11.   Local cable has several channels devoted to people who love to hear themselves talk.

12.   Right now, cable has the shows.

13.   Still, cable has some crucial advantages.

14.   The more people get used to tuning into additional stations on the dial, the better platform cable will have to promote itself.

15.   The problem is that contracts defining residuals were written many years before anyone realized how big an impact cable would have.

16.   This has led online firms such as AOL to put together a lobbying group to persuade regulators that cable has an unfair advantage because it is unregulated.

17.   To continue to attract audience, cable will have to come up with more first-run programming.

18.   Unlike direct broadcast satellite, cable has a targeted base of customers who live along its lines.

19.   An initial investment in modular-type trunks and nodes will save a lot on future expansion where cables have to be gutted out and new trunks installed.

20.   The cables had to be disconnected after the accident that punctured Spektr because they ran through the hatch, which was frantically shut and sealed.