How Cable Began - The Rest of the Story #Summit 21

Most people in the telecom industry are probably aware that the cable industry sprung to life in rural areas that were too isolated to receive off-the-air broadcast signals. No doubt, many have heard about the guy with an appliance shop that was attempting to sell TVs and had to figure out a way to bring the signal from an antenna on top of a mountain to display the wonders of television to prospective customers.

Watch the interview with Tim Himmelwright of Service Electric Cablevision, Inc. to hear the rest of the story about Service Electric’s founder John Walson and his first customer; a customer in a market segment that is presently the focus of growth for many operators. Himmelwright also discusses the early, unexpected competition, as well as the resourcefulness of the Walson who often had to create specialized tools that didn’t yet exist.

2014 ACA Summit coverage brought to you by the ACA and ViodiTV.

One response to “How Cable Began – The Rest of the Story #Summit 21”

Ken Pyle

August 12, 2014

I received this email from a reader and thought it relevant to this story of how cable began.

“I forgot to respond to your last newsletter about the origins of cable service. My husband Jerry grew up in Shenandoah, PA in the same county as Service Electric. By the time he left for college, his family had all available TV channels. He was surprised when he went to Syracuse University that he could only get three channels even though it was much more of a metropolitan area than his small town. He still remembers when he was a child the story of the man from Service Electric taking the cable up the mountain to get better reception for his customers.

Jerry remembers the story this way. The owner sold TVs in his store and was able to set them up with decent reception.. When customers bought a TV, they were disappointed that their reception at home wasn’t as good as the TV in the store. So, he got the idea to take the cable up the mountain to get them better reception, and the rest is history.”

Ken Pyle

August 12, 2014

I received this email from a reader and thought it relevant to this story of how cable began.

“I forgot to respond to your last newsletter about the origins of cable service. My husband Jerry grew up in Shenandoah, PA in the same county as Service Electric. By the time he left for college, his family had all available TV channels. He was surprised when he went to Syracuse University that he could only get three channels even though it was much more of a metropolitan area than his small town. He still remembers when he was a child the story of the man from Service Electric taking the cable up the mountain to get better reception for his customers.

Jerry remembers the story this way. The owner sold TVs in his store and was able to set them up with decent reception.. When customers bought a TV, they were disappointed that their reception at home wasn’t as good as the TV in the store. So, he got the idea to take the cable up the mountain to get them better reception, and the rest is history.”

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How Cable Began – The Rest of the Story #Summit 21

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