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Cox cable in Hampton Roads has lost me as a customer forever. The inability to provide a reliable broadband connection just screwed the deal. I liked the speed, but over a 6 month span, 50% uptime just didn't make it. VerizonDSL, while slower, is vastly more reliable.
As soon as feasible, dropping the cable TV and going to satellite.

Points 5, 6, and 7 of my ISP's Cable Internet TOS:


5 Commercial Use. The Service is designed for personal use of the Internet and may not be used for commercial purposes. You may not resell or otherwise charge others to use the residential Service. You agree not to use the Service for operation as an Internet service provider, or for any other business enterprise, including, without limitation, IP address translation or similar facilities intended to provide additional access.

6 Servers. You may not operate, or allow others to operate, servers of any type or any other device, equipment, and/or software providing server-like functionality in connection with the Service, unless expressly authorized by Cox.

7 Misuse of Service. You are responsible for any misuse of the Service that occurs through your account. You must therefore take steps to ensure that others do not gain unauthorized access or misuse the Service.


You are responsible for any misuse. IP address translation (NAT?)....doesn't that mean even hooking up 2 computers to your wireless router (even your own computers) is already a violation?

Last but not least...point 9

9 Security. You are solely responsible for the security of any device connected to the Service, including any data stored on that device. Cox recommends that you take appropriate security precautions for any systems connected to the Service. You are responsible for securing any wireless (WiFi) networks connected to your Cox service. Any wireless network, installed by the customer or a Cox representative that is unsecured or "open" and connected to the Cox network will be deemed to be operating as an ISP and subject to the prohibition on commercial use set forth in Section 5 herein.


Emphasis mine. I bet MOST ISPs have similar TOS. (2nd slashdot comment ever...be nice;^)

Most are actually, usually with a rebate involved though. Directv has been sending me cards advertising their "free after rebate" DVR for a few months now, and according to COX's website, their DVR is free up front. (See here

Sorry, I put the wrong link in.. and I even checked it! This is the right one: http://www.cox.com/sandiego/digitalcable/digitalli neup.asp

Two words - Digital Cable

This is a look at my options: http://www.cox.com/sandiego/digitalcable/main.asp. Note, I don't carry all 4 tiers, but I do carry 2 of the 4. Take a look at the channels offered up. It's a pretty good deal, certainly better than DISH or DirectTV. I think that's more along the lines of who the FCC is going after. But I don't know much about it. In particular - the Lifestyles package is probably the one I watch the most - Biography, Boomerang, C-SPAN3, Do It Yourself, Fine Living, Great American Country, History International, Tennis Channel, Style, Fuel, Goodlife TV... and of all of that, I watch, about 1/2. I wouldn't have anything to do with Country, Tennis, Style, or Goodlife, but I love me some old cartoons, CSPan, and my personal fave - History International. :D

Jho

I have service through COX cable in San Diego (http://www.cox.com/sandiego/highspeedinternet/pri cing.asp), and only pay $40/month for 4 Mbps/512 Kbps.

Not too shabby!

In my area, Cox Cable is slowly rolling out 15Mbps/2Mbps for $55. Of course, my neighborhood is probably last on the list.

PPPoE is stupidly easy to configure, and it's been around forever which doesn't bode well for your "DSL unsupported" comment.

Though I remember my cable company told me the same thing. Apparently they thought that DHCP was a Windows only service, or maybe that I was going to install their crappy connection utility. I ditched 'em later...they were a buncha Cox.

Have you been to http://www.cox.com/info/? I don't know where you're located, but the upgrade is not automatic for "Middle America" customers.

Seriously, this isn't the biggest news to have ever come out. I've got Cox HSI at home for 40 bucks a month bundled with my digital cable. I get 4/512 and (after testing with speakeasy and cnet) it's regularly higher then that. I didn't even know that they had doubled my bandwidth until I went in to upgrade to a DVR box and I asked the rep. what my bandwidth was.

