Multifamily Broadband Council (MBC) is an evolution and outgrowth from the prior Independent Multi-Family Communications Council (IMCC), which has a rich history of representing and advocating on behalf of independent broadband providers and Private Cable Operators (PCOs) who do business within the Multifamily market.
IMCC was created in 2001 to help multifamily owners who wanted alternatives to traditional cable and telephone companies in order to achieve competitive communications and alternative broadband choices for residents. Prior to that, IMCC was formed out of the previous organization, the Independent Telecommunications & Cable Association (ICTA), which was founded in 1995.
Bill Burhop was instrumental in the organization's inception and was a leading advocate for the private cable industry during his long tenure with the organization. He led and won many battles with the FCC and lobbied on business and legal issues central to PCOs’ success with Congress, FCC commissioners and other important policymakers. MBC owes a debt of gratitude to the many years and efforts he contributed to the group as its former Executive Director and lead lobbyist. Burhop retired in 2013.
Although Multifamily Broadband Council is functioning as a new trade association, members and board members have been supporters and advocates of its prior entities' work for over 20 years. The prior associations have functioned as the legal voice of independent broadband providers in the past, educating the FCC on the need for smaller operators to have a say in the face of sweeping regulations being handed down to large franchise cable companies and tel-cos. The ongoing vision has always been to secure the viability of the independent provider and to enhance competition in the Multifamily/MDU landscape.
With the face of video changing so rapidly during recent years, it was time for a new direction as those who develop the content and technology take center stage and work directly with the experts who know the industry so well.