Regulators should only be able to put on traffic lights and speed limits. But digital does not compress sleep or work time. The success of digital technology will depend on our creativity. Poor content in digital is still poor content. Ball compares digital to a motorcar allowing the consumer to get off linear programs and to move towards interactivity and the internet.
Ball believes interactive television is the killer application.
That's the best thing we can do. The satellite platform is an interesting way to get the content to the consumer. But there are others, i.a. It is crucial that government and industry add structure to nurture development of the industry. He warns that otherwise the fragmented cable operators may well develop into a 30 billion government subsidized Frankenstein.