Cox HSI Page

Plus, out of the horror stories that I've heard of people having poor service from the DSL providers (one friend of mine was left waiting for over a month for his DSL, and still never got it; he just said screw it and went to cable). I get great service from Cox, and their prices are better then most other cable providers.

From Cox's web page (for Fairfax County Virginia - zip code 22310):

Preferred plan $ 54.95 (non-cable tv customer) or $ 39.95 (cable tv customer, basic cable is $ 14.70 for a total of $ 54.65)
Modem rental is $ 15.00 additional

First off, I have the Scientific Atlanta Explorer 8000 (no HD) DVR.

We added digital cable and DVR service around August of this year, and, after the newness wore off (we record exactly 5 shows on a recurring basis) the software glitches really started to show themselves.

Take a look at the DVR Issues Quick Reference. Note that several of the solutions to the problems listed are unplug your DVR set-top from the AC power source and reconnect!

So, which of these from that URL do you think is worse?
a. DVR may intermittently delete all recorded programs and scheduled recordings without warning.
or
b. You may see the box display live video while powered off. In order to correct the issue, you must turn the box back on, change the channel, and then power the box back off.

I think it's pretty scary that this thing made it to public release when they sometimes can't keep the device TURNED OFF, let alone that it sometimes erases all recordings (we haven't experienced either of these issues, by the way).

My personal issues with the box:

1. Recording of shows from the program guide is "All or nothing"
The program guide lets you record a given episode of a show, OR record ALL episodes of a show. This works when a show appears once a week, but for things that show multiple times a day, you either end up with a LOT of duplicates. I can't say "record all episodes that show at 7PM on Thursday," for example.

2. Software locks up or freezes
This happens usually about once a week. The device will stop responding to things like channel changes or menu functions, and will reboot and reset itself. We can make this happen pretty consistently when we're recording a show, and watching another via Picture-in-Picture.

3. Popping on the audio track
This appears to happen if the box has been on for an extended period, and even gets recorded to disk! We get an intermittent popping over both speaker channels (using either the co-ax connector OR the rca connectors).

All in all, this thing is rocky, at best.

Cox cable does. Look here.

Cox's limits are actually clear and easy to find. One may agree or disagree with their policies in general, their bandwidth limits or anything else, but at least they're explicit about them. Bandwidth limits are found here. They range up to 50 gig/mo.

FYI, the "unlimited" they refer to is the ability to connect, not the bandwidth. As shown here. Their packages (which incidentally, don't apply to my area) are listed here. I average 250-300 gigs/month and haven't received anything.

This particular page isn't on the regular support site (which only works in IE) but you can get the info you're looking for here, in any browser:

http://www.cox.com/INETIncludes/policy/limitations .asp

See Cox.com's Limitations of Service.

Personally, I regularly consume quite a bit more bandwidth than I am "supposed" to. However, I've yet to hear from Cox regarding my excessive use.

I live in the Omaha area, and here Cox provides VoIP service. Here is a FAQ that is interesting to read how customers should see this service.

This is also a good reference from CNet.

My cable company was more than happy to sell me a business account. I did purchase it through my personal corporation, but I don't know if that's a requirement to get the business class account. I supposedly get preferred access to bandwidth on my node, better tech support (which I virtually never use... calling tech support is a sign of weakness), a static IP, a bunch of email addresses, etc.

I don't know why your cable company wouldn't sell you a business account... I'm sure my cable company makes big bucks on the sizable install fee (you don't even want to know how much it was)... but otherwise the cost is only a bit more than residential service.

As I said, no problems (BTW, my provider is Cox cable), though YMMV

I think that pricing scheme is local to Las Vegas only, since this link, for Phoenix shows only two price options. The only difference is whether or not you buy the modem.

As far as I can tell, I have ~3mbs down/256kbs up. It's pretty nice, and I haven't received any complaints about my substantial BitTorrent use.

