Some Fayette County cable customers

could get improved service within a month or so.

AT&T Broadband has restarted

its stalled cable system upgrade project in Fayette County and is moving

full-speed toward a July completion target, said a spokesman.

In recent meetings with county

officials, the company has also agreed to activate each leg of the upgrade

as it is ready, rather than waiting and activating the entire county at

one time, County Administrator Chris Cofty said. That means some customers

may get improved cable service by next month.

Completion of a segment along

Gingercake Road to Ga. Highway 92 north, on 92 from Gingercake to Westbridge,

and along a portion of Westbridge, are scheduled for completion April

22, he said, though customers may not see activation for some time after

that. The new lines and equipment must be tested and certified, said AT&T

Broadband spokesman Reg Griffin.

The first thing most customers

notice when their upgrade comes on line is that the number of channels

goes from about 50 to about 80, Griffin said. Customers also will notice

that they won't lose service as easily during rainstorms, he said.

Later, after all the kinks

have been worked out of the new system, digital cable will be offered,

with about 250 channels, he added.

Completion of the final segment,

in extreme northeast Fayette, is scheduled for July 8.

The firm is working to replace

its 30-year-old cable network with state-of-the-art fiber optics that

will bring more channels and more reliable service to local customers.

But that project was put on hold late last year due to a dispute with

the state Department of Transportation over fees for use of DOT right

of way.

Fayette recently activated

a clause in its franchise agreement with AT&T allowing the county

to draw $700 a day out of a special fund. The clause called for withdrawals

from the fund if the company failed to meet its promised completion by

last November.

Cofty said this week the county

plans to continue withdrawing those funds until the upgrade is finished.