Why does the FCC swallows every rationale fed to them by cable companies without question? The latest sham? Citing a lack of bandwidth, the cable companies have successfully sabotaged the use of cablecards by moving HD stations to SDV. Was there really no alternative? What about the bandwith dedicated to providing 6-10 versions of Premium stations? As cable customers now record programs for viewing at their convenience, having the exact same programing on 10 stations only appears to provide more choice. For decades, the cable companies have fought and delayed implementing every FCC regulation designed to improve cable services and lower the costs to consumers. The use of a cablecard not only freed cable customers from the necessity of having a set-top box, it would have freed customers from the necessity of renting a set-top box from their cable provider. Clearly competition in this area would have been beneficial for consumers.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Loralyn @ Apr 16th 2008 9:22PM
Why does the FCC swallows every rationale fed to them by cable companies without question? The latest sham? Citing a lack of bandwidth, the cable companies have successfully sabotaged the use of cablecards by moving HD stations to SDV.
Was there really no alternative? What about the bandwith dedicated to providing 6-10 versions of Premium stations? As cable customers now record programs for viewing at their convenience, having the exact same programing on 10 stations only appears to provide more choice.
For decades, the cable companies have fought and delayed implementing every FCC regulation designed to improve cable services and lower the costs to consumers. The use of a cablecard not only freed cable customers from the necessity of having a set-top box, it would have freed customers from the necessity of renting a set-top box from their cable provider.
Clearly competition in this area would have been beneficial for consumers.