Message from Dave Koren, Executive Director,

OCTA – Ohio’s Broadband and Cable Association 

Welcome to March'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.

Cox Communications



• Cox Network Transformation to Power Next Generation of Internet Users

• Cox, Intel and Future Technologies collaborate to deliver end-to-end private networks for commercial customers

• Cox Mobile Reveals Commitment to Converged Future during Mobile World Congress

What is Latency and Why Is It Important?

In today’s “always online” world, seamless network operation and a smooth connectivity experience is essential. Engineers have worked hard to reduce the latency (often referred to as lag or lag time) users encounter while relying on the broadband networks that power smart technologies. In fact, super low-latency is one of 10G’s primary benefits.

In general terms, latency is the time that elapses between a request for information and its arrival. Sometimes lag can happen on a network, on a device, or both at the same time. Anytime a signal is sent and processed, some degree of lag is to be expected. When accessing the internet, lag or latency is measured by the amount of time it takes for a “ping,” or sample signal, to travel from a source device to a server and back. Gamers often talk about ping rates, which is another term for latency or lag. Read More

Meeting America's Needs Through a Balanced Spectrum Policy

As today's digital society demands next-generation technologies, seamless connectivity and immersive applications, the demand for new wireless spectrum – the resource that makes these experiences possible – remains critically important. 

At a U.S. House hearing on Friday that will explore how America can maintain its spectrum leadership, NCTA will urge policymakers to strive for a smart spectrum sharing approach – including opening up more unlicensed spectrum – to foster tremendous technological growth, innovation, and healthy competition. Read More

Celebrating Female Empowerment on TV

International Women's Day is a time to honor and recognize the achievements of women as America continues to strive for gender parity and equality. Fortunately, cable TV networks continue their efforts to increase representation of women, on screen and in the writers' room, and to cast women and girls in strong, meaningful, and leading roles that send a powerful message to audiences watching. As cable programming aims to move the needle on this important issue, here are a handful of examples of how networks are shining a spotlight on women in unique ways, reversing harmful gender stereotypes and putting forth a new status quo. Read More