| Rogers Cable drops the ball on presidential inauguration. |
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| Written by David Delaney |
| Tuesday, 20 January 2009 13:48 |
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On the morning of Tuesday, January 20, I made a point of removing myself from my home office to go upstairs and watch CNN broadcast Barack Obama's presidential inauguration. I started watching around 11:30 a.m., and the time capsule on the screen of the CNN newscasts noted that inauguration will take place at about 11:58 a.m. I watched as some of the former presidents and their families were ushered in to the inauguration balcony and admired the statesmanship taking place. Certainly one of the biggest television events of the millennium, as millions gathered in the Washington Mall and parade areas to take part in Obama's first day as president of the United States. At the time came closer, and Barack Obama actually entered the platform himself, I got up to let the dogs out into the backyard to enjoy some of the snow and cool weather. When I came back, my screen was black.  I immediately reached for the remote control, which seemed to be working as well as the guide on my Rogers digital box. Not only was CNN black, or disconnected, but so was every other channel. Poof! With less than a few minutes to go before the inauguration, Rogers cable was not working in a way that I hadn't seen it not working ever before. My digital cable box seemed to be connected and getting the information. It was my television or the cable signal that was completely blacked out.After 10 minutes of disbelief and deep conversation with my remote control, I decided to load up my daughters MacBook, which happens to be using a Bell Sympatico connection. (Yes, I have two different internet connections in the house). This was one of those times when it paid off because not only was Rogers cable service not working, but neither was Rogers hi speed internet.
I decided to call Rogers Cable, even though I knew it wasn't a problem with my own connection, I suppose I had a morbid desire to touch base with their automated calling system. That familiar voice informed me that there were numerous issues in Toronto, Scarborough, and selected communities, all the way up to Ottawa. Nice, thanks guys. Anyway, I navigated on my daughter's MacBook to CNN.com, and plugged in to the live feed from Washington. I did catch the latter part of Barack Obama's inaugural speech, and watched until President and Laura Bush left the White House in presidential helicopter. Hours later, Rogers cable is still out, and there remains a tenuous relationship between me and that corporation. |
