Business

American Cable Association Drops the “Cable,” Focuses on Connections

The group, which represents small cable providers, is rebranding to ACA Connects in part because it wanted to put the focus on what its members’ technology does, not what it is.


The group, which represents small cable providers, is rebranding to ACA Connects in part because it wanted to put the focus on what its members’ technology does, not what it is.

In the world of telecommunications, things are moving so fast that the term “cable” is old hat.

Case in point: The American Cable Association announced this week that it would shed the term from its name and call itself ACA: America’s Communications Association. It will generally be known in shortened form as ACA Connects—a name that previously served as a motto for the organization.

The shift reflects changes that have been made in the industry in recent years. But the association’s president and CEO, Matthew Polka, also says the change ties into the connection the group’s members have with their customers.

“It’s all about the communications and connections our members provide,” Polka said in a news release. “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.”

To spotlight the change, ACA Connects launched a new website that puts its advocacy efforts out front. The group, which represents small cable providers around the country, is a frequent voice on issues put before the Federal Communications Commission, including TV station carriage rules and net neutrality.

Polka added that the name reflects this collaborative nature seen in its policy work.

“ACA Connects explains what our association and members really do,” Polka added. “We connect, communicate, build relationships, and work together with all, and that will never change.”

ACA Connects, which was known in a past life as the Small Cable Business Association, is part of a flurry of association rebrandings in the telecom space in recent years. Among them: In 2016, the National Cable & Telecommunications Association (which represents large cable providers) rebranded as NCTA: The Internet & Television Association in a similar attempt to move away from its cable roots. And in 2015, the former COMPTEL, a group that represented small telecommunications providers, rebranded as INCOMPAS and now sports a broader array of members focused on telecom issues, including Google, Facebook, Twitter, and Verizon.

(noLimit46/iStock/Getty Images Plus)

Ernie Smith

By Ernie Smith

Ernie Smith is a former senior editor for Associations Now. MORE

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