NASSAU, Bahamas - Cable Bahamas Head of Marketing David Burrows was appointed Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Caribbean Cable Telecommunications Association (CCTA) at their annual meeting held in San Juan, Puerto Rico in January. The appointment of Mr Burrows follows his six years of serving on the board, and the past year as vice-chair of the board.

The CCTA, formed in 1983, is comprised of 109 member organisations, including 18 cable operators -- of which Cable Bahamas is one -- and 91 programmers (signal suppliers), hardware and software suppliers from around the world.

Upon taking the chair in January, Mr Burrows spoke to the members of the CCTA about his vision and goals for the non-profit association during his tenure, drawing on the mission and purpose of the CCTA for inspiration.

"It is vital that we focus our efforts on growth and education among our members," Mr Burrows stated. "As our members become even better equipped and informed about new technologies, trends and better business practices, their individual operations will grow and our effectiveness as a regional body will be increased."

One of the most critical issues facing the Caribbean region cable industry is a lack of awareness and understanding of the burden of excessive regulation in the face of rising costs of services.

"When I asked TV signal suppliers if they had increased their rates in the last five, 10, 15 or 20 years, all of them had, most of them on a regular basis," Burrows stated. "But when I asked cable companies if they had corresponding increases in their subscription fees, the overwhelming majority of them did not. In almost every case, this is due to regulators ignoring the reality of a steady increase in our 'cost of goods', so to speak, without allowing for a parallel increase in our subscription fees."

Mr Burrows explained that, while cable companies are sensitive to the market's ability to pay ever-increasing subscription fees, there must be a relationship between costs and retail rates.

"What makes this an even greater challenge is the disconnect between what regulators allow basic TV services to be priced at, and the requirements that cable companies must meet from our signal suppliers," the new chairman stated. "Signal suppliers require cable companies to carry certain channels on basic and nowhere else, but as the costs for channels go up -- and the retail rate for basic does not -- we end up squeezed in the middle. Any businessperson and most consumers know that this is unsustainable."

Burrows asserted that cable companies are locked in an untenable situation because of an essential lack of awareness and understanding among regulators of how the industry works. "I believe one way that this can be improved is to have regulators participate directly in the CCTA's annual meeting," Mr Burrows suggested. "They could see the impact of their decisions and see the context of what we do and how they influence the present and future of the industry. Our signal suppliers could also get more involved in informing regulators about these realities, and hopefully the regulators will understand that this is not about profiteering; it is about continuing to deliver the service that our communities -- and our countries -- depend on."

The CCTA chairman also suggested that signal suppliers could take these regulatory constraints into consideration when they set up their contracts. Changes could be made that would permit cable operators to place more signals in non-basic cable packages to better manage costs. "Until there is some greater understanding on both the parts of the regulators and the programmers on how this business works in the Caribbean and Latin America, including the Bahamas, Puerto Rico, and other US territories in the region, the industry will continue to be negatively affected."

Noting the fundamental dependence on technology for the industry, Mr Burrows explained how the CCTA could improve the association's collective understanding of new capabilities and new consumer demands. "We have an opportunity to deliver increasingly more advanced features and benefits to our subscribers, and raising the level of understanding across cable operators, signal suppliers and equipment suppliers will ensure that we not only remain competitive, but that we fully leverage the advantages we have in infrastructure and capacity."

Mr Burrows spoke about technology trends that consumers are demanding today, and that cable operators must be prepared to deliver them. "You've got 'TV anywhere', which allows subscribers to watch cable services across computers, tablets and smartphones. Then there are HD services, which every new TV buyer wants today. And, of course, there is video on demand [VOD], for movies, TV shows and event content. Cable companies must be leading the way in every one of these technologies."

The annual meeting of the CCTA has always been a valuable opportunity for the regional industry to meet and discuss the key topics of the day, and the 2014 conference was no exception. Mr Burrows said that it was such an important event that the entire Cable Bahamas marketing department was in attendance. "This was our chance, as a group, to get more deeply involved in the decision-making and influencing of what we offer and how we deliver it to The Bahamas," Burrows said.