Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!sdd.hp.com!usc!apple!agate!telecom-request From: RAF@cu.nih.gov (Roger Fajman) Newsgroups: comp.dcom.telecom Subject: Re: Cable TV vs Telco Connectivity Laws Message-ID: Date: 27 Mar 91 00:25:57 GMT Sender: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu Organization: TELECOM Digest Lines: 37 Approved: Telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Submissions-To: telecom@eecs.nwu.edu X-Administrivia-To: telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu X-Telecom-Digest: Volume 11, Issue 243, Message 10 of 14 > Cable utility, on the other hand, comes from the number of hours one > can watch. With one television, this is always 24 hours per day > (assuming no service interruptions), whether you have a VCR or not. Well, our cable system here charges by the TV too. Trouble with this argument is that, while we have more than two TVs, there are only two of us living in the house (not counting the cats, who don't watch much TV at all :-). Since the TVs are in different rooms, it is quite impossible for us to watch more than two at a time, but we are billed for all. We have only one converter box, as all the TVs but one are cable ready and we have no premium channels (so no unscrambling is necessary). Under those conditions, the converter boxes just get in the way (and they charge for remote controls for them too -- even if you supply your own programmable unit). The cable company installed the inside wiring for free (they will not connect to your wiring) and is now in the process of recovering the cost of that few hours of work forvever. The cable company just announced that the basic service is being divided into three tiers. Initially, the total for all three tiers is the same as before, but I'm sure the price increases won't be long in coming (there have already been two in one year). Of course, many of the channels we like (old movies, CNN) are in the upper tiers. The lowest tier gets you primarily the local broadcast stations and the community service stations. I've never understood the logic of granting an exclusive franchise and deregulating prices at the same time. Of course, we don't have to have cable TV, but that's no reason for allowing a monopoly without price controls. It seems to me that competition should have been the quid pro quo for deregulating prices. I'll bet that the telephone companies wish they could have gotten the deal that the cable companies did.