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TE CITY OF SUH M CALIFORNIA August 23, 1967 MEI 0 TO: Assistant City Manager FROM: Assistant to the City bSanager SUBJECT: Community Antenna Television Please addrass replies to: A CATV is a master antenna service that is designed to provide better tele- vision reception than the citizens of a community would otherwise receive with a multitude of individual antennas or other reception devices placed on top of their homes. It is also a way of providing a :rider variety of TV channels than typically is received by the local viewing public. Three years ago the State of California had eighty- eight communities with CATV with an installation fee ranging from 0 to $150; also, the monthly service charge was from a minimum of $2.50 to a maximum of $7.50. It has been -,,.7011 over a decade since community television antennas have been in operation. CATV vas developed to overcome topographical, technical and geographic conditions which limited television reception. In addition, CATV provided a %,,i.der variety of programs than was ever_ before available. Nature o_f_CATV. A CATV system is dependent on a set of antennas built on top of a tall tower. Residents can have their home television receivers connected by cable to the tower's antennas. This brings to the public the increased quality and broader range of television signals etisting on top of the to%�.er. If the desired television stations are located malty miles a�7ay, the television signals can be received and brought back to the CATV system master antenna to %.,er through the facilities of micro-y,ave. At the master antenna to-�,.er, these television signals are then converted to the desired TV channels to be used on the cable within the commu?-lits7. At the base of the master antenna tower, a technical facility is constructed to serve as a control center. Here, electronic eauipment is housed that accepts the re- ceived signals, amplifies them, converts them to desired charnels, and places them on the cable connected :viith the subscribers TV sets. Pa - ;r vs. Free 'I'V. Some governmental jurisdictions feel that CATV may be the sage thing as Pay TV. Ho%.,ever, a CTa.TV s_Vster. is nothing more than a master antenna service. While a nominal fee is paid for this service, the sub- scriber is not paying for specific programs as he would under a Pay TV basis. In fact, the former Chairman of the Federal Conu.i!unications Commission, Frederick 4.7. Ford, stated: "I think there is a distinction betwecn the ACTION OF COUNCIL 2, � L E4 , 1 i t ��f L CLERK OF THE160UkU,L J