Thousands of

Fayette County residents will soon have new fiber optic cable television

service available to them, according to a spokesman for AT&T Broadband.

Activation

is expected within approximately a month for the first customers to receive

the upgraded service, said spokesman Reg Griffin.

An agreement

with the Fayette County government for renewal of the company's franchise

here called for completion of the upgrade by last November, but a dispute

with the state Department of Transportation over fees to use road rights

of way delayed the project.

Earlier this

year, the county activated a clause in the agreement that required the

company to pay extra fees to the county for missing the activation deadline.

Approximately

8,000 customers will soon receive notification that the new service wil

be available in 30 days, Griffin said. The new system will be activated

a section at a time, and full activation is expected by October, he said.

Meanwhile,

local cable customers also are getting the news this week that the company

has done away with its longtime central customer service number 770-559-2000

