Ross Lieberman, ACA Connects’ senior vice president of government affairs, who played a key role in shaping the trade association’s positions on regulatory and legislative policy for more than fifteen years, is resigning his position at the end of the month to pursue new interests.
Based in Pittsburgh, ACA Connects is a trade organization representing more than 600 smaller and medium-sized, independent companies that provide broadband, phone and video services to nearly 8 million customers primarily located in rural and smaller suburban markets across America.
ACA Connects president and CEO Grant Spellmeyer commented, “With Ross stepping down, ACA Connects says farewell to a great friend who cheerfully accepted every challenge put before him and delivered fantastic results for ACA Connects members on any number of fronts, including broadband, voice and video issues. Ross was especially tireless in helping ACA Connects persuade Washington, D.C. on the important matters impacting the membership. Ross will be missed by all his friends at ACA Connects.”
Lieberman’s resignation is effective Aug. 31. ACA Connects has begun the search process for the purpose of selecting and naming Lieberman’s successor.
“In leaving, I will miss the many talented, dedicated, and passionate ACA Connects staff and board members and consultants,” Lieberman said. “It’s been a privilege to be part of the ACA Connects team and its tremendous growth since I joined in 2007. During that time, we did so much to ratchet up our advocacy and education for our independent broadband and cable members. We’ve become a brand name in Washington and a vital resource to our members.”
As recounted by a press release, during Lieberman’s tenure at ACA Connects, the trade group was a major participant in shaping the substance of telecommunications policy crafted by lawmakers and regulators in Washington, D.C.
"ACA Connects amassed extraordinary results at the FCC, on Capitol Hill, and elsewhere and did so by championing a non-partisan approach to its advocacy that was backed by rigorous research, political acumen, and integrity," stated the organization.
Per the statement, the following are some recent examples:
- Congress extended the good faith rules governing retransmission consent negotiations to carriage talks between large station groups and buying groups representing smaller multichannel video programming distributors (MVPDs), such as the National Content & Technology Cooperative (NCTC).
- FCC gave MVPDs that rely on the C-band the option to receive a one-time lump sum payment to make C-band transition decisions that meet their needs.
- Congress provided smaller broadband providers with the opportunity to receive a portion of the $65 billion made available to close the nation’s digital divide, and limited their risk of being overbuilt with government funding, in a bipartisan infrastructure package that ACA Connects helped shape through a report it produced with business consulting firm Cartesian.
Lieberman also served the ACA Connects membership by leading efforts to institute an in-depth educational program. Today, the association notes produces more than one-hundred member advisories and webinars annually that greatly help ACA Connects members understand new rules and comply with old ones.
ACA Connects maintains it has transformed itself over time from an association that represented mainly small cable operators on video matters, to one that represents communications providers on a wide range of broadband, voice, and video issues. During Lieberman's tenure, the organization notes it "made every effort to stay well ahead of disruption in the telecommunications sector, as the necessity for universal broadband surged" into becoming a leading national policy issue.
ACA Connects chair Patricia Jo Boyers, who is president/CEO and co-Founder of BOYCOM Vision in Poplar Bluff, Mo., thanked Lieberman for his many significant contributions to the association, and wished him well in his new endeavors:
“Over the past 15 years, the ACA Connects Board decided one big issue after another based on the candid appraisals offered by Ross, stemming from his deep understanding of the political environment in which we had to operate. We owe Ross a great deal for his loyalty to ACA Connects and his nonstop concern for the long-term interests of its deeply appreciative membership."