Using the available cable TV infrastructure, cable TV modems can interconnect homes, offices and municipal governments within our towns and cities. However, complex technical issues must first be overcome to create city-wide data over cable TV services offering cable operators a viable new source of revenues. This paper provides a conceptual overview of the cable TV operating environment, the types of information services that can be offered over cable Tv, and a description of the enabling technology-cable TV modems-which make high-performance data communications over cable TV a reality.