Message from Dave Koren, Executive Director,

OCTA – Ohio’s Broadband and Cable Association

Welcome to September's edition of The OCTA Connection, the monthly newsletter from OCTA – Ohio’s Broadband and Cable Association.

We are happy to bring the latest in broadband news to your inbox each month and hope that you find this newsletter informative and insightful. Read on to see updates from OCTA members, important industry news and announcements from our national partner, NCTA.

Be sure to follow OCTA on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn. You can also visit our website at www.octa.org.

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Governor DeWine Announces New Partnership to Provide Free Broadband Job Training

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine announced that the Governor’s Office of Workforce Transformation and Goodwill Columbus, through a partnership with The Ohio State University, Columbus State Community College, and the Workforce Development Board of Central Ohio will offer free, broadband-related job training at Goodwill Columbus’ newest job training center on Brice Rd.

“To expand high-speed internet across the state, we need to build the broadband industry workforce,” said Governor DeWine. “In fact, we’ll need about 32,000 skilled workers to prepare the infrastructure alone.”

The Broadband Infrastructure Training Program will cover fundamentals of broadband, electrical, and fiber connections, offer hands on training, and develop digital literacy and academic skills. Graduates may go on to earn industry credentials as a Certified Premises Cabling Technician or a Certified Fiber Optic Technician, leading to potential employment at telecom companies or their suppliers and contractors. Read More

Buckeye Broadband

Why Local Providers Like Buckeye Broadband are the Best Choice

Smarter Connections: Tips to Improve your Home Internet Connection

Charter Communications

Charter to Hold Webcast to Discuss Third Quarter 2023 Financial and Operating Results

Charter and Qualcomm to Deliver Next-Generation Advanced WiFi Router

Charter Awards $1 Million to 2023 Spectrum Digital Education Grant Recipients

The Walt Disney Company and Charter Communications Announce Transformative Agreement for Distribution of Disney’s Linear Networks and Direct-to-Consumer Services

Comcast

Comcast Corporation Names Rocky Gupta Executive Vice President and Treasurer

Third Class of Comcast NBCUniversal SportsTech Accelerator Secures 25 Business Deals with Consortium Partners

Comcast in Wireless – Building a Strategy for Sustained Growth

Comcast Statement on Senate Confirmation of Anna Gomez as FCC CommissionerBroadband

Cox Communications

How to Extend Your Home Wifi Range

Smart Parents' Guide to Optimizing Your Home Internet

America’s Expanding Cable Broadband Networks: The Mid-Atlantic

As America targets efforts towards connecting every community to robust broadband – including the distribution of more than $40 billion in federal funds for building new networks –

cable providers continue to do what they have always done: build out their networks to reach as many Americans as possible. Here is a small sampling of broadband projects by cable ISPs underway as they prepare to deliver superfast internet speeds in communities across the Mid-Atlantic. Check out NCTA.com for other projects currently underway in the Midwest, Central U.S., and the Pacific West. Read More

The Cable Industry's Kaitz Dinner Celebrates 40 Years

The 40th annual Kaitz Dinner, hosted at the New York Marriott Marquis in Times Square, marked a significant milestone for The Walter Kaitz Foundation and the cable industry. The fundraiser event raised $1.1 million and brought together industry executives to celebrate four incredible decades of work fostering diversity and inclusivity across the media and entertainment landscape.

The funds will be channeled into programs aimed at supporting leadership and professional development for women, diverse professionals, and students in the media and entertainment sector. Read More

Sharing Spectrum Enables Future Innovation, Connectivity

“The only practical way to satisfy the demands of all applications – commercial, scientific and federal – is to encourage spectrum sharing among incumbent users and new entrants.”

That’s the recent conclusion of the FCC's Technology Advisory Council (TAC) in presenting its final findings and recommendations to the FCC regarding the 7.125 and 24 GHz bands. The TAC, which represents a wide array of leading technical experts, recognized that the U.S. leads the way in innovative spectrum-sharing techniques, thereby opening the door for expanded economic and social benefits by unlocking valuable spectrum resources in efficient and innovative ways. Read More

Reimagining Video Programming Rules

The explosion of video programming options has upended traditional business models and left market participants scrambling to figure out what consumers want and how to deliver it. In this hyper-competitive environment, Congress and the FCC should be removing regulations based on a marketplace that no longer exists – not extending those outdated rules to new entrants. Read More

Industry Agreement Saves Consumers Billions in Energy Costs, Reduces CO2 Emissions

Consumers saved more than $3 billion in energy costs in 2022, the result of a voluntary agreement between the pay-TV industry and energy efficiency advocates to improve the efficiency of devices used to access video programming. For a decade, these efforts have lowered bills and saved energy for millions of Americans. Read More

TV Stats: Consumers Benefit from a Competitive Marketplace

Today, TV viewers have a sea of options to watch whatever they want, whenever they want it. Traditional TV providers, streaming services, and more, offer entertainment at the touch of a screen, a far cry from the days of live TV viewing around a boxy TV set. The dramatic change in video options has ushered in an array of choices on a number of platforms. Read More

About OCTA

In 1966 a group of cable pioneers banded together, forming a new association to represent them before the Ohio General Assembly. For more than five decades, OCTA - Ohio's Broadband & Cable Association has built a strong record of success in the legislative and regulatory arenas.

Today, our members look to the OCTA with confidence in its ability to represent the industry before the Ohio legislature, PUCO, Congress, and the Courts.