Why are there more HD channels in satellite versus?

Why can't cable carry as many HD channels as satellite TV? What are going to do to fix it?

• Answer:

  Cable has a fixed bandwidth that can be used to carry TV channels, Pay per view, and internet. The older analog channels take more bandwidth than the digital channels. You may have noticed that cable TV providers have been offering more channels lately as they provide fewer "basic" analog channels. A large investment in their infrastructure would be required to expand the bandwidth and hence provide more HD channels, so don't expect that any time soon. Some options for offering more HD channels - reduce the number of SD channels and analog channels (this will likely happen as demand picks up). Move to switched infrastructure which would elimiate the need to broadcast all the channels to every subscriber. A third competing technology is IPTV (eg. at&t U-verse), provided by your local phone company. This will carry TV over your DSL and since you only receive the channel you are watching, there is the prospect for unlimited number of channels, HD or otherwise.