$30/mo for 128/128
$40/mo for 1.5/128
$50/mo for 3/256

(assuming you have cable TV) 1 IP, 5 or so email addresses, regular residential crap...

or... (what I pay for)

$80/mo for 3/256, 8 real IPs, 1 static IP, no transfer cap, better (business level) tech support

Cox HSD

Cox does not view multiple hosts behind a NAT as theft of service. They have a FAQ on NAT setup on their website. They also have a NAT setup service (for those of you who don't know how to set one up). I also get 3Mbit (max) down (384 up) for $40...

Cox does not view multiple hosts behind a NAT as theft of service. They have a FAQ on NAT setup on their website. They also have a NAT setup service (for those of you who don't know how to set one up). I also get 3Mbit (max) down (384 up) for $40...

Cox does not claim ownership of material you submit or make available for inclusion on the Service. However, with respect to material you submit or make available for inclusion on publicly accessible areas of the Service, you grant Cox a world-wide, royalty free and non-exclusive license(s) to: use your material in connection with Cox's businesses including, but not limited to, the rights to: copy, distribute, publicly perform, publicly display, transmit, publish your name in connection with the material, and to prepare derivative works. No compensation will be paid with respect to the use of your material.

That's exactly what Chickasaw Telecommunications Services, Inc. did for Stillwater, OK.

The city gave them permission to string their fiber along the electric poles, thus avoiding costly digging. These guys are way cool, and there is even a little box in my backyard labelled "fiber". I think it actually means that it connects to fiber, not that it is fiber because the big fiber concentrator thingy (I forget the actual term) is literally just a stone's throw from my house.

I only subscribe to their 256k service ($29/mo), but they give all of their customers a VDSL modem (a standard capable of 57 Mbps, although they only offer 6Mbps max AFAIK) for future expansion. They install the modem on your spare wire pair instead of sharing the voice line like SBC (read: no silly ADSL filters).
As a result, we have three main Internet providers in Stillwater, a city with a population of about 18,000 (not counting 22,000 students): SBC, Cox High Speed Internet (cable), and Chickasaw
Competiton is a good thing!

More info at their site.

I can see spyware getting loaded up on your computer if you're stuck getting your broadband from these clowns, but overall I've had very little hassle dealing with Cox.

I was very pleased to see on the Cox web site that they are working on integrating a PVR into the cable box as well. Woo hoo!

Cox also rocks in that they are going to supply HDTV signals. Double woo hoo! Maybe it'll actually be worth buying an HDTV unit someday.

I was very pleased to see on the Cox web site that they are working on integrating a PVR into the cable box as well. Woo hoo!

Cox also rocks in that they are going to supply HDTV signals. Double woo hoo! Maybe it'll actually be worth buying an HDTV unit someday.

You're using https, I hope.

Why?

So you're sure that the program your client receives is the same as the program your server sends, not a trojaned version which turns off encryption, for example.

...and how does that trojaned version get onto the server? If salfter.dyndns.org is 0wn3d, I have bigger problems to deal with than a corrupt SSH client. I suppose someone could clone my website, hack dyndns.org to get the DNS entry for salfter.dyndns.org to point to the cloned site, and put a trojaned PuTTY on the cloned site that would know the IP address of the real salfter.dyndns.org...but who the hell's going to go to that kind of bother? Mine is just a personal website of maybe average quality (depending on whose opinion of it you seek). There are plenty of other targets that would be much more attractive for someone to take over.

(Now that I've thought about it a bit, though, I suppose an end-run around such an attack would be to use the IP address instead of the name. It's easy enough to remember. Someone who's determined could crack these guys and reassign my IP address to another system...but then that basically knocks my machine off the net (so no harm will come to it), and (again) who would care enough to want to bother doing that?)

FWIW, the PuTTY download page isn't running on a secure server. It supplies various checksums for the files which you can use for verification, but (as Simon Tatham points out) the programs that do that verification aren't themselves verifiable. There is a point beyond which an eye for security turns into paranoia...nothing is ever 100% secure. At some point, you need to weigh the odds of something bad happening against the measures needed to protect against that something.

One final note: Keeping a copy of PuTTY on a secure site would entail getting a certificate from someone like Verisign, and they don't exactly have the best reputation in the world.

