Ahrenl
join:2004-10-26
North Andover, MA
1 edit | who's in charge of news here?! :D
Where's the story about the USF tax being removed today? Come one. This is big news! Who cares if TWC is going to digital. Everyone is going to digial.
Edit: Actually reading the story, I guess it's interesting; but still not as cool. :P |
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idjk
@144.226.x.x | Time Warner Embraces Switched Digital Video
Sounds like more to go wrong. |
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RadioDoc
58ef2c0
Premium,ExMod 2000-03
join:2000-05-11
 ·AT&T Midwest
| Since they know
who and how many are watching which channels, and for how long, I wonder how much they'll be making from selling that information? Probably far more than the $16 per home. Maybe they'll pass that income to the subscribers in the form of lower rates. Naaahh. What was I thinking... 
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Toolmaster of La Grange. |
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Vonage User5
join:2004-05-15
Hillsborough, NC | reply to Ahrenl
Re: who's in charge of news here?! :D
where did you hear about the usf tax being removed? |
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Ahrenl
join:2004-10-26
North Andover, MA
 ·Verizon FIOS
2 edits | Bloomberg.
Only for Long-Distance, but they said it should carry over to local charges as well.
There's a video clip, owned by ABC, with Snow announcing it. Here's a link..
Yeah, my link sucked..
I thought the USF WAS a tax left over from the Spanish-American war? |
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Iceblink8
By your command
Premium
join:2002-03-21
San Diego, CA | What markets have deployed?
Does anyone know what markets are using SDV? |
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jojodancer
join:2003-07-22
Burlington, VT | Change Channel time
Does this mean that it will take even longer for the channel to change with digital cable? I can't stand the 1-2 second delay when channel surfing. |
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cypherstream
Looking forward to the future of things.
Premium,MVM
join:2004-12-02
Reading, PA
clubs:
| Great Technology
This is a great technology, I only wish Comcast would get off their butt and roll this out. This will allow more bandwidth for HD and other channels we have been requesting for so long. The only downside is lack of cable card support. Since cable cards are one way devices they cannot talk back to 'request' a channel that is not currently switched into the node. Maybe more MSO's will adopt this once Cable-card 2.0 is finalized. |
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dick white
Premium
join:2000-03-24
Annandale, VA
·Verizon FIOS
| reply to Vonage User5
Re: who's in charge of news here?! :D
said by Vonage User5  :where did you hear about the usf tax being removed? here: »www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/co···720.html
though it is not the USF and the Spanish American War did not just end. What happened is that the telecos, etc. stopped billing for long distance by the mile. Since the legal language of the Spanish American War tax law was applicable only to phone services billed by time AND distance, it is not applicable to long distance calls billed under today's flat rates per minute anywhere. The telecos stared down the IRS on it and the IRS blinked. |
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LeeWL
join:2002-11-10
Morrisville, NC
·AT&T Southeast
| reply to cypherstream
Re: Great Technology
said by cypherstream : The only downside is lack of cable card support. Since cable cards are one way devices they cannot talk back to 'request' a channel that is not currently switched into the node. Maybe more MSO's will adopt this once Cable-card 2.0 is finalized. This is mighty convenient for the cable companies since the FCC mandated them to allow cable cards and now they will no longer work. Pretty much kills off a series # HD TiVo and makes you need to use the crappy cableco DVR. |
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johnsp
join:2001-02-07
Syosset, NY | It should be obvious
that the cable companies realized no one is watching the 12 home shopping networks they're wasting bandwidth on but charging us for. |
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dick white
Premium
join:2000-03-24
Annandale, VA
·Verizon FIOS
| reply to Ahrenl
Re: who's in charge of news here?! :D
said by Ahrenl :I thought the USF WAS a tax left over from the Spanish-American war? The USF "tax" is a fee imposed by the FCC for the Universal Service Fund, which is supposed to encourage/assist in extending phone and internet service into under-served (principally rural) areas. The 3% long distance federal excise tax is the relic of the Spanish American War. Different animals, but they both are eating a hole in the bottom of your pocket for your money to leak out. |
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jojodancer
join:2003-07-22
Burlington, VT
| reply to johnsp
Re: It should be obvious
said by johnsp :that the cable companies realized no one is watching the 12 home shopping networks they're wasting bandwidth on but charging us for. Add to that all the basic cable channels like Discovery and History that switch to all infomercials overnight. |
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crazediamond
That's Dr. Craze to you
Premium
join:2002-01-19
Germantown, MD
| reply to johnsp
said by johnsp :that the cable companies realized no one is watching the 12 home shopping networks they're wasting bandwidth on but charging us for. Seems like if someone could get the data for channel usage it could be presented so as to provide a compelling argument for a la carte.
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And if I show you my dark side, will you still hold me tonight? And if I open my heart to you, and show you my weak side, what would you do? |
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silica
join:2004-05-20
Duluth, GA | reply to johnsp
I had heard that the shopping networks pay the cable companies to carry the shopping channels. |
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wanderance
join:2002-07-09
USA
| reply to LeeWL
Re: Great Technology
Who is going to step up the plate and start suing the pants off of these cable companies. This has nothing to do with saving bandwidth, it has everything to do with forcing the consumer to use a set top box.
"Want ALL the digital cable channels? Have to use our box, no way around that! Oh that pesky FCC and their requirements for cable card, who cares if you dropped the extra cash so you didn't have to deal with a box! We are so big now no one can touch us! Thanks for letting use merge away FCC! |
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mw3051
join:2001-04-01
Tulsa, OK | reply to silica
Re: It should be obvious
yes they do of course.
but then we also pay for it too when we pay for cable television.
we pay to watch paid programming.
nice eh ? |
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cypherstream
Looking forward to the future of things.
Premium,MVM
join:2004-12-02
Reading, PA
clubs:
| reply to wanderance
Re: Great Technology
Well you could always switch to satellite, eh wait... then you would be forced to use their set top box. Hmm... How about Verizon Fios? Oh yeah for more than 20 some channels you'll need a box also. Its the way things are going. You will have to wait until Cable Card 2.0 is finalized and TV Sets come out supporting the new standard. I pay a lot of money for cable tv, of course I want every channel imaginable. I feel it provides more value, maybe there's something out there to watch when I have time to watch it. |
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jslik
That just happened
Premium
join:2006-03-17
clubs:
| reply to silica
Re: It should be obvious
said by silica :I had heard that the shopping networks pay the cable companies to carry the shopping channels. I thought it was due in part to the 'must-carry' rule...all broadcast channels have to be shown on the 'basic tier' or something like that. So these shopping channels get a license and transmitter, and then have to be carried on the cable system(s) in a particular area. |
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RadioDoc
58ef2c0
Premium,ExMod 2000-03
join:2000-05-11 | reply to cypherstream
Re: Great Technology
I've got a much more elegant, money-saving solution: Turn off the TV.
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Toolmaster of La Grange. |
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