WASHINGTON and OVERLAND PARK, Kan.—The National Content & Technology Cooperative (NCTC) and ACA Connects have released further details about the program and events at the 21st annual Independent Show, which is themed “Imagination Meets Innovation”.

The event will take place July 26-29 at Disney’s Yacht & Beach Club Resorts in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., and reflect NCTC’s commitment to delivering practical value and resources for its members by focusing on turning industry innovation into immediate operational results, it said. Both the NCTC and ACAC represent smaller, independent cable operators.

“This year’s TIS is designed to make scaling networks, launching advanced services and supporting customers easier than ever for independent ISPs,” NCTC CEO Lou Borrelli said. “Every session, workshop and keynote will equip members with the strategies and turnkey solutions needed to expand and compete at enterprise scale as more broadband choices and smarter connectivity reshape the market. Attendees will leave Florida with a practical framework for enhancing the subscriber experience, whether through profitable mobile bundles, smart AI tools or seamless network convergence.”

Building on NCTC's growing portfolio of mobile virtual network operator (MVNO), programming, and network infrastructure solutions, The Independent Show will introduce expanded tactical workshops focused on mobile device strategies, bundling frameworks and network optimization, equipping members with the tools to offer converged services and increase long-term subscriber retention. These sessions will address the industry's evolving regulatory landscape while guiding members toward seamless customer experiences through the convergence of fiber, Wi-Fi, mobile and video.

Attendees will also learn about NCTC’s latest initiatives in AI, broadband, streaming and other areas shaping the future of connectivity, it said.

“On every front, we’re empowering independent operators to innovate, prepare for the future, and invest in their networks,” ACAC President and CEO Grant Spellmeyer said. “ACA Connects looks forward to leading conversations at The Independent Show with the most influential leaders driving broadband, video, and mobile policy, including FCC Commissioner Olivia Trusty. Attendees will not just leave with a more strategic playbook to navigate the regulatory world; they will gain the confidence they need to run their businesses and win.”

ACAC will also deliver an insider analysis for Independent Show attendees, breaking down key policy debates in ways that will help the industry navigate upcoming regulatory and deregulatory changes in Washington.

Expert-led panels and interactive breakout sessions will also focus on topics such as:

• Mobile bundling strategies to strengthen broadband value and customer retention.
• AI deployment, data readiness and governance for B2B applications,
• The evolving video ecosystem and driving customer stickiness with NCTC Broadband TV.
• Network infrastructure optimization and convergence across fiber, Wi-Fi and mobile.
• Regulatory shifts, including permitting reform, AI oversight, universal service reform and changes to the video marketplace.

Keynotes and general sessions on the show’s agenda include:

• Noelle Russell, Founder & Chief AI Officer of the AI Leadership Institute – In the show’s opening keynote, Russell will share practical, real‑world insights on how independents can use AI to strengthen operations, serve customers better and stay competitive without losing what makes them unique.
• Olivia Trusty, FCC Commissioner – Shortly after the keynote on Monday, Trusty will join Spellmeyer for a fireside chat on empowering independent providers to expand broadband access, drive investment and strengthen rural communities.
• David and Jonah Stillman, Generational Experts – In Tuesday’s keynote, a father‑and‑son duo representing Gen X and Gen Z will share research on how different age groups influence technology adoption, culture and team dynamics.
• Jimmy Zasowski, President, Platform Distribution, Disney Entertainment and ESPN – Directly following Tuesday’s keynotes, Zasowki will share new insights in an exclusive fireside chat with NCTC's CEO.

In a pre-show event on July 26, the Marketing Innovators Group (NCTC members only) offers a hands-on AI workshop for marketers to sharpen competitive strategies, user groups to learn from peers and a welcome party at Epcot Pavilion, where guests can experience all four Disney parks in one night.

More information is available here.

WASHINGTON and OVERLAND PARK, Kan. —The National Content & Technology Cooperative (NCTC) and ACA Connects have released new details about the 20th annual Independent Show which is themed “Reach New Heights” and will take place from Aug. 10-13, 2025, at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, Utah.

“At NCTC, we’re not just talking about innovation—we’re making it real for our members. Whether it’s launching mobile or redefining content, our focus is on delivering actionable ideas that meet the moment,” NCTC CEO Lou Borrelli said. “This year’s Independent Show is about giving every member the information, tools, and connections they need to accelerate growth and stay ahead in our rapidly evolving industry.”

