Cable Companies

How would you like to turn on your $30-a-month cable TV service one day this fall and find out that you can no longer see "Seinfeld," "Roseanne" or "60 Minutes"?How would you feel if you found out that because you do have cable you won't be able to watch the NBA playoffs or the Super Bowl?The terms "retransmission consent" and "must-carry" probably don't mean much to most TV viewers today. But for the two biggest factions in the TV industry, today is the first day of the rest of their lives under the new Cable TV Act.Retransmission consent is part of the Cable TV Act passed by Congress last fall.

There will be a contested election for CA Board of Directors in Oakland Mills this year, but there is only one candidate that fully understands the concerns of Oakland Mills residents and stands by them. Alex Hekimian has been a strong advocate for Oakland Mills in fighting for civility, and ensuring that the community's issues are addressed. Alex has stood by Oakland Mills residents dealing with Howard County Recs and Parks on Blandair Park issues. He has fought to address the lights, parking and amplified noise issue at Blandair Park.

SOMETIME SOON, Baltimore County residents may get their first glimpse of what deregulation in the cable television industry really means. Two companies -- Starpower and American Broadband -- want to offer service and compete with Comcast, but the competition may not solve the ills affecting current cable service. Ask the county's 210,000 cable consumers about cable service, and they'll likely grumble about escalating bills. What really bothers them, however, are the inexplicable service interruptions, the difficulty reaching service representatives and cable repairs that are not made when promised.

Al Jazeera English will premiere a thought-provoking and hard-hitting documentary about Baltimore tonight, but viewers here won't be able to see it on cable TV. That's outrageous, ignorant and maddening. That's the conclusion I came to last week while reporting a Sunday story on the documentary and the bleak picture of Baltimore it would be presenting to a potential audience of 260 million homes elsewhere in the world. Read that story here . But that lack of access to Al Jazeera English on cable TV also makes me wonder what kind of sheep we are as media consumers -- and what kind of mice we have as media critics that cable companies can get away with not offering this option even as they they offer a sea of channels devoted to shopping and reruns of lame network shows from previous decades.

AUSTRALIAN media magnate Rupert Murdoch once talked about launching a U.S. home satellite service that would be a lethal competitor to cable television. He nicknamed it Deathstar. A killer satellite service would come closer to reality under the proposed merger of the nation's two satellite television providers. It was announced recently that Mr. Murdoch abandoned his plan to acquire DirecTV, the nation's No. 1 home satellite provider. If federal regulators approve Echostar's $26 billion plan to acquire DirecTV, it would result in a monopoly serving more than 17 million subscribers.

In a debate that will shape the future of high-speed Internet service, the Supreme Court will hear arguments today to determine whether cable companies must open their networks to competitors. The court could decide, in effect, how companies can compete to deliver high-speed Internet access to a rapidly growing market and how much choice consumers will have. The case pits the Federal Communications Commission and National Cable & Telecommunications Association, representing cable companies including Comcast Corp.

Sinclair Broadcasting Group is threatening to pull television stations from the air in Iowa and other states because it doesn't think the cable company in those areas is paying it enough, the latest salvo in a burgeoning battle among broadcasters nationwide over transmission fees. Sinclair is at odds with cable system owner Mediacom Communications Corp. over how much airing local stations is worth. Mediacom said late yesterday that it reached an extension with Sinclair to avoid a midnight deadline that would have pulled the stations from cable systems in the Midwest and South.

Don't look now, but cable television rates might be going up again. The culprit this time isn't the cable companies but another local monopoly -- Baltimore Gas and Electric Co.The reason: BG&E plans to start charging cable companies a $6-a-pole annual fee this year to keep their lines on BG&E poles. The fee would affect cable companies that hang their lines on the 50,000 poles statewide that BG&E shares with Chesapeake & Potomac Telephone Co.Rental fees on an additional 23,000 poles owned solely by BG&E probably will be raised to $6 from $4 as part of the rate change, said John Metzger, a BG&E spokesman.

In a decision likely to limit consumer choice in the rapidly growing market for high-speed Internet access, the Supreme Court ruled yesterday that cable companies were not required to give competitors access to their broadband networks. The decision was seen as a victory for cable giants, such as Comcast Corp., and the Federal Communications Commission as well as the one-time Bell operating companies - including Verizon Communications Corp. and SBC Communications Inc. - which are seeking a similar exemption.