I'm actually not sure. My current cable company is Sunflower Broadband, and from the way it's advertised, it looks like it uses the cable. I know that Cox Communications also provides digital telephon service, and it looks like it uses cable as well. I'm sure many other cable companies offer this service.

It's all shared bandwidth if you look at the larger picture. With DSL, each person has a dedicated line to there house....but only from the CO. Once the line gets to the CO, then it is combined with many other subscribers and passed on to the fatter pipes. Several DSL subscribers can still suck most of the bandwidth. So what if you are guaranteed a 768/128 or whatever to the CO...it's beyond the CO that matters.

Cable does share the bandwith among the neighborhood, but it usually (or at least is suppose to be) partitioned off into smaller neighborhoods once one gets beyond the capacity.

See here for more of an explanation and other DSL/Cable myths. Yes it is from Cox cable, and yes the do have a vested interest in trying to get you to subscribe to cable service, so take it with a grain of salt. But for the most part it is true.

I've had a cable modem in my house since July '01. Once I got the Cable modem, I cancelled my cable TV, but it still worked, cause that's how it is. Until last week. They recently began installing these inline filters that block the channels, but still allow the modem to function. So, now I pay for both again.

Also, in their TOS, they limit downloads to 3gb per month!?!?! That's a weekend for me. They also have a policy against upstream traffic of more than 500mb in 24 hours (Section 8(s)). I suppose this is how they will effectively ban multiple user connections, since they don't care about routers. As long as you only use one DHCP IP, that's all you pay for. Cox AUP.

Luckilly, they don't enforce these rules vigorously (if at all) yet. Once they do, I'm out.

I've had a cable modem in my house since July '01. Once I got the Cable modem, I cancelled my cable TV, but it still worked, cause that's how it is. Until last week. They recently began installing these inline filters that block the channels, but still allow the modem to function. So, now I pay for both again.

Also, in their TOS, they limit downloads to 3gb per month!?!?! That's a weekend for me. They also have a policy against upstream traffic of more than 500mb in 24 hours (Section 8(s)). I suppose this is how they will effectively ban multiple user connections, since they don't care about routers. As long as you only use one DHCP IP, that's all you pay for. Cox AUP.

Luckilly, they don't enforce these rules vigorously (if at all) yet. Once they do, I'm out.

The darn thing got my location right within a 15 kilometers range

No distances were given (latitude and longitude, but they're in a weird format...longitude was given as "-115.17" when something like 1156'48" W would be the usual method), but it nailed both IPs I fed it as being in Las Vegas. (When you consider that reverse-mapping one address gets you lasvegas.net and the other gets you lvcm.com, that probably shouldn't be too surprising.)

Given how easy it would be to fool a geolocation system (especially given nearly everybody else in this thread), I don't see how this is really supposed to be effective...or is it really supposed to be more like CSS, which only thwarts fair use and small-scale copying while doing nothing to stop mass production of "counterfeit" DVDs? There's no reason (other than the bandwidth on my cable-modem connection) why I couldn't open my Squid proxy up to the world. In addition to getting almost no ads, you would appear to be browsing from Vegas instead of wherever you are really located. (How's that for MLP? :-) ) What's to stop someone from doing this elsewhere, either as a free service or for profit, and enable people to bypass whatever geographic restrictions are placed on a website?

I've got Cox@Home and haven't seen any interruption as a result of this. It looks like Cox has the sam $160M deal for 3 months. See press release at cox.com.

As always,DIY.

Cox has already stated (check Q6) that it will credit its customers for the lost time. I would be willing to bet that all providers will do the same, given the situation.

In case that gets swamped, here's a reprint:

Cox Communications @Home Service Update:

Following you will find some information to address questions you might have about the email communication that you recently received from us.

Q1. What should I do today?
A1. Cox recommends that you use the following precautionary backup procedures.

Check your @Home email daily. Opened messages will be saved automatically to your hard drive.

