They did it the opposite way. They ordered the "local" CTV feed for
$9.95, and then pulled out the rest of the CTV channels & the broadband.

That suggests that if you put a cable modem on the line, it would
automatically get configured at the cable-office.  No human intervention
required, so easy to "self-activate."

I didn't know that.  I guess those were the daze.

At a minimum, my cable company needs a new customer to phone in the MAC
Address of their cable modem.  If the system doesn't recognize your MAC
address, I believe all you get is a webpage with sign-up information, no
matter what URL you request.

CU,
      -Neil-