The 2025 Independent Show will focus on driving incremental revenue, innovating for the future, and deepening collaboration to meet the most pressing issues impacting NCTC’s nearly 700 and ACA Connects’ 500 service provider members. Themes include navigating the complexities of a hyper-competitive market, leveraging new technologies for growth, and adapting to shifting consumer behaviors, the organizers reported.

Key initiatives include NCTC’s turnkey solutions for launching mobile services, bundling with Broadband TV and insights from its AI Center of Excellence, a pilot program exploring use cases like smart chatbots, trouble ticket automation and predictive service planning.

In addition, ACA Connects is providing information that will support members in navigating the regulatory landscape, including the Federal Communications Commission’s sweeping deregulatory push, updates to the Broadband Equity Access and Deployment (BEAD) Program, state-level rate regulations, and potential reforms to the Universal Service Fund (USF).

“Our members are the champions of our industry for how they innovate to connect more Americans to reliable internet, video, and voice services,” said ACA Connects president and CEO Grant Spellmeyer. “At the Independent Show, we’ll be empowering them by leading discussions on the major regulatory shifts shaping broadband and telecom policy. Whether it is about changes to the BEAD program, the threat of rate regulation, or opportunities for permitting reforms, ACA Connects is here to cut through the complexity, advocate fiercely, and help our members move forward with confidence.”

Attendees can expect insights from expert-led panels, dynamic speakers, and interactive breakout sessions on topics such as:

• Programming, streaming, bundling, and customer retention strategies.
• Broadband innovation, including DOCSIS 4.0 and fiber.
• Mobile launch strategies.
• AI applications for customer experience and operations.
• Legal and financial readiness for AI adoption.
• The shifting regulatory and broadband funding landscape.
• Workplace culture and talent development.
• Strategic business growth through NCTC partnerships.

Keynotes on the show’s agenda include:

• Marci Rossell, former Chief Economist for CNBC— how inflation, tariffs, and funding uncertainty impact consumers for broadband and video providers.
• Craig Moffett, founding partner at MoffettNathanson—insights on fiber, FWA, video market shifts, and the major mobile opportunity.
• Evan Shapiro, Emmy-winning media cartographer—how media and tech disruption are redefining competition and convergence.

The Independent Show’s signature evening events are also back, organizers said, ranging from a themed welcome party on Sunday night to an unforgettable off-site adventure at Utah Olympic Park featuring the Flying Aces and Olympic medalist Shannon Bahrke.

In addition, an Aug. 9 preshow event for the Marketing Innovators Group (NCTC members only) will offer an interactive workshop with expert sessions on maximizing ROI and customer engagement, including:

• The New Marketing Mosaic: Shawna Suckow.
• Charting the Ascent: Designing the New Customer Journey: Melinda Russell.
• Activating Growth Mindsets in your Team: Susie Tomenchok.
• Ask the Experts , featuring leading broadband providers and fiber innovators.

The organizers also highlighted some upcoming events, including:

• Winter Educational Conference, Feb.16-18, 2026, in Las Vegas at the M Hotel.
• ACA Connects Summit, March -5, 2026, in Washington, D.C.
• The Independent Show, July 26-29, 2026, in Orlando, Fla.

For more information, visit: https://www.nctconline.org/ and www.acaconnects.org.

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.

PITTSBURGH and LENEXA, Kan.—Faced with rising concern about the spike in COVID-19 caseloads around the country, the National Cable Television Cooperative (NCTC) and ACA Connects (ACAC) have decided that the Independent Show, originally planned for October 5 to 6 in Minneapolis, will be held online.

"After thoughtful discussion, ACA Connects and NCTC decided to take the Independent Show online next month because of difficult planning issues despite strong enthusiasm for such an important industry event to take place in Minneapolis. It's the correct decision, with broad support from both ACAC and NCTC members,"  said Patricia Jo Boyers, ACA Connects chairman and president of BOYCOM Vision in Poplar Bluff, Mo.