Download software from a free dial-up Internet service provider. We recommend that you do not install the software unless service is interrupted.

Back up your personal web page.

Watch for more information from Cox on the transition of your service to Cox High Speed Internetsm. At such time that you can make the transition to our new service, Cox will be providing you with all of the information you need so that your transition is as smooth as possible.

In the unlikely event that there is a disruption in service, keep your cable modem connected to your PC until service is restored.

Q2. I need my e-mail; what am I going to do?
A2. Cox is doing everything that we can to ensure that you are never without your email. If our plans are successful, your service will not be interrupted and you will have a comfortable transition period in which you can convert your service to a new Cox-managed network.

Q3. What about my modem?
A3. In the unlikely event that there is a service interruption, you should leave your modem connected to your PC until service is restored.

Q4. What is this dial-up, temporary service?
A4. In the unlikely event that your service is temporarily interrupted, we recommend that you set up Internet access via one of the free dial-up Internet services that are available. We have arranged for temporary, dial-up access to the Internet via NetZero. You may download this software by clicking here. This dial-up access is meant to be a temporary alternative to provide email and connectivity. The free service offers ten hours per month, which should be sufficient to get you through any short-term outages. This service does not currently support MAC, Windows 2000 or XP. If you are a Roanoke or Hampton Roads resident and a NetZero local access number is not available, please visit www.juno.com as a potential alternative.
We do not recommend that you install the software at this time, just download the software and save it so that it may be installed should you have an interruption in service. This is a precautionary measure that would give you access to the Internet via a phone line plugged into your computer.

Q5. What will I get with this service and is it Cox supported?
A5. Unfortunately, Cox cannot speak to the features and benefits of the free dial-up Internet services that are available, nor can we guarantee or support it. We recommend that you explore this temporary backup plan simply as a precautionary measure. We are taking all necessary steps to ensure that your service is uninterrupted, but we thought that you might be interested in a temporary, although not ideal, solution for Internet access in the unlikely event that your service is shut down.

Q6. Will you credit my bill? When will I see a credit?
A6. Cox will credit you for any time that you are without service. This includes reimbursement for equipment leasing fees if you are leasing your cable modem from Cox. Should your service be interrupted, you would see an appropriate credit on the next statement that you next receive from Cox.

Q7. How do I get updates quickly?
A7. You have two ways of getting the latest accurate information quickly.

We've established a special number (1-877-832-4751). When you call this number, you will hear a recording that provides the latest information.
You can also get updated information by visiting www.cox.com/info.
These are the most accurate and up-to-date sources for information on your Cox Internet service.
Q8. How will you communicate with me if my service is down?
A8. Cox will contact you via mail or courier to provide important status updates and service information concerning the new Cox-managed high speed Internet service that will replace your @Home service. You can also call 1-877-832-4751 to hear a recorded message with the latest, accurate and up-to-date information.

Q9. What will happen to my personal Web page?
A9. As a safety precaution, you should always backup your personal Web page to a CD or hard drive. To Transfer Files from WebSpace to your hard drive using the File Manager:

Download the files from WebSpace to your computer by logging in to the WebSpace login page at http://home-members.excite.com/m_webspace/ and clicking File Manager, located at the top-right corner of the screen.
Select Transfer from the File Manager navigation bar. In the window that appears, select the files you want to transfer from your WebSpace account to your computer, and the location to which you want them transferred, then click Transfer.
A window appears telling you when your file has been downloaded.
Click OK to return to the File Manager page.
Once you are finished with File Manager, log out by clicking Logout on the navigation bar. If you do not log out, and you share a computer with other people in your household, they may have access to your files.

Ok, apparently neither mozilla nor w3m from my machine could connect, but I could using lynx from an alternate location.

Here's the scoop from http://www.cox.com/moreinfo:


Following you will find some information to address questions you might have about the email communication that you recently received from us.

Q1. When will you be switching my service?

A1. Cox is creating its own managed network to enable it to ensure the quality and reliability of your service. This transition will be made before June 2002, however we have not yet finalized specific dates for each community
we serve. We will continue to keep you informed on our progress and will do everything we can to give you as much advance notice as possible when the time comes to transition to the new Cox high speed Internet service.

