Startup Launches Super-Cheap Digital Cable

A Utah-based startup recently launched a low-cost digital cable service "for the rest of us" that promises to wean people off of their high-priced cable TV habits. For just $19.95 per month, subscribers to USDTV get 32 channels, including local broadcasts and cable heavyweights such as ESPN and the Discovery Channel. But the big news is that USDTV doesn't require a coaxial line to your house. Instead, the company is using spare bandwidth to broadcast its signal to standard UHF/VHF antennas. The service is currently available in Albuquerque, New Mexico and Salt Lake City, Utah. The Salt Lake City version even offers six HDTV channels. Given the struggles that companies such as RCN have experienced competing with the major cable providers, we're unsure how USDTV hopes to survive. But we have to the company credit: The price is right.