From: John_Higgins Subject: Cable Resources on the Net Date: Wed, 31 Aug 1994 19:50:47 -0400 (edt) -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Cable TV Resources on the Net -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Updated September 1994 Compiled by Multichannel News. Copyrighted by John M. Higgins 1994. All rights reserved. Additional copyright information at bottom. Multichannel News Contacts: Marianne Paskowski, editor-in-chief (Mpcable@aol.com) John M. Higgins, finance editor: (higgins@dorsai.dorsai.org) Multichannel News subscription information: 800-247-8080. A bargain at $89/year. Editorial Department: Voice) 212-887-8390; Fax) 212-887-8384 -=-=-=-=-=-=-=THE BEST CABLE STUFF-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Telecomreg (mailing list); Cable Regulation Digest (newsletter); fcc.gov (document archive); FCC Daily Digest (finger); cablelabs.com (document archive); rec.video.cable-tv (Usenet newsgroup); Edupage (newsletter) -=-=-=-=-=-=- For a bunch folks wanting to rule the info highway, cable's status on the Internet echoes MTV:Unplugged. There are some signs of senior execs starting to tap in, but they're few and far between. There are domains listed in the name of cable companies (TCI, Cablevision Systems, Viacom) but many seem to be inactive. Comcast and Viacom are on hopelessly limited MCI Mail systems that regularly snarl. To steal a line, cable execs hope to build the highway but they can't drive. Example: Recently I needed a copy of the freshly revised Hollings bill S.1822. I couldn't get it out of the Senate, the National Cable Television Association or any cable source. But I surfed over to Bell Atlantic's Internet site (ba.com) and grabbed the whole thing (including amendments). The telcos are clearly hipper to this info highway stuff than the cable kids. The good news is that the number of Internet resources useful to cable professionals is growing. The bad news is that they're primarily provided by telcos and regulators. But it's a start. Here's a cluster of cable resources of all sorts that I've encountered. GIMME FEEDBACK! Send us updates, particularly on the technical side. (And not just how to pirate HBO and pay-per-view porno, please.) "Differently clued" cable newbies should feel free to contact us with any questions on how to navigate. Many of these resources are NOT accessible to subscribers of Prodigy, America On-Line and Compu$erve. A similar list of broadcasting resources on the net is compiled by Neil Griffin (ngriffin@nyx.cs.du.edu). -------------------------------Mailing Lists------------------------------- TELECOMREG: A mailing list focusing on telecomunications regulation. Subscribers got an early peek at the FCC's latest cable price formula, Founded by Barry Orton, a consultant to municipal regulators, TELECOMREG is very high volume and fairly high quality. How to get on it: E-mail (listserver@relay.adp.wisc.edu; SUBSCRIBE TELCOMREG YOUR NAME) SCTE-LIST: A mailing list on cable technology apparently tied to the Society of Cable Television Engineers that just cranked up. It's too new to judge the quality. How to get on it: E-mail (listserver@relay.adp.wisc.edu; SUBSCRIBE SCTE-LIST YOUR NAME) I-TV: Discussion list centered on two-way Interactive Television. Very new, and appears to be focusing mostly on education and community development. So far it's pretty lame, but that could change. Expect lots of public-access types to be kicking around, as opposed to folks actually trying to make a business of it. Uploading press releases is -- for some bizzare reason -- encouraged. How to get on it: E-Mail (listserv@knowledgework.com; SUB I-TV YOUR NAME). TELECOM DIGEST: Oriented toward voice telephony, but covers all sorts of telecommunications topics. Fairly techie. How to get on it: E-mail (telecom-request@eecs.nwu.edu; SUBSCRIBE YOUR@ADDRESS); Usenet (comp.dcom.telecom). -------------------------------Publications------------------------------- CABLE REGULATION DIGEST: A weekly summary of regulatory news from Multichannel News. The best way to obtain it each week is on the TELECOMREG list. How to get it: FTP (ftp.vortex.com: /tv-film-video/cable-reg) Gopher (gopher.vortex.com : /TV/Film/Video) FCC DAILY DIGEST: Washington telecom lawyer Robert Keller attaches the most recent edition and referenced documents to his "finger" file. A really nice effort by Keller. Be sure to open your capture buffer first, as the file is many screens long. Also available at the fcc.gov ftp and gopher site. (see below). How To Get It: Finger (finger rjk@telcomlaw.com). EDUPAGE: Tip sheet on information technology and media issued three times weekly. Quickie summaries primarily of newspaper articles, primarily from the majors. How to get it. E-Mail (listproc@educom.edu, SUB EDUPAGE YOUR NAME). FITZ'S SHOPTALK: Daily dispatches on the TV business, primarily networks and local stations put there's plenty of cable in there. Put out by media headhunter Don FitzPatrick. Primarily summaries of wire-service and major newspapers, but also includes some full-text reprints. How to get it: E-mail (shoptalk-request@gremlin.clark.net, SUBSCRIBE YOUR@ADDRESS). SKYGUIDE: This one's from a Brit that doubtless watches too much TV. The Euro cable and satellite television scene. Concentrates on BSkyB but also romps off onto the continent. How to get it: E-mail (bignoise@cix.compulink.co.uk), Usenet {preferred!