Q2. Do I have to change?
A2. Yes, our partnership with @Home will be ending. Once the Cox-managed network is ready, all customers who currently have the Cox@Home service will be transitioned over to the new Cox-managed network. We think you will be pleased with the new service. By managing all elements of our high speed Internet service, we will be in a much better position to control the quality of our service and deliver greater customer satisfaction. We will make every effort to make this transition as smooth as possible.

Q3. What do I have to do right now?
A3. There is nothing for you do right now. At the appropriate time, Cox will provide you with all of the information and tools you need to smoothly convert your service to our new Cox-managed high speed Internet service.

Q4. How will I be affected?
A4. Since we are in the process of finalizing the service and its features, we don't have specific information to share with you at this time. We assure you that your Cox-managed service will include the most popular features you
currently enjoy, as well as some additional benefits.

Q5. Is my new service going to be comparable to my existing service?
A5. It is our goal to provide you with high speed Internet service that is comparable to or better than your existing Cox@Home service. In fact, by offering our own Cox high speed Internet service, we will have a much better abilit
y to manage our network performance and provide the high-quality customer service and technical support our customers have grown to expect from Cox.

Q6. Will I get any new features?
A6. In addition to providing you with the features that you currently enjoy with your Cox @Home service, there will also be some new features and benefits associated with the new Cox-managed service. We are currently finalizing the details and we will share this exciting information with you in advance.

Q7. Is my email address going to change? If so, when?
A7. Since we are still finalizing the details of our Cox-managed high speed Internet service, we don't have any specific information to share with you at this time. You will be notified in advance about any changes to your service, so that you may have time to prepare for this change as necessary. Please know that we understand that an email address change is significant, and we will make every effort to make any service transition as smooth as possible.

Q8. So will you start offering other ISPs?
A8. We are in the process of testing the technical feasibility of offering multiple ISPs over our broadband network. Once this testing is complete, we will then determine the feasibility of rolling out multiple ISPs on a wider basis.


It really makes me wonder if they consider the port blocking on 80 and 25 to be a "feature" to "improve" "service". The funny thing is that I know someone else across the street w/ Cox@Home who DOESN'T have those ports blocked. And I wasn't even running a web server, while he is. Go figure.

Date sent: Mon, 19 Nov 2001 19:50:28 -0500 (EST)

Dear Cox @ Home customer:

Recently, you were informed that our high-speed Internet partner - Excite @ Home - filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection. We recognize that this situation may have caused you some concern about the future of your service. Rest assured, we are taking all the necessary steps to provide continued reliable high-speed Internet service to our customers ... now and in the future.

We are deeply committed to providing you with a quality high-speed Internet service. For several months, we have been hard at work creating a new Cox- managed network to better serve you. There are many benefits to directly managing our own network, such as:

* Easier, more streamlined customer service experience.

* Enhanced network performance.

* Ability to bring you the latest in cutting-edge technology and product features.

In the weeks ahead, we'll continue to keep you informed and share more details of our exciting plans. For more information, please visit www.cox.com/moreinfo.

We thank you for being a valued Cox customer.

Sincerely, Cox Communications

My provider's backup plan (Cox, Orange County) is to switch over to their own equipment/people sometime next year. I certainly hope Excite doesn't pull the plug before then or I'd up the proverbial creek without a paddle.

Do I ever have a deal for them... if they just alter that pesky AUP, I'll run my OWN mail server! No more admin costs for them! ;)

I used to run my own mail server (and a VERY low bandwidth http server) from my Cox@Home connection. However, just this weekend the blocked incoming traffic to ports 25, 80, 137, 138, 139, 187 and 188. So much for that.

