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Innovations in CATV or Community Access Television first begin in 1948. A major pioneer that made his way to the head of it all was entrepreneur Milton Jerrold Shapp. Shapp, who hailed from Cleveland, Ohio and received a degree as an Electrical Engineer from Case Institute of Technology in 1933, was the founder of Jerrold Electronics; one of the first providers of CATV. Shapp first began the business in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1950 with 500 in G.I. Bill funds he received after his service in WWII.

His business went from small time basement shop to multimillion dollar corporation in just a decade, and Jerrold Electronics had made quite the name for itself.I found some more information here. From the 50s through the 60s they dominated the cable enterprise. Jerrold Electronics produced the first equipment specifically designed for cable access and joined with others in perfecting this system. In 1956 they built the first VHF Preamplifier, in 1959 the Antenna Distribution Amplifier, in 1965 the Broad Band Distribution Amplifier, and in 1970 one of the first modern television remotes. Their involvement in the electronics period of their day was enormous as they helped to take the already useful radio coaxial cable and broaden its uses into the television market. In 1967 Milton Jerrold Shapp decided to go into politics and sold his shares of Jerrold Electronics to General Instrument who carried on the Jerrold name until they merged with Motorola in the 1990s. Milton Jerrold Shapp went on to become the 40th Governor of Pennsylvania, and is prided with being the first of Jewish origin. By 2005 most cable providers had phased out using Jerrold Electronics equipment because they had become a favorite of cable pirates. Today, you won’t see the Jerrold name in use, but you will experience the benefits of their miraculous ambitions everyday.