Digital Shift Affects Cable

For months, TV viewers have been told by government, by industry and by the media that if they already subscribe to cable, there's no need to worry about the coming transition to digital broadcasting. So cable customer Doris Spurk was surprised to learn that thanks to the transition, she would have to rent a converter box for $5.95 per month, per television set, plus pay for a $60 service call to install it. With five televisions in her home, the conversion would increase her bill by 75 percent. "It really ticks us off," the 63-year-old central Florida resident said. "If they are in the right and can do this - charge these prices - then the educational effort that the FCC (Federal Communications Commission) is doing is really misleading everybody." Thus far, government and the broadcast industry have focused their consumer-education efforts regarding the transition on viewers of over-the-air television programming. But information about how the transition will affect cable subscribers has been scant.
http://news.lp.findlaw.com/ap/a/w/1155//04-11-2008/20080411125004_24.html