NCTC Chairman Brad Mefferd and chief administrative officer of Buckeye Broadband in Northwood, Ohio, added that “now that this decision is behind us, I'm pleased that we can now look forward to putting on a great Independent Show that is exclusively online. I'm certain it will have high production values that ACAC and NCTC Members expect and deserve and will also have solid engagement opportunities for our industry's valued vendor community. I'm quite confident that everyone will benefit from the online experience that we have in store."

The event always included a streaming registration option as a convenience for ACAC and NCTC Members who were unable to attend in person.

The decision to host the 2021 Independent Show will not alter the meeting dates, the groups said. The online show will occur Oct. 5-6, and the event will keep all the great content previously announced by NCTC and ACAC show planners.

"COVID-19 and the Delta variant have been a moving target. While our plan was to finally meet in-person, it has become more and more clear that it was not the responsible thing to do," NCTC CEO Lou Borrelli said. "Nevertheless, the online show to me is a can't-miss program, and I greatly look forward to seeing friends and members on the big screen."

ACAC president and CEO Matt Polka joined NCTC's Borrelli in endorsing the move to an online show given the current health environment.

"We felt that transitioning the entire event to virtual was the best option and in the best interest of our members and vendor partners," CEO Polka said. "But let's look at the bright side: We are going to keep all the great content we had planned as well as offer a few fun surprises for those who are registered for the virtual conference."

LENEXA, Kan.—The National Cable Television Cooperative and ACA Connects said Wednesday, July 15, its 2020 Independent Show will be a virtual online event.

NCTC said the “reimagined” virtual Independent Show will take place Sept. 29 to Oct. 1 and will feature national, industry and political speakers. The theme of the six-hour, three-day event is "Trailblazing in a Digital World," and will bring together nearly 1,000 industry professionals from across the country, the NCTC said. 

"The goal is to help independent providers better understand the changing landscape of broadband internet, advanced video and other technical and policy issues in a post-COVID-19 world, including in the marketplace, on Capitol Hill and at the Federal Communications Commission," NCTC  said in a press release.

The 2020 Independent Show event was originally scheduled for July 26-29 in San Antonio, Texas, but was changed due to restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We’re very excited to bring our members together once again for our 15th annual Independent Show, and while this show will be different from all of the others it will be the same in delivering the best information that will help our members meet their communities’ broadband and video needs in our new normal,” NCTC CEO Rich Fickle said in a press release.

CNN political analyst Ron Brownstein will lead a keynote session on politics today in America and the upcoming 2020 election. A full schedule of speakers and sessions will be announced soon, including political, regulatory and industry leaders, member presentations and breakouts, and a review of the key business and policy issues facing NCTC and ACAC Members.

“Our members have delivered the broadband promise during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the political and regulatory stakes are higher than ever, and that’s why we’re glad to meet at #TIS20 to cover these important issues,” said ACA Connects CEO Matt Polka in a press release.

Registration opens July 20. More details are available at The Independent Show website. 

INDIANAPOLIS—Cable operators may soon be going completely paperless as a result of some future FCC regulations. As part of the FCC Chairman Ajit Pai’s interest in reducing or eliminating rules and regulations that are no longer necessary, Martha Heller, chief of the FCC’s Media Bureau Policy Division, spoke at the 12th Independent Show, produced by the American Cable Association and the National Cable Television Cooperative, just how these stations will be able to eliminate paper in favor of digital.

Martha Heller

The FCC is expected to allow cable operators to use email to send out annual notices to consumers, subject to certain safeguards; to post full-time job openings on the internet only, without violating the commission’s Equal Employment Opportunity rules; and to withhold headend locations from physical public files. The FCC, per Heller, is also taking recommendations from stakeholders with their recommendations on how to update media regulations.

In addition, Heller took the time to provide an update on the incentive spectrum auction. Currently, cable operators need to file Form 399 to seek financial reimbursement for cost incurred as a result of modifications to broadcast facilities.

Heller spoke as part of a panel at the Independent Show, on which she joined Scott Friedman of Cinnamon Mueller and Michael Nilsson, a partner at Harris, Wiltshire & Grannis. Ross Lieberman, ACA’s senior vice president of regulatory affairs, moderated the panel, which also discussed ATSC 3.0, retransmission consent and the Sinclair Broadcasting-Tribune TV station merger as it relates to local and national TV station ownership limits.