August 13, 2012
Cable's Evolution Shows its Relevance
By Steve Anderson, Contributing TMCnet Writer
The concept of cable cutting is one that's front and center with a growing number of users these days. Why pay huge prices for limited service, a handful of package deals that include huge lists of channels that will go unwatched when Internet-based television is a click away, and sometimes, even available for free with minimal commercial interruption? But cable isn't taking the idea of cable cutting lying down, and it's readily apparent in the evolution of cable as a whole from its inception to the modern day.
Some like to think of the cable television industry as a hidebound monolith that's too busy cashing subscriber checks to give much credence to what those subscribers actually want. But that's an unfair characterization; cable has come a long way indeed for an industry that's been around for decades.
Cable technically got its start just after World War II; in 1948. Television was a new industry, and FCC (News - Alert) regulations made it very difficult for new firms to get into the marketplace. Thus, some more creative individuals found a way to get around FCC regulations by, instead of using broadcast spectrum to send their rather short-range signals into people's homes, they would instead use a direct connection via the coaxial cable, which is still in use today in many applications... Read More