Call for feedback on MIT Cable options

[Ruth F Miller]

Good afternoon,

For those of you that don't know me, I'm Ruth Miller, your new UA
Vice President. Members of DormCon and I recently met with the
offices of Housing and IS&T to discuss possible changes to MIT
Cable?s programming for next year. Currently, we have the option of
keeping the current programming, or getting new channels through
HITS, a Colorado company. Please respond to this email with your
input on whether or not you want the new changes, and if so, which of
two payment options you'd prefer.

Currently, MIT Cable is an analog service. In the new plan, channels
37-47 would be discontinued, and the 100 new channels would be piped
in digitally though that bandwidth. The lost channels are included
in the 100 new ones. A complete program listing can be found here:
http://web.mit.edu/ruthm07/Public/channel%20listing.txt

Because the new service is digital, most televisions will need a
digital converter, and these run at about $70. MIT Cable is willing
to rent boxes to students, but wants to allow students to find their
own and retain the option to resell. Because the FCC is requiring
all broadcasts to be digital by 2009, all new televisions will come
with this technology by the end of 2006. In the long term, this cost
will be less of a concern.

The choice to be made is how to bill the subscription fee for the new
channels. Either, the Housing Office will give every room the new
channels, or they will allow students to handle their own
subscriptions. The cost is $35 a month, per outlet. Premium channels
are available for an additional $15 a month, per outlet.

If Housing handles the account, the subscription costs will be
absorbed into the price of on-campus housing. Likely, the
subscription will cover all 12 months and all jacks on campus (empty
rooms, classrooms, etc.). Students will still have to find digital
converters, but every television on campus will have access the new
channels. This higher cost will be charged, but will save students
the hassle and the decision of subscribing themselves.

The other option is to allow students to subscribe themselves. Each
student would be responsible for handling their account, as well as
the $35 per month. MIT Cable made clear that students would be able
to cancel their subscription for the summer or add premium channels
for IAP. Living groups would have to decide how to handle
televisions in common areas, and these would also cost $35 a month.
In this case, students that do not decide to subscribe would still
have access to the current MIT Cable programming once they purchase a
digital converter, minus channels 37-47.

To anticipate one question, NESN is not on the channel listing.
HITS, a rare supplier of digital subscription service, is the best
provider of the most programming, but does not handle regional sports
channels. Providing NESN on campus would cost more to set up then
the other 100 channels, more to run, and not be available by
subscription. There currently is not a feasible way to provide NESN
on campus.

While this is regrettably a lot to read, improving MIT Cable is a
very real possibility. The timeline for completion depends on the
start date, but dorm residents could easily be watching the Red Sox
and Yankees on ESPN this fall. The sooner I'm able to take your
concerns to Housing and IS&T, the sooner the project can get
started. Please respond with your questions, concerns, and
recommendations within the next week.

Good luck with finals and have a great summer,

Ruth Miller
Undergraduate Association Vice President