split lickety

this is stupid, i know, but i need your help. my cousin and i have been having a running argument for a while now and we need outside parties to clear this up.

ok here goes. i have cable television and cable internet. my cousin believes that all cable is the same. he's convinced i can hook my modem up to any cable connection in the house and get online.

i disagree. i say that the cable guy wouldn't have wasted his time running a new line to the house to install internet if he didn't have to. i also pointed out that they can turn either one off anytime they want without affecting the other. i've also presented alot of other arguments but he's convinced he's right.

i can't solve the argument because my only TV is a huge console and my net connnection is upstairs and i don't want to chance ruining my rented modem by plugging it into TV cable.

so who's right?