American Cable Association Inc

“An executive committee shall be established which will include the chairperson, vice chairperson, treasurer and two (2) members of the board of directors. The executive committee shall have the authority of the board except with respect to: - the approval of any action for which the nonprofit law also requires approval of the members; - the filing of vacancies on the board or on any committee which has the authority of the board; - the fixing of compensation of the directors for serving on the board or on any committee; - the amendment or repeal of bylaws or the adoption of new bylaws; - the amendment or repeal of any resolution of the board which by its express terms is not so amendable or repealable; - the appointment of committees of the board or the members thereof; - the expenditure of corporate funds to support a nominee for director after there are more people nominated for director than can be elected; or - with respect to assest held in charitable trust, the approval of any self-dealing transaction as defined by section 5728 of the nonprofit law or any successor section thereto, except as provided by law.”

“American cable association, inc. Shall have one (1) class of voting members. Only cable television businesses may become voting members.”

“The directors shall be elected by the members ar a regular or special meeting of the members called for such purposes or by written ballot. Notwithstanding the foregoing, at any meeting of the members where directors are to be elected, each member shall designate a proxy to cast such member's vote for directors at a meeting called and held for such purposes. At the meeting called for the election of directors, each such proxy shall be entitled to cast the number of votes held for each office of director to be filled, without the right to cumulate votes. In any election of directors by members, the candidates receiving the highest number of votes are elected. Only those persons nominated in accordance with the procedures established in the bylaws may stand for election as director.”

“The form 990 is reviewed by the president and ceo, executive vice president and the treasurer.”

“The evp of finance reviews several (5 or more) similar association form 990's for ceo compensation. This includes associations both in washington, d.c. And in pennsylvania. The evp of finance purchases the ceo update salary guide for national associations and non-profits and creates a compensation proposal for the chairman of the board. The chairman of the board shares this proposal with the executive committee of the board. The chairman of the board determines the ceo's compensation. The evp of finance uses the same process for all officers and presents the compensation suggestions to the ceo. The ceo determines the compensation for all other officers of the corporation. The compensation for the remaining staff members is reviewed by the full board of directors as part of the budget discussion and is approved by the full board as part of the budget approval.”

“No documents are available to the public.”

“The following individuals serve on the board of american cable association, inc. With no voting rights: dick beard; pat thompson; colleen abdoulah; doug fuller; and rober gessner.”

“Protection and advancement of small and medium-sized telecommunications businesses by informing and educating legislators, regulators, financial institutions and the public regarding the unique needs, interests and the essential services provided by these small and medium-sized telecommunications companies, as well as the benefits provided to the communities they serve. Aca connects also provides regulatory, technical, industry information and education to its members.”

“The american cable association, inc. (aca connects) purpose shall be the protection and advancement of small and medium-sized telecommunications businesses by informing and educating legislators, regulators, financial institutions and the public regarding the unique needs, interests and the essential services provided by these small and medium-sized telecommunications companies, as well as the benefits provided to the communities they serve. Aca connects also provides regulatory, technical, industry information and education to its members.”

