From Arizona Cable to Mobile Broadband and Video

My grandfather (the great, late, Bruce Merrill) pioneered Arizona's first cable TV network. He put the first antenna on Pinal Peak outside Globe, Ariz., and started running cable into town. With those genetics, how can I not find our industry today interesting?

Maybe that’s why I can't be more excited about where we’re going with V2M. After all, it was my and my partner in crime Tara Seals' (editor-in-chief) brainchild. So I thought I would take the opportunity to introduce myself as V2M’s publisher, and my background.

Let me start by saying that I have an extensive understanding and passion for this business. And for that, I suppose it comes from my blood. My grandfather didn’t just put cable in the ground; he was instrumental in developing the industry into a thriving opportunity in the state for many different stakeholders. He advertised on the radio to educate consumers and charged cable customers $150 to hook up, and $5 per month after that. To overcome regulatory obstacles, he helped start the National Community Antenna TV Association in 1952. He always said, "Nobody liked us but the public, the broadcasters saw us as a threat to their business, the telephone companies thought we were encroaching, and the people who owned copyrights started to fight us."  He had to fight many regulatory battles in D.C., which he frequently lost. Finally, with the commercialization of satellites came relief when the industry started gaining traction in the 1960s and 1970s, and of course the rest is history. With those genetics, how can I not find our industry today interesting?

I am a fourth-generation native to Arizona (a rarity indeed – my husband always says "I married the last native" and refers to me as his poor little desert child). Going back to my roots, I have always found it interesting what my grandfather and then in his footsteps, my father Phil Merrill have done in the communications business, which is what really gave me my start.

Directly out of college at the University of Arizona, I worked as an intern at the Wireless Communication Association in Washington, D.C. From there I was recruited by a media company by the name of Shorecliff Communications out of beautiful Orange County, Calif., which eventually (after my departure) was bought by CMP/Light Reading. Shorecliff is where I got a real taste for the media business, which I really enjoyed. After some time, I took a rest from work for a bit. (I started my humble little family of what is now three bouncing boys and let me tell you, there is never a dull moment in my world.)

Then VIRGO hunted me down and recruited me to join the Communications Network, which I proudly accepted, nine months pregnant with my third. I have now been working at VIRGO, V2M's parent company, for more than five years, almost entirely in the Communications Network. I have worked on Channel Partners (formerly PHONE+) and xchange, then on the combined VON/xchange property, and now our proud, re-launched brand, V2M. I also split my time in our Medical Network here at VIRGO on the newly launched brand Mobile Healthcare Today, as its publisher as well.

I am thrilled to see the evolution of our brands since I have been with VIRGO. V2M is extremely exciting because it keeps a pulse on the ever-evolving world of communications as service providers continue to grow and evolve in their businesses to provide competitive services for their customers (which when you boil it down, is you and me, my friends). This is what I love about this industry: It directly affects me and how I communicate with the world. As we grow and change, new communications services come to be. Not to be cliché, but honestly, do you remember when someone first told you about email or the Internet? "What the heck is that?" I thought. Ironically for me, it was my very own father who I asked, who at that time worked with my grandfather on building up a WISP into a business which now is flourishing. Pretty crazy to think how far we have come, but the most exciting part is to see what is still to come. What will be the next must-have service be that we can't live without?

As the publisher for V2M, I encourage you to engage with us and me. I welcome you to reach out and discuss ways we can work together, whether you are a vendor, service provider or just any average Joe who finds this stuff as exciting as I do. Contact me at tfellows@vpico.com.

Thanks for listening!