Telecom Made Simple: Services:Cable Television Distribution, Pay per View, & High Speed Data

Services that are offered by cable system operators include television distribution, pay per view, and high-speed data services. Cable television networks pay distribution fees to content provides for the right to redistribute network broadcasts in their systems. In return, cable television operators charge customers for access to this content on a monthly subscription, per-event fee, or by quantity of information (data) transferred.

Cable Television Distribution
Television distribution involves the receiving and re-sending of television signals to groups of consumers that are connected to the cable television network. Cable network operators typically charge a monthly access fee for connection to cable television systems.

Figure 1 shows the typical cable television subscription fees in the United States. This diagram shows an initial connection fee of approximately $45 with a monthly connection fee of $30.00. This figure shows that the types of channels may be grouped into categories with varying fees charged for these groups of services.

Figure 1: Cable Television Subscription Fees

Pay per View (PPV)
Pay-per-view is a video signal subscription service that allows customers to pay for individual video selections they desire to view. Pay-per-view service can be limited to viewing pre-scheduled broadcasted channels or video on demand (VOD) videos. The typical charge for pay per view services is approximately $6.00.

High Speed Data (Cable Modems)
High-speed data service via cable modems provides customers with the ability to transfer data at broadband data transmission rates (1 Mbps or above). Customers usually pay a monthly fee for high-speed data connection in addition to an Internet service provider (ISP) account.

Figure 2 shows the average charges for high-speed cable modem data access. This chart shows that cable modem access cost includes an initial connection fee of $100, a monthly subscription fee of approximately $50, and an equipment leasing cost of $10 for the connection equipment.