“Key developments 2019 aca connects reports on its members' robust broadband deployment progress aca connects members continue to invest in bringing high-quality broadband services to small markets and rural communities across america, aca connects reported to the fcc. The trade association noted that fcc policies are helping fuel this growth by eliminating barriers to deployment and targeting subsidies to areas that lack a business case for private investment. These statements came in comments aca connects filed with the fcc on friday in connection with the agency's annual inquiry whether broadband "is being deployed to all americans in a reasonable and timely fashion." "for two years running, the fcc has found that the industry is deploying broadband on a 'reasonable and timely' basis, and that its policies are contributing to this success," said aca connects president and ceo matthew polka. "we agreed with those findings, and there is no doubt the agency is justified in reaching the same result this year." aca connects statement regarding energy and commerce committee vote passing new stelar bill aca connects president and ceo matthew m. Polka issued the following statement after the house energy and commerce committee passed (h.r. 5035), the television viewer protection act, a successor bill to the satellite television extension and localism act reauthorization act of 2014 (stelar): "we thank the committee for recognizing the benefits of extending the federal communications commission's good faith rules to retransmission consent negotiations between large broadcast stations groups and buying groups that represent small and edium sized pay-tv providers. "within the last year, the fcc has found that smaller operators pay retransmission consent fees that are more than 30 percent greater than the fees paid by larger operators. Encouraging large station groups to come to the table and negotiate with buying groups representing these smaller firms can help address this disparity and in turn provide some relief to consumers served by them. Aca applauds fcc chairman pai on public auction of c-band spectrum aca connects president and ceo matthew m. Polka issued the following statement today applauding fcc chairman pai on his decision to support a public auction of the c-band spectrum: "we applaud chairman pai for his decision to repurpose c-band spectrum through a public auction as aca connects, charter and cca proposed in our 5g plus plan. We look forward to working with the fcc chairman and his fellow commissioners on the details of an auction and on a transition plan that allocates necessary funds to accommodate incumbent users and gives cable earth station operators, including in rural america, the flexibility to transition to fiber-based solutions." aca applauds fcc chairman pai on public auction of c-band spectrum aca connects president and ceo matthew m. Polka issued the following statement on today's ruling by a panel of the u.s. Court of appeals for the district of columbia circuit to uphold the federal communications commission's determination that broadband internet access service is an information service: "aca connects is pleased with the d.c. Circuit's decision to uphold the federal communications commission's determination that broadband internet access service is an information service that should be lightly governed pursuant to a market-based approach. "as our smaller broadband provider members told the fcc, subjecting isps to outdated common carrier regulation under title ii of the communications act would deter them from investing in upgrades and expanding their broadband networks to roll out innovative, higher performance services. Imposing onerous title ii regulation also would provide no real benefit because aca connects members have voluntarily committed to not block, throttle, or otherwise degrade their subscribers' internet traffic, and they would have an ongoing obligation to disclose publicly their network”

“Aca connects supports fcc proposal that cable operators use email to deliver required notices to tv stations aca connects in new comments with the federal communications commission applauded the fcc for proposing to adopt the association's recommendation that cable operators transition to use of email to deliver certain required notices to television broadcast stations. The fcc proposal was included in a notice of proposed rulemaking (nprm). Aca connects said reliance on the old method certified mail was outdated and that a transition to email was the "logical next step" in keeping federal regulations current with modern business practices. "allowing cable operators to deliver these notices to broadcasters by email would reduce burdens, especially for the smaller operators aca connects represents, without imposing any offsetting harm on broadcasters," aca connects president and ceo matthew m. Polka said. "the proposal would also cut down on environmental waste." aca connects welcomes further steps toward mvpd regulatory fee parity, encourages fcc to finish the job aca connects president and ceo matthew m. Polka issued the following statement in connection with the release of the federal communications commission's regulatory fee schedule for fiscal year 2019: "aca connects is pleased to see the fcc continue to phase in the regulatory fee assessed on direct broadcast satellite (dbs) providers chiefly directv and dish to support the work of the media bureau. In fiscal year 2019, dbs providers will pay 12 cents more per subscriber than they did last year. This is welcome progress. "that said, the fcc would have been justified in going further. For too long, dbs providers have paid a lower per-subscriber rate than aca connects members to support the media bureau's activities. As a result, smaller mvpds through their higher fcc regulatory fees have been subsidizing their much larger competitive rivals without a showing that dbs providers were placing less of a burden on media bureau staff resources." fcc should adopt the 5g plus plan yesterday, in reply comments filed with the federal communications commission, aca connects america's communications association, competitive carriers association, and charter communications (collectively, the "coalition") urged the fcc to adopt the 5g plus plan, the coalition's comprehensive joint proposal for repurposing a large portion of valuable c-band spectrum for 5g wireless services. The plan would reallocate at least 370 megahertz of the 3.7-4.2 ghz band spectrum from satellite to terrestrial use and remains the only c-band solution that serves the broader public interest. In a statement, aca connects president and ceo matthew m. Polka said, "the wide-ranging benefits of the 5g plus plan are abundantly clear. The plan will turbo-charge deployment of 5g, expand fiber connectivity in rural america, create thousands of jobs, and collect billions in auction revenues for the u.s. Treasury. No other plan comes close to matching these benefits. Furthermore, the 5g plus plan is the only proposal on record that appropriately balances the interests of all affected stakeholders pay television providers and cable programmers, other c-band users, satellite companies, prospective 5g deployers, and the public at large. And contrary to the assertions of some parties which the coalition's reply comments address the 5g plus plan is workable to implement and cost-effective. The fcc should add some nitro to the nation's 5g deployment engine by adopting and implementing the 5g plus plan without delay." aca connects praises introduction of bipartisan modern television act of 2019 aca connects president and ceo matthew m. Polka issued the following statement today regarding introduction of the modern television act of 2019 by rep. Steve scalise (r-la.) and rep. Anna eshoo (d-calif.): "i applaud reps. Scalise and eshoo for introducing the modern television act. It represents a serious and long-overdue attempt to addr”