My favorite part is how their TOS both tells you that running http and email servers could be a security risk if you aren't careful, and also prohibits running them altogether!

maybe you should send it to more than just local host... you'd have to check on a windows box, but I think "net send /domain the server at $ip is infected by code red

Sending the popup to localhost, OTOH, makes reasonably sure the message gets to the server. It could be a problem if the server is stuck in a corner somewhere and nobody ever fires it up to check on it periodically.

I let the script loose this afternoon. For some reason, it only got to 229 hosts before conking out. (My CodeRed log page lists "3689 attempts logged from 1419 hosts" as of this writing. 2142 of those are from other lvcm.com customers.) Of those, it said 172 were down. Of the 57 that were up, 22 appear to have been fixed (Lynx came back with an error, probably because root.exe is gone from the CGI directory). 35 were still infected. 35 of 57...that's three out of five machines still opened wider than the goatse.cx guy, even after a week and a half.

I sent out email a while back to the 74 hosts known to be infected at the time. Hopefully a few of them will get a clue and fix their servers. (Then again, if they're running "Internet Infection Server" on publically-available servers, they must've been clue-deficient to begin with. :-) )

Where are our Region 1 DVD's? Where's the new series? Where's BBC America on my local cable provider?

If your cable provider has a digital-cable service, you might have BBC America on it. When my parents returned from overseas, they signed up for digital cable specifically because BBC America was available on it. (They don't care much for Doctor Who, but they've followed EastEnders as much as they could since it premiered in the mid-80s. BBC America is also on digital cable where I live, but I don't watch enough TV to justify the expense, and (dragging this back on-topic) I don't know if a TiVo can control a digital-cable receiver.)

Where are our Region 1 DVD's? Where's the new series? Where's BBC America on my local cable provider?

If your cable provider has a digital-cable service, you might have BBC America on it. When my parents returned from overseas, they signed up for digital cable specifically because BBC America was available on it. (They don't care much for Doctor Who, but they've followed EastEnders as much as they could since it premiered in the mid-80s. BBC America is also on digital cable where I live, but I don't watch enough TV to justify the expense, and (dragging this back on-topic) I don't know if a TiVo can control a digital-cable receiver.)

We had DSL running fine until our DSL provider went bankrupt. We thought we'd switch to Verizon who came and checked out our line and measured great speed & quality - we're close to the Verizon station and already had DSL running sucessfully over the same line for 6 months. For many months Verizon indicated they'd hook us up any day, but as time passed, we persisted, we were eventually told our number was "not in the data base" because DSL was "impossible technically". The Verizon installer/tester and his manager said "no worry" as they'dd personnally make sure the data base was updated and that our line had no problem as all the tests were favorable for DSL. Despite their efforts, the datya base was never updated and we were eventually told it would never be updated, and not to believe the Verizon technical people (installers, teseters and their managers). As you say, one part of Verizon doesn't know what the other is doing, and worse yet they seem to have no repect for each other. This leaves the "customer in the lurch. We were even told that if the White House phone number was not in the Verison data base, even if the installer who tests the line and his manager said the line was OK, the data base could not be updated and it would be impossible for Verizon to install service to the White House. Needless to say, we figured if a company was that mixed up we would switch to another phone company, Cavalier Telephone which works fine and costs less, and use their 768kbits/sec up and down til cable came to our area. We've had Cox Cable running flawlessly in excess of 3.5 million bits/sec measured by Speed411.com, 5x faster than DSL, at a cost of $29.95/month. We note that Verizon rates very low on DSL Reports which we'd consider an excellent reference compared to a Verizon employee. Bottom line: You can believe recent press reports and our experience with 2 DSL providers and 2 cable providers that DSL is fading fast as Cable is dominating!

My Cable Company Did this too! As a result I was the first on my block to get a cablemodem. As long as it benefits the consumer and provides and / or enhances life for the community I don't see why it should be a big deal. Of course it is expected that they repair any damage done (grass etc) when laying stuff like this out. We had a ugly trench in our yard for a few months.....

Yeah, the story submitter makes it sound like the return of Big Brother, but really, this seems more like Corporate CYA than anything else.

Roadrunner cable service, at least in my area, has a very similar TOS.