commission, other federal agencies and in the 50 states. The primary purpose
of the association is to help its members stay competitive through a legislative
and regulatory framework that recognizes the unique economic circumstances of
independent cable, provides for regulatory and financial parity with potential
competitors and encourages access to financial markets for capital needs. In
addition, the association is also dedicated to educating its members through
information seminars, publications and workshops to help them meet the telecommunications
needs of their customers and communities into the 21st century.
The association was formed by independent cable owners in May 1993 as a result of the re-regulation
of the cable industry in 1992 by Congress and the massive, burdensome regulations
that followed, which crippled smaller cable businesses and cut off much-needed
sources of capital. These companies realized then that their issues were not
being addressed in Washington and that to maintain their businesses they had
to personally advocate their concerns. Since then, based on the dedicated grassroots
efforts and personal contacts of its members, the association has been successful
in Congress and at the FCC to win significant relief for independent cable businesses
and systems in numerous matters and proceedings.
I. American Cable Association’s Commitment The association is dedicated
to ensuring that consumers who reside primarily in small towns and rural America
always have access to advanced telecommunication services at fair and reasonable
prices. The public interest requires that the development and delivery of these
services must be responsive to local needs and interests. As locally based providers
who are integral to their communities, the association members have dedicated
their business to fulfilling this public interest.
II. Tenets of the Association
Smaller, independent cable businesses (“small cable”) have unique attributes,
based on their size, economics and types of markets they serve. Small cable
provides a valuable service to their communities, which otherwise might not
receive telecommunications service.
Any government regulation must be adapted to the unique attributes of small cable.
Small cable must have ready access to capital for investment in maintaining and expanding the service offerings
to their customers.
Government regulation should not hinder the development and delivery of new services by small cable.
Government policy that encourages competition should not favor one competitor over another. Government policy
must ensure access to programming and distribution facilities for small cable
on terms and conditions that result in reasonable rates for consumers who reside
primarily in small towns and rural markets.
Government policies that eliminate barriers and promote business development must include small cable.
III. Our Key Issues
Access to Programming:
Government policy should take all possible steps to motivate programmers to make their products available to small cable through the National Cable Television Cooperative (NCTC) on the same terms and conditions as are made available to comparably sized multiple system operators.
At a minimum, companies that are vertically integrated in productions and distribution (cable or non-cable) must sell their programming to small cable through the
NCTC on the same terms and conditions as they sell to themselves and their affiliates.
Furthermore, a vertically integrated company that provides its affiliates with a delivery mechanism for its programming must also provide this mechanism to small cable on the same terms and conditions.
In light of increasing media concentration, government should closely scrutinize media company mergers to ensure these principals by expanding program access to all programming suppliers (cable or non-cable) and prohibiting abusive retransmission consent practices.
Copyright:
The cable compulsory license and current copyright fee schedule for small cable should continue to preserve localism and maintain existing distribution of broadcast programming. Any significant increase in copyright fees for small cable will result in higher consumer cable rates and the loss of local broadcast carriage install towns and rural areas.
DBS:
Government policy should mandate parity in regulatory and financial burdens between DBS companies and small cable. This must include requiring DBS companies to comply with all signal carriage obligations and restrictions if they retransmit any local broadcast signals. Copyright law should include comprehensive restrictions on the importation of distant signals, enforceable by small cable and small broadcasters, to preserve local programming.
Digital Must Carry:
NO small cable business should be forced to convert to digital retransmission or expand existing channel capacity for the carriage of digital broadcast signals either through a must-carry requirement or as a condition for retransmission of the analog signal. Likewise, no small cable business should be forced to drop any existing analog programming to accommodate the carriage of digital broadcast signals. At the appropriate time, any digital broadcast proposals must provide for the high per-subscriber cost and the unique attributes of small cable.
Emergency Alert Systems:
EAS provisions for systems fewer that
5,000 subscribers must avoid imposing high per subscriber cost requirements
on small cable.
System Navigation Devices:
Government should not dictate, directly or indirectly, the technology used by small cable.
Pole Attachments:
Congress should uniformly apply to all pole owners, including rural and municipal cooperatives, the requirements for access to poles and conduits on fair rates, terms and conditions.
Product Offerings:
In an era on increased competition, government should refrain
from dictating the placement, packaging and pricing of cable services to the
consumer.
Rate Regulation:
Current rate deregulation provisions of the Telecommunications
Act of 1996 should be maintained for small cable because these rules have fostered
new and improved services for customers and opened vitally important capital
markets. The FCC’s final affiliation rules under the 1996 Act should minimize
restrictions on access to capital for small cable.
One Parkway Center, Suite 212
Pittsburgh, PA 15220
Ph: 412-922-8300
Fax: 412-922-2110
Matthew M. Polka — President & CEO — Ext. 14
Robert Shema — Vice President & COO — Ext. 30
Ross Lieberman — Vice President of Government Affairs — 202-494-5661
Stacey Leech — Director of Meetings & Industry Affairs —
Ext. 15
Karen Yochum — Director of Administration — Ext. 16
Caroline Persinger — Grassroots Manager — Ext. 32
Carol Nesti — Project Coordinator — Ext. 11
Board of Directors
Executive Committee
Patrick Knorr, Chairman —
Sunflower Broadband
Steve Friedman, Vice Chairman —
Wave Broadband
Jim Bruder, At-large —
Harron Communications
Officers
LeaAnn Quist, Secretary —
Great Plains Cable
Steve Weed, Ex-officio Chairman —
Wave Division Holdings
Board Members
Dave Baum —
JetBroadband
Dick Beard, Associate Director —
Ervin Cable Construction
Allan Block —
Buckeye Cablevision
Patty Boyers — Boycom Cablevision, Inc.
Martin Brophy —
Shen-Heights TV Associates, Inc.
Kirby Campbell —
Armstrong
Steve Cochran —
WOW! Internet, Cable & Phone
Calvin Craib —
Mediacom Communications
Doug Fuller —
NPG Cable
Jim Gleason —
New Wave Broadband
Tom Might —
CableONE
Tery Nidiffer —
General Communications, Inc.
Bill Shreffler—
Broadstripe
Steve Simmons —
Patriot Media
Pat Thompson, Associate Director —
RBC Daniels
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