By the spring of , the number of national cable video networks had grown to By that time, the average subscriber could choose from a wide selection of quality programming, with more than 57 percent of all subscribers receiving at least 54 channels, up from 47 in And at the end of the decade, approximately 7 in 10 television households, more than 65 million, had opted to subscribe to cable.
The upgrade to broadband networks enabled cable companies to introduce high-speed Internet access to customers in the mids, and competitive local telephone and digital cable services later in the decade. Enactment of the Telecommunications Act of once again dramatically altered the regulatory and public policy landscape for telecommunications services, spurring new competition and greater choice for consumers.
Almost simultaneously, Paul Allen, a founder of Microsoft, began acquiring his own stable of cable properties.
A generally deregulatory environment for cable operating and programming companies enabled the cable industry to accelerate deployment of broadband services, allowing consumers in urban, suburban, and rural areas to entertain more choices in information, communications, and entertainment services. As the new millennium got under way, cable companies began pilot testing video services that could change the way people watch television.
Among these: video on demand, subscription video on demand, and interactive TV. The industry was proceeding cautiously in these arenas, because the cost of upgrading customer-premise equipment for compatibility with these services was substantial and required new business models that were both expansive and expensive.
Lower cost digital set-top boxes that started to become the norm in customer homes in the mid s proved effective in accommodating the launch of many of the new video services. In general, however, more expensive technology would still be required for cable to begin delivery of advances such as high definition television services, being slowly introduced by off-air broadcast stations as well as by cable networks such as HBO, Showtime, Discovery, and ESPN.
The study showed that roughly two of every three U. Digital cable could be found in 18 percent of U. As for data services, the research revealed that 20 percent of cable customers with PCs are using high-speed modems today. Cable has quickly become the technology of choice for such services, outpacing rival technologies, such as digital subscriber line DSL service, offered by phone companies, by a margin of 2 to 1.
Subscribership to high-speed Internet access service via cable modems had grown to more than 10 million by the end of the third quarter of As for telephone service using the cable conduit, growth was evident in all the limited market areas where such service was offered.
More than 2 million customers were using cable for their phone connections by mid To accommodate accelerating demand, cable programmers are rapidly expanding their menu of digital cable offerings. By , about nationally-delivered cable networks were available, with that number growing steadily. A security device called a CableCARD is provided by cable operators to allow cable customers to view encrypted digital programming after it is authorized to do so by the cable operator.
Over the past few decades, TV networks have made massive investments in programming to bring award-winning shows and entertainment to audiences across the world. Thanks to cable, America saw the expansion of news and sports networks and the explosion of theater-quality television channels like HBO. Over the years, a wide diversity of TV networks has elevated more voices and provided more viewing options available to audiences. Cable broadband providers have connected over 14 million low-income individuals through broadband adoption programs and are committed to closing the digital divide.
Cable providers offer a variety of digital literacy education options in addition to low-cost programs that help families overcome barriers they may face.
They maintain the infrastructure that keeps the internet running and deliver the entertainment experiences that Americans enjoy. A Force for American Innovation.
Cable's Story. Innovation Over the Years. Late s - Early s Infrastructure Gets Boost. Early BBC transmissions were on the low-end of VHF and, if you lived in a valley or too far away, you were flat out of luck. Cable TV, for some, was an alternative, sometimes the only, option.
Houses in Bristol used this system for TV and, years before that in Swindon, they used a similar system to get radio — that was in 19 2 8! Companies such as British Relay Wireless popped up. It was effectively like having a speaker on the end of a really, really long cable. Council houses and schools had the system and it meant no unsightly aerials and no signal loss.
TV pictures were being broadcast to houses and schools over copper cabling. Each twisted pair would carry a single TV or radio station, and a rotary switch would select which station would come through to the inner two cables which fed your TV.
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