Wait a minute...don't WE own all of the cables anyway? My Pop Pop used to tell me

[LaydeeBug]

that the phone companies (back then it was Ma Bell) are all just a middle man, and phones should be free because we already paid for them.

And my Pop Pop never lied. (But maybe he was wrong?) Can anyone enlighten?

[librechik]

1. remember back when the idea for HBO was hatched and

they were all talking about how great cable tv would be--No commercials! Free!

They sure turned that around quickly. "We" don't own the lines, the cable companies own them and charge us for the use. There is now no free over the air tv.

and it only took about 25 years to totally change our cukture so now we pay through the nose for what used to be a small utility fee.

That's how great things get when a once-public institution (broadcast tv) gets privatized and monopolized.

Nope, and there's nothing we can do about it, except shut off cable. And phone.

[LaydeeBug]

2. I was still under the impression that they were SERVICE PROVIDERS bc WE owned the cables and such

Hmmm...

[Niceguy1]

4. we don't own

Any of the infrastructure

[EOTE]

5. Isn't all over the air television free?

How could they possibly charge for that?

[librechik]

6. oh, right--there is still analog signal for those who want to try to make their antennas work.

forgot about that. The antennas cost about 100, so and I've heard the signal is not so good.
I coulld never get anything off the antennas where I lived, gave up around 1980 or so

[EOTE]

7. theres really no difference between an analog and a "digital" antenna.

In almost all locations you could use your existing antennas even rabbit ears with a cheap or even free converter box. And you dont have two rounds of compression like terrestrial tv. There is still plenty of free tv available.

[Brickbat]

3. Up here, the railroads ran the phone lines for a long time, because they were the ones who put them

in.