“Aca connects applauds fcc actions to modernize kidvid rules, streamline delivery of broadcast and cable notices, and advance connected care aca connects president and ceo matthew m. Polka issued the following statements regarding actions taken by the federal communications commission at today's open commission meeting: modernizing the children's television rules: "aca connects applauds the fcc for voting today to streamline the reporting process under its children's television programming rules. Today, cable operators are required four times a year to collect "kidvid" certifications from every programmer they carry and to post these documents, which can number over 100 in total, to their public file. The fcc's decision to move from quarterly to annual postings will substantially reduce burdens for cable operators without compromising the rules' underlying protections for child viewers." electronic delivery of carriage election notices; electronic delivery of notices to broadcast television stations: "the fcc took welcome steps today to make it easier for cable operators and broadcasters to exchange required notices. Aca connects supports today's decision to allow broadcast carriage election notices to occur by email. We are also pleased that the fcc has proposed extending similar treatment to cable operators, allowing them to deliver required notices to broadcasters by email rather than certified mail. We thank the fcc for developing a proposal that takes into account many of our suggestions, and we encourage the fcc to move forward promptly with its adoption." promoting access to connected care services: "aca connects welcomes the fcc's proposal to establish a connected care telehealth pilot program. As deployers of high-performance broadband networks in rural and underserved regions across the nation, aca connects members are well poised to deliver the broadband connectivity necessary for connected care. We look forward to sharing our ideas on how to design and implement a pilot program that best achieves its important goals while targeting subsidies as efficiently as possible." aca connects calls on fcc to grant c spire's retransmission consent complaint against gray in comments filed yesterday, aca connects urged the federal communications commission to grant a retransmission consent complaint filed by its member c spire against gray television. It argued that gray violated the law by refusing to negotiate retransmission consent (or permit others to negotiate such consent) for a mississippi station on one of c spire's local and in-state systems. This refusal, argued aca connects, both invalidated the "market modification" rules mandated by congress and violated the fcc's "good faith negotiation" rules. Aca connects president and ceo matt polka stated: "c spire's complaint raises issues that matter to many aca connects members. Broadcast networks routinely prevent our members from delivering nearby, local and in-state stations unless they also carry faraway out-of-state stations. This is unfair to consumers. It also reveals the broadcasters' oft-repeated claims about localism to be something of a sham." aca connects calls on fcc to equalize the regulatory fees imposed on multichannel video providers aca connects is calling on the federal communications commission to adopt a regulatory fee schedule for fiscal year 2019 in which direct broadcast satellite (dbs) providers pay the same per-subscriber fee as cable operators and iptv providers to support the fcc media bureau's activities. Aca connects urged this approach in joint comments filed june 7 with ncta the internet & television association, a trade organization that also includes cable operators. "while the fcc has rightfully proposed that dbs providers pay a higher share of regulatory fees this year than last year, the proposal does not go far enough," aca connects president and ceo matthew m. Polka said. "dbs providers and cable operators participate to a comparable de”

