1.   For one thing, cable companies are ahead on certain technologies, such as digital compression.

2.   He was joined by two fellow clerks from a cable company.

3.   However, that has not stopped the cable companies from hedging their bets by getting into the satellite business, too.

4.   On top of that, cable companies have developed a reputation over the years for less-than-stellar customer service.

5.   She expects other major cable companies will follow suit.

6.   The big cable company said it needed the rate increase to pay for past expenses and future investments.

7.   The big question is whether other cable companies will follow pioneers such as Comcast.

8.   There are business deals linking cable companies with entertainment providers, phone companies with movie studios, software publishers with hardware makers.

9.   They become illegal only when they are used to defraud cable companies.

10.   To get around this problem, cable companies are actually buying movie production houses.