But it's not because of the shows he can get. Sviokla is using his cable TV line to surf the Internet, shop, download work files, exchange e-mail and help his five children with homework. He is one of several thousand people who are using powerful devices called cable modems to link their personal computers to cable TV lines.
Users can watch TV while they tour cyberspace over the same cable line.
Showcased at the cable convention here, cable modems can move text, voice and pictures 50 to 100 times faster over cable TV lines than standard telephone modems used to send and receive information over personal computers. That policy is not unusual. Many more markets are slated. That fee includes modem rental, unlimited Internet access, e-mail and, in some cases, unlimited local or regional content like a cybertour through the Walters Art Gallery in Baltimore, listings of community events and shopping services. To provide service, companies are spending billions of dollars to upgrade their cable plants.