“Aca connects applauds fcc for clarifying that carriers may offer robocall blocking tools to consumers on "opt out" basis aca connects president and ceo matthew m. Polka issued the following statement concerning the declaratory ruling on robocall blocking adopted by the federal communications commission today at its public meeting: "aca connects applauds the fcc for making clear that voice service providers may offer robocall blocking tools to customers on an informed opt-out basis. Today's ruling gives assurance to aca connects members and other providers that they can do more to help their customers block malicious robocalls, while also preserving the right of any individual customer to make an informed choice to receive any and all incoming calls. Those consumers who are less familiar with and slower to adopt new technologies are particularly likely to benefit from blocking tools made available on an opt-out basis, as today's ruling contemplates. "today's ruling is an important step forward in addressing the robocall problem. Chairman pai and the other commissioners deserve praise for all of their efforts so far. Going forward, aca connects will continue to work in close partnership with the fcc, our industry peers, and other stakeholders on additional measures to combat the scourge of unlawful and unwanted robocalls." aca connects urges action on c spire's good faith retransmission consent complaint against gray television group inc.: aca connects president and ceo matthew m. Polka issued the following statement in support of c spire's retransmission consent complaint alleging lack of good faith by gray television group inc. "it's outrageous that corporate executives at the cbs network are keeping a cbs-affiliated television station from a local cable operator even though both the operator and the station operate in the same local mississippi television market. By forcing the citizens of diamondhead to watch a cbs affiliate in new orleans instead, cbs is blocking access to local news and programming for a small rural mississippi community. "the good faith complaint and petition for declaratory ruling filed june 3 by aca connects member c spire against gray television cuts to the heart of a problem that aca connects has long raised third-party interference in retransmission consent negotiations." aca connects tells federal trade commission that broadband markets are working to enhance consumer welfare in may 31 comments filed with the federal trade commission (ftc) on competition and consumer protection in broadband markets, aca connects america's communications association explained that, overall, broadband markets in the u.s. Are working to the benefit of consumers some 300 million of whom today have access to robust (100 mbps) broadband service, most often from multiple internet service providers (isps). Aca connects' view is supported by the fact that investment in broadband networks is enormous (many tens of billions annually), innovative services are continuously being deployed, prices are declining (on a per megabit basis), and competition is increasing. "aca connects' members, who are smaller isps, take great pride in their high-performance broadband networks and their robust broadband service offerings," aca connects president and ceo matthew m. Polka said. "smaller isps understand that their customers rely on access to the internet and to over-the-top video and other broadband content. Moreover, they understand their customers have a choice of isps." as a result, smaller isps are spending large amounts of capital annually to upgrade their networks with state-of-the-art docsis and fiber technologies, which can provide reliable, high-quality, multi-hundred megabit and gigabit service. They also are expanding their network reach in rural, and even in previously unserved, areas to win over new consumers. Aca connects statement on senate passage of the traced act aca connects president and ceo matthew m. Polka issued th”

