The Caribbean Cable TV Association was founded in 1983 by three pioneers in the cable television industry in the region:  John S. Cardenas, general manager of Cable TV Company of Greater San Juan, Inc.; Hector Gonzalez, owner and president of Teleponce Corp., and Randolph H. Knight, owner and president of Caribbean Communications Corp.  The three formed the organization in order to foster and promote the development of cable television service in the U.S. regions and independent nations or territories of the Caribbean. 

CCTA was launched with just nine members:  five cable operators – Cable TV Company of Greater San Juan, Caguas Cable System, Inc., Caribbean Communications, Community Cablevision of Puerto Rico, and Teleponce – and four vendors – Home Box Office, Inc., Oak Communications, Inc., RMS Electronics, Inc., and Theta-Com CATV.  The first Annual Membership Meeting was held on March 5, 1984, in Puerto Rico.

Since that modest beginning the CCTA has grown to 122 members:  29 cable operators (five in the U.S. regions and 23 in other areas of the Caribbean), and 93 program, hardware and software suppliers from around the world.  Member cable operators serve a combined total of over 800,000 subscribers.  The Association holds an Annual Meeting each year, bringing together cable operators and vendors to discuss trends in the industry, devise solutions to common problems, and provide a forum for information exchange and education.

As a non-profit association based in the U.S. Virgin Islands, the CCTA established the Community Charities Program which donates an average of $10,000 per year, $750 to $1,000 each to different service agencies nominated by its member cable operators.  The Association’s members feel a strong commitment to giving back to the communities that have supported them.  Since its inception, the Community Charities Program has donated more than $208,000 to Caribbean-based charitable organizations.

Following a series of major hurricanes, the Board of Directors voted to establish a disaster relief program for employees of member systems.  Funds have been distributed to those individuals who were most affected by these storms.

Furthering the standards of its members, the CCTA holds training seminars every year on customer and technical service, marketing and management techniques.  Many of these seminars have been produced in conjunction with the CTAM Caribbean chapter and the Caribbean chapter of the Society of Cable Television Engineers.

In response to recent trends in the industry, the Association formally changed its name to the Caribbean Cable and Telecommunications Association in 2002.

The CCTA is governed by a Board of Directors, consisting of seven members elected from among the cable system membership and two members from among the associated membership of program, hardware and software suppliers.  All board members are elected at the Annual Membership Meeting held in January of each year.  The Association has retained the services of a part-time Executive Director who handles the administrative tasks of the rapidly growing and actively involved organization.  Whatever the future of the cable and telecommunications industry, the CCTA will continue to represent the needs of its various members, promote cooperation and understanding, and encourage the highest standards of operation.