} (alt.satellite.tv.europe). SATNEWS: A newsletter about satellite television broadcasting around the world. How to get it: E-mail: (listserv@orbital.demon.co.uk, SUBSCRIBE YOUR NAME). ------------------------FTP, GOPHER AND WWW SITES------------------------ CABLELABS: Finally, a cable-specific document archive! CableLabs, the industry's R&D greenhouse, has established an anonymous FTP archive at cablelabs.com. It's still "under construction", as they say. There's a small collection of techie documents in it so far, but more is promised. How to get there: FTP (ftp.cablelabs.com); WWW (http://www.cablelabs.com/). FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMISSION: Loads of documents, orders, etc. but they're poorly orgainized. How to get there: Gopher (fcc.gov); FTP (fcc.gov). PEPPER & CORAZZINI: A D.C. telecom law firm has put up an archive of documents and memos by their lawyers on related to broadcasting, cable, common carriers, PCS and information law. P&C's e-mail contact is Neal J. Friedman (nfriedma@clark.net) How to get there: Gopher (gopher.iis.com//11/p-and-c); FTP (ftp.iis.com/companies/p-and-c) WWW (http://www.iis.com/pandc-home.html). NTIA: National Telecommunications and Information Administration has a document site, notably from Clinton's National Info Infrastructure committe. Seems to be down frequently. How to get there: Gopher (ntia.doc.gov); FTP (ntia.doc.gov). BELL ATLANTIC: Telco propaganda (press releases, speeches, Congressional testimony) mixed in with lots of useful regulatory documents. How to get there: Gopher (ba.com); FTP (ba.com). MFJ TASK FORCE: More RBOC lobbying on-line. But it's a hell of a lot better than anything cable has to offer. How to get there: Gopher (bell.com). C-SPAN: The public-affairs network has a gopher site with a whole mess of programming info for viewers. How to get there: Gopher (c-span.org); ftp (c-span.org). CNN: For reasons I haven't quite figured out, the University of Maryland has a gopher site carrying the text of CNN's Headline News stories, putting up dozens of national and international news stories daily, with an archive going back several days. How to get there: Gopher (info.umd.edu). -------------------------------USENET GROUPS------------------------------- The quality of cable info on Usenet newgroups is mixed. The most active cable group is rec.video.cable-tv. It once was dominated by tips on stealing cable. However, in recent months three cable system-level execs from Time Warner (Dean Stauffer), Continental (Scott Westerman) and Century (Lloyd Sanchez) have virtually turned the group around by patiently and respectfully responding to cable subscribers' questions, legit complaints and outright rants. Informed and informative answers, what a concept! Give them a raise. Usenet is one way to sample what subscribers are buzzing about. Is your company included on the recent list of "worst cable companies"? rec.video.cable-tv Most active. alt.cable-tv.re-regulate Traffic has really picked up. Lots of complaining subscribers. alt.satellite.tv.europe Active group on Euro cable and satellite programming. alt.politics.datahighway Not too bad. alt.tv.public-access Reportedly exists, but I've never seen it. comp.dcom.telecom Moderated discussion of telco issues. Telecom Digest appears here. alt.dcom.telecom Breakaway group started by telco folks irritated by the ones dominating comp.dcom.telecom alt.dcom.catv I've NEVER seen pertinent traffic on this group. alt.tv.comedy.central Dull. alt.tv.mst3k Comedy Central's Mystery Science Theater 3000. alt.tv.hbo Hardly any traffic. alt.tv.nickelodeon Fans of the kid's network. alt.fan.ren-and-stimpy 'Nuff said. -----------------------------------FAQs----------------------------------- There's a few frequently-asked-questions lists kicking about. The Cable TV FAQ is all about pirating HBO (YAWN!), with many technical details. Can't find the archive site, however. The DBS and wireless cable FAQs are more useful to non-pirate professionals. All three are posted are posted in rec.video.cable-tv periodically. High- power DBS is in rec.video.satellite. I'll add archive sites as I find them. CABLE TV FAQ How to get it: Usenet (rev.video.cable-tv). WIRELESS CABLE FAQ How to get it: FTP (rtfm.mit.edu:/pub/usenet/ rec.video.cable-tv/Wireless_Cable_TV_FAQ); Usenet (rec.video.cable-tv). HIGH-POWER DBS FAQ: Not archived anywhere. How to get it: Usenet (rec.video.cable-tv, rec.video.satellite). -------------------------------CANADA----------------------------------- Mooseland has its own cluster of resources: USENET GROUPS: can.infohighway can.infobahn MAILING LISTS PAC-HIWAY: Run by Public Advisory Council on Information Highway Policy. How to get it: E-mail: (listprocessor@cunews.carleton.ca; SUBSCRIBE YOUR NAME) ISCNEWS: Mailing list of news releases, fact sheets, etc. from the federal agency Communications Canada How to get it: E-mail (listserv@debra.dgbt.doc.ca; SUBSCRIBE ISCNEWS YOUR NAME) THE INTERNET JOURNAL OF GOVERNMENT RELATIONS: Bi-weekly commentary on government action regarding information technology, trade and procurement in North America, but primarily Canada. How to get it: E-mail (pcanniff@fox.nstn.ns.ca) SITES INDUSTRY CANADA: Canada's equivalent to the U.S. Department of Commerce How To Get There: Gopher (debra.dgbt.doc.ca /Industry Canada Docs) FTP (debra.dgbt.doc.ca /pub look in both "gazette" and "isc" directories) WWW: (http://debra.dgbt.doc.ca/isc/isc.html) -=-=-=-=-=--=-=--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=--=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=--=-=--=-=-=- Copyright 1994 by John M. Higgins. This list may be redistributed provided that the article and this notice remain intact. This article may not under any circumstances be resold or redistributed for compensation of any kind without prior written permission from John M. Higgins. That includes publication by magazine or CD-ROM. But if you're interested, talk to me. --30--