MediaOne

cable company will meet its Dec. 31, 2000

deadline for upgrading its service in Fayette

County, a company spokesman vowed this week.

But

county officials are skeptical. "I'm

concerned," said Chris Cofty, aide to the

County Commission. "We would like to see

them start something, and I've asked for a

construction schedule."

Commissioners

renewed the firm's franchise in Fayette last

December with the stipulation that an upgrade to

higher quality and more reliable fiber optic

technology be completed by the end of next year.

Cofty

said the county recently has been inundated with

complaints of interrupted or poor service due to

a spate of bad weather, adding that many of those

complaints could be avoided if the system were

upgraded.

"As

things look right now, we're on track and will

certainly meet that deadline," said Reg

Griffin, a MediaOne spokesman.

Griffin

said plans are to begin the design phase of

Fayette's upgrade in October. Design will take

about two months, he said, with pre-construction

work to start in December.

Construction

will begin in February, he said, and should be

completed by October. "That would put us

well within the agreed-upon time," he said.

The

firm must replace 962 miles of old coaxial cable

with fiber-optic cable in Fayette, Griffin said,

adding that construction crews are currently

completing an average of 30-35 miles per week.

Crews

are working to provide the new technology for

570,000 homes throughout metro Atlanta, he said.

"We're just trying to get that accomplished

in a time frame that will satisfy

everybody," he added.

That

task is a little over half finished, said

Griffin. "We have about 475,000 homes that

we've `passed' now," he said. "We'll

ultimately pass about 900,000." Homes that

are passed include those that the cable company

serves and those where the owners opt not to

receive the service.

Cofty

said county officials are concerned that MediaOne

is concentrating on the areas with the highest

population density first, and has put Fayette on

a back burner. "It's more productive to

spend their money in those areas," he said.

Griffin

said the company will finish on time.

"Everything is on schedule and looking

good," he said.

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