“Aca connects opposes sinclair's proposed acquisition of disney-fox regional sports networks aca connects president and ceo matthew m. Polka issued the following statement: "aca connects opposes sinclair's proposed purchase of the disney-fox regional sports networks (rsns) for the same reason it opposed sinclair's failed attempt to buy tribune's television stations if approved, the transaction would allow sinclair to raise prices to millions of consumers, including those served by aca connects members. "big 4 broadcast network programming and rsn programming are both critical for aca connects members. By jointly negotiating these assets when they serve the same market, sinclair can raise prices to cable operators for both offerings. "it is one of the reasons that the federal communications commission imposed conditions on the comcast/nbcu merger and that sinclair's proposal to combine tribune's network stations with its own ran into severe regulatory trouble, causing sinclair-tribune to pull the deal." aca connects president and ceo matthew m. Polka issued the following statement: "aca connects applauds fcc chairman ajit pai for announcing the establishment of the rural digital opportunities fund, which will provide $20.4. Billion over 10 years to bring broadband service to unserved areas. Since 2011, the fcc has been dedicated to the mission of ensuring all americans have access to broadband service, and last year the fcc demonstrated the great value of using reverse auctions to achieve that goal. Authorized winning providers of that auction will deploy more expeditiously more robust broadband service than in the fcc's phase ii cost model program and do so with far less government support. "for that reason, aca connects in recent testimony before congress and in fcc filings has called for the fcc to accelerate the award of funding to unserved locations in price cap carrier area by reverse auctions. Today's announcement takes a big step in that direction. We look forward to working with the fcc to ensure that rules for the new fund prohibit overbuilding of existing providers, enable all providers to participate on a reasonable basis, and give unserved consumers access to robust broadband service." aca connects applauds the elimination of outdated channel lineup requirements aca connects president and ceo matthew m. Polka issued the following statement: "aca connects congratulates the federal communications commission on its decision to eliminate outdated rules that require cable operators to maintain copies of their channel lineups in their local offices and to post them in their online public inspection files. In today's competitive environment, cable operators must make information about their services known to consumers. "information about channel lineups is available to consumers from a wide variety of sources, including cable operators' own websites. Eliminating these requirements is a fine example of 'clearing the regulatory underbrush,' which the fcc's's media modernization proceedings are designed to promote." aca connects' statement on passage of save the internet act of 2019 (h.r. 1644) aca connects president and ceo matthew m. Polka issued the following statement today regarding house passage of save the internet act of 2019 (h.r.1644): "small internet service providers (isps) who are members of aca connects support an open internet. They do not block, degrade or otherwise impair access to the internet by their customers and are willing to have these restrictions written into law. "rather, than simply codifying net neutrality principles, h.r. 1644, under the guise of saving the internet, takes a much different approach. The bill would revive federal communications commission rules that turn isps into common carriers and impose onerous and outdated regulations on them. This added regulation would not make the internet more open. It would only retard investment in higher performance broadband networks. "for these reaso”

“American cable association changes name to aca america's communications association american cable association president and ceo matthew m. Polka today announced an historic name change for the trade organization, which represents more than 700 smaller and medium-sized independent communications companies. The announcement was made to nearly 350 participants attending the association's 26th annual summit, held at the grand hyatt in washington, d.c., on wednesday. The new name is aca america's communications association (aca). The new name reflects a leading position for the association in the fast-growing telecommunications industry, where technology is rapidly changing how information is provided to and used by consumers. The association's new day-to-day name, aca connects, further reinforces the value of the connections those communications enhance. "it's all about the communications and connections our members provide," said aca connects' polka. "even though our industry and technology are changing so rapidly fueled by our members' broadband deployments, what's most important for our members and their customers is the ability to communicate freely and connect in their homes and businesses in countless new ways. With this name change, we're recognizing that communication is the priority, not the medium." aca connects continues its advocacy work in closing the digital divide for its members, including expanding broadband deployment in some of the most rural and financially challenging areas of the country, eliminating governmental barriers to investment, and providing increased access to high-performance connectivity. Aca suggests reasonable modifications to tv station carriage election framework crafted by associations of large broadcasters and cable operators the american cable association is recommending modest changes to a proposal by the national association of broadcasters and ncta the internet and television association to amend the fcc's broadcast carriage election rules. Those parties represent the interests of large broadcasters and cable operators, and aca seeks to ensure the proposal does not unduly burden small operators. "aca generally supports the nab-ncta plan, which includes some suggestions previously offered by aca. But other components of the proposal would impose burdens on small providers without any offsetting benefit. The last thing this proposal should do is impose new burdens on the smallest cable operators that operate in only a few markets" aca president and ceo matthew m. Polka said. "by adopting aca's modifications to the proposal, these concerns can be addressed." aca, in comments filed on delayed basis due to the partial shutdown of the federal government, urged the fcc to modify the nab-ncta plan to take account of its impact on small operators before adopting it. Aca applauds fcc for decision to prioritize reimbursement of mvpds and others regarding the post-incentive auction transition american cable association president and ceo matthew m. Polka issued the following statement in response to new internet legislation advanced today by democratic leaders of the house and senate: "aca has always supported congress enacting open internet legislation that would apply in all jurisdictions across the country to all firms operating in the internet eco-system. No one should be able to block or otherwise impair broadband internet access service subscribers from accessing lawful content, subject to reasonable network management practices. "no one should be able to engage in unreasonable discrimination or paid prioritization. And, all providers should be required to disclose to customers key information about their service. "all of these fundamental open internet protections can be established without congress turning broadband providers into common carriers or otherwise subjecting them to outdated regulation, which would deter providers, especially smaller providers, from investing in their broadband n”