A fight brewing on the back burners of cyberspace has erupted into a nationwide brawl over who will provide high-speed Internet access to millions of homes over cable television lines. In one corner are cable TV companies, who own the lines and transmit what they choose. Across the ring is a band of Internet Service Providers (ISPs), big telephone companies and consumer groups who want access to cable's high-speed pipelines into the nation's residential areas. In between is nasty talk about monopolies and unfair competition.

About 80 members of the Communications Workers of America protested at Baltimore City Hall Thursday against a deal between Verizon Wireless and cable companies that they said will hurt the city's chances of ever receiving the telecommuncation company's next-generation Internet broadband network, known as FiOS. In a deal with major cable companies across the country, Verizon Wireless plans to expand its fourth-generation wireless services after purchasing unused wireless spectrum from the cable providers.

What if the cable guy was also your home security guy? Maryland consumers are about to find out. Comcast Corp. has launched a marketing blitz this month to sign up customers for its new "Xfinity Home" package, which features a residential alarm system, video monitoring, and temperature and lighting controls, among other features — all manipulated from a touchpad, mobile device or computer. It's not enough for major telecom and cable companies to sell you services for your television, computer and smartphone.

As the Green Bay Packers-Dallas Cowboys game nears and more people realize they're not going to be able to see tonight's game on their home TV because it's being broadcast on NFL Network, ire is rising. In the local areas, meaning Dallas-Fort Worth and Green Bay-Milwaukee, the games also must be carried on over-the-air channels. But many regions of Texas and Wisconsin that certainly consider the Cowboys and Packers their home team are being shut out - unless, of course, they have satellite or some upgraded cable package.

Tonight, by about the time the leftovers have been bagged and many folks have settled back into a turkey-induced mellowness, the last game in the NFL's Thanksgiving triple-header will kick off. But most of you likely won't have access to the 8:15 p.m. game between the Indianapolis Colts and Atlanta Falcons. It's being carried by the NFL Network, the league-owned channel that is starting its second season with an eight-game package of Thursday and Saturday night regular-season telecasts.

WASHINGTON -- The Federal Communications Commission is preparing to impose significant new regulations to open the cable television market to independent programmers and rival video services after determining that cable companies have become too dominant in the industry, senior commission officials said. The finding, under a law that gives the commission expanded powers over the cable television industry if it becomes too big, is expected to be announced this month. It is a major departure for the agency and the industry, which was deregulated by an act of Congress in 1996.

Baltimore County Council members approved last night the start of negotiations on a deal that could give county residents a third choice of cable television providers. The council unanimously voted to start franchise talks with Virginia-based Cavalier Telephone Corp., which applied for a license to offer cable service in the county. Council President Stephen G. Samuel Moxley and Councilman Vincent J. Gardina were absent. Cable service is provided to county residents by Comcast, long the area's dominant provider, and Verizon, which began offering service to parts of the county in the spring.

About 80 members of the Communications Workers of America protested at Baltimore City Hall Thursday against a deal between Verizon Wireless and cable companies that they said will hurt the city's chances of ever receiving the telecommuncation company's next-generation Internet broadband network, known as FiOS. In a deal with major cable companies across the country, Verizon Wireless plans to expand its fourth-generation wireless services after purchasing unused wireless spectrum from the cable providers.

Excite@Home reached a tentative agreement yesterday with a group of cable companies, including Cox Communications and Comcast Corp., to keep their customers connected to Excite's high-speed Internet service, according to several people involved in the negotiations. But not all of the creditors of Excite, which has filed for bankruptcy protection, have decided whether to support the agreement. That means it might not be clear for days whether 2.7 million people in North America will have their cable Internet service cut off. About 850,000 customers of AT&T, the nation's largest cable company, were cut off by Excite early Saturday after AT&T said it would not pay the price Excite demanded to keep them connected.

WASHINGTON -- The Federal Communications Commission, in an effort to reduce the spiraling costs of cable television, is preparing to strike down thousands of contracts this week that shut out competitors by giving individual cable companies exclusive rights to provide service to an apartment building, the agency's chairman said. The new rule could open markets across the country to competition. It would be a huge victory for Verizon Communications and AT&T, which have challenged the cable industry by offering their own video services.

The Anne Arundel County school board will begin televising its meetings within a year, bringing the school system in step with surrounding counties, but not satisfying critics, who want the meetings aired on the district's Web site, too. The idea has been brought before the board several times before. Members offered their support Wednesday after learning that the cost would be borne through fees already collected by cable companies. Some board members continued to express concerns that additional funding could be needed or that the technology could soon become obsolete.