Cable Television

A Guide to the Technology

C. Pilnick, Walter S. Baer

ResearchPublished 1973

Describes the present state of cable technology, technical approaches to meeting the new FCC requirements for major market cable systems, and the technology for new cable services. Since technical feasibility is linked with costs, the report also discusses cost considerations in building a new cable system or expanding an extant one. The report identifies several problem areas confronting the cable industry and local decisionmakers, including expanded channel capacity, two-way communications, internal switching and external interconnection, and the difficulty of writing unambiguous, enforceable local technical standards. These involve complex tradeoffs among technical approaches, economic factors, and cable-system capabilities. The report discusses policy alternatives, but is not a step-by-step guide to designing an "optimal" system. It is written at an introductory level for readers without a technical background.

Document Details

  • Copyright: RAND Corporation
  • Availability: Web Only
  • Year: 1973
  • Pages: 73
  • Document Number: R-1141-NSF

Citation

Chicago Manual of Style

Pilnick, C. and Walter S. Baer, Cable Television: A Guide to the Technology. Santa Monica, CA: RAND Corporation, 1973. https://www.rand.org/pubs/reports/R1141.html.
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