cable television

Cable television is a system of providing television to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through coaxial cables or Digital light pulses though fixed optical fibers located on the subscriber's property, much like the over-the-air method used in traditional television broadcasting (via radio waves) in which a television antenna is required. FM radio programming, high-speed Internet, telephony, and similar non-television services may also be provided. The major difference is the change of radio frequency signals used and optical connections to the subscriber property.

The abbreviation CATV is often used to mean "Cable TV". It originally stood for Community Antenna Television, from cable television's origins in 1948: in areas where over-the-air reception was limited by distance from transmitters or mountainous terrain, large "community antennas" were constructed, and cable was run from them to individual homes. The origins of cable broadcasting are even older as radio programming was distributed by cable in some European cities as far back as 1924.

It is most commonplace in North America, Europe, Australia and East Asia, though it is present in many other countries, mainly in South America and the Middle East. Cable TV has had little success in Africa, as it is not cost-effective to lay cables in sparsely populated areas. So-called "wireless cable" or microwave-based systems are used instead.

Australia

Cable television began in the early 1990s in Australia. Several companies appeared including FOXTEL, Galaxy TV, OPTUS TV, Selectv and Austar offering services to homes across the major states of Australia. Services to Tasmania and the Northern Territory took longer to start, not until the mid 2000's when the digital satellite pay television service had picked up momentum and was beginning to be used for metropolitan installs and not just rural installs. As FOXTEL and Austar subscribers continued to rise, Galaxy TV ended their services, while Selectv has become a Greek dedicated Cable service. OPTUS TV in 2011 will cease their services.

Philippines

“NUVUE”, the first cable television system, was set up in Baguio City spearheaded by American expatriate Russel Swartley in 1969. Popularity of CATV started in the 1980s after the Marcos administration. Cable giant SkyCable started in 1992. Cable providers have grown, and these some examples are Global Destiny, Cablelink, and some regional cable providers. In 2007, SkyCable introduced the DigiBox, a cable TV set-top box that provides a digital television (DTV) signal for higher video quality and prevents illegal cable TV connections. In 2008, SkyCable also broadcasted the 37th Ryder Cup in HDTV. In 2009, SkyCable became the first cable TV service provider in the Philippines to broadcast the UAAP Games in HDTV via the new SkyHD Cable TV service.

Mongolia

There are several cable TV providers in Mongolia. The main three are "SuperVision", "Hiimori" and "Sansar CATV". All three cover approximately 15 national channels and 40 foreign channels, such as CNN, BBC, and NHK. "Sansar" has biggest network in Ulaanbaatar. SuperVision is the first digital cable television in Mongolia and other CATVs are planning to launch digital cable television with CA systems.