NCTC Celebrates 40th Year at the Independent Show In Nashville

WASHINGTON, D.C. & OVERLAND PARK, Kans. —The National Content & Technology Cooperative (NCTC) and ACA Connects (ACAC) will host their 19th annual Independent Show (TIS) themed “Faster, Farther and Together” on August 19-22, 2024 at the Omni Nashville Hotel in Nashville, Tennessee.

“We are as relevant to broadband and video service providers today as the day we started 40 years ago. We were the first organization to create a co-op buying experience offering significantly discounted video pricing that allowed our members to feature video channels at prices comparable to those of the largest companies. Our members represent nearly one third of all broadband customers in the country,” said Lou Borrelli, CEO of NCTC. “Our history of innovation, cost savings and meeting the needs of our members has never been more important as the industry experiences lightning-fast change. Our mission and mandate are to ensure our members stay current and can keep up with everything from streaming to AI applications.”

“We have a great agenda planned for The Independent Show this year,” said ACA Connects’ president and CEO Grant Spellmeyer. “ACA Connects' top priority is to ensure attendees leave Nashville feeling better equipped to navigate the policymaking and regulatory world. We are looking forward to hosting events and panels with industry experts who can share valuable knowledge with our members who are eager to harness historic investments in rural broadband to grow their businesses, deploy more infrastructure and connect more Americans.”

During the show, NCTC’s 700+ service provider members will be discussing and participating in some of the cooperative’s most recently launched strategic initiatives including becoming Mobile Virtual Network Operators ( MVNO ), which allows operators to provide member-branded mobile services to their broadband subscribers, and the NCTC Connectivity Exchange , the NCTC’s quote to order wholesale platform that enables members to bid for and win national broadband network service contracts.

NCTC is also exploring new cybersecurity services and AI, and will be announcing NCTC Broadband TV, which, when launched later this year, will provide NCTC members the opportunity to offer a lower-cost general entertainment OTT video service to their broadband-only subscribers by leveraging NCTC negotiated content rights and the members’ existing video service platforms.

ACAC has already proven indispensable for its members to navigate the regulatory and policy environment, including helping its members understand the federal government’s Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program. BEAD has $42.45 billion to expand high-speed internet access across the United States and US territories. The latest version of the ACA Connects BEAD Program Framework estimates that 5.4 million unserved and underserved locations will be eligible for BEAD program funding and that the program should be able to provide robust broadband service to all these eligible locations.

The Independent Show will feature panels, speakers and sessions on such topics such as:

• Practical applications, marketing and the legal landscape in the age of AI
• The future of video consumption in multi-device households
• Advocacy and BEAD updates from Washington
• The critical role of broadband in Nashville's tech economy
• The implications of an FCC proposal to ban bulk billing
• The fate of the FCC's attempt to reinstate Title II regulation of broadband service.

Keynotes on the show’s agenda include:

• Crystal Washington: Harness Generative AI like ChatGPT for Enhanced Performance
• Evan Shapiro : Future of Programming

The invitation-only event, held over four days, will have activities for the whole family as well as countless networking opportunities with NCTC and ACAC members, consisting of broadband, telco, cable, municipal and electric cooperative members from across the U.S. and Canada.