Perhaps hitting closer to home were the comments of Chairman Joe Barton (R-Tex.), who told Whitacre in his opening comments how he's shutting off service on a phone line coming into his house and planning to use a cable modem for Internet access.

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Bill Gates has a long history of making investments in cable companies with the hopes that it will secure Microsoft (nasdaq: MSFT - news - people) software a significant role in the technology used for high-speed Internet access and for cable set-top boxes that deliver interactive TV.

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The biggest growth area for cable is in high-speed Internet access market, of which cable holds two-thirds (DSL has about one-third and is trending lower).

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Then in the 2000s, the rise of DSL and cable modems made paying AOL a monthly fee for Internet access seem increasingly unnecessary.

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For the moment only a few cable companies operating in the European Union offer Internet access, but this option is certain to grow, Sarkar said.

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Additional growth opportunities for Televisa lie in "triple-play" packages of cable, telephone and Internet access.

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The marketing info claims no PC is required for setup, recharging via USB, an internet browser with real time access to scores, fantasy info and TV listings for broadcast, cable and satellite from click365's wireless partners.

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All users within a couple of hundred feet of the base station who have an inexpensive Wi-Fi device in their PCs or PDAs can then share low-cost, high-speed access to the Internet--without having to pay individually for more expensive dedicated DSL or cable modem service.

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