“Aca shares smaller operators' perspectives on promoting network resiliency and disaster recovery the american cable association has asked the federal communications commission and its public safety homeland security bureau to pursue constructive measures to improve network resiliency and disaster recovery in the wake of last year's major storms. As the agency's work in this area progresses, aca urges it to ensure that the circumstances and perspectives of smaller operators are taken into account. "aca applauds the fcc and the bureau for their efforts to promote the resiliency of our nation's communications networks," aca president and ceo matthew m. Polka said. "providing reliable service and quickly rectifying outages are top priorities for aca member companies. To that end, aca encourages the fcc and the bureau to focus their energies on measures that are most likely to advance these objectives." in comments filed on feb. 8, aca suggested steps to improve coordination between the communications and power sectors during emergencies. In particular, aca recommended that large power companies identify appropriate points of contact for coordination at different stages of a disaster recovery and that they solicit input from communications providers to inform their restoration priorities. Aca to fcc: make usf contributions fairer and more efficient for smaller providers the american cable association has asked the federal communications commission to make discrete, targeted changes to the rules that govern contributions to the universal service fund (usf) to make the process fairer and less costly for smaller operators. Aca encourages the fcc to adopt these modest modifications without further delay as part of its "biennial review" of telecom regulations. "every two years the fcc must review its telecom rules and repeal or modify ones that no longer serve the public interest. Under the usf contribution rules, smaller operators incur excessive legal and administrative costs and often pay more than their fair share," aca president and ceo matthew m. Polka said. "aca has identified steps that the fcc can take to address these narrow concerns that do not require the agency first to resolve the many complex questions at issue in its open proceeding on contributions reform." in comments filed in the fcc's biennial review proceeding, aca encouraged the fcc to raise the de minimis contributions exemption and to base it solely on a provider's revenues rather than on projected annual contributions. Aca urges fcc to eliminate rate regulation rules for small cable operators in comments submitted today, the american cable association urged the federal communications commission to eliminate rate regulation rules for small cable operators. More specifically, it urged the fcc to provide deregulatory relief, at a minimum, to systems serving 15,000 or fewer subs that are owned by cable companies serving 400,000 or fewer subscribers. It noted that higher thresholds may be appropriate. "whatever justification there may have been for rate regulation nearly thirty years ago, no justification exists today because cable operators compete against satellite companies, other cable operators, and online offerings like directv now, hulu, and youtube tv," aca president and ceo matthew m. Polka said. "indeed, only a handful of larger operators are still subject to the rules and even they would not be if the fcc were to update the relevant test to account for online providers. Yet the mere prospect of imposing these rules on smaller cable operators would cause substantial harm. It's long past time we eliminated them once and for all." aca described in detail the difficulty and complexity that imposition of rate regulation would have on smaller cable operators, who would have to assemble and manipulate data from decades ago in order to properly complete the relevant forms. They would almost certainly have to hire expensive outside consultants, diverting resources”

“The board of directors assumes the responsibility for oversight of the audit. The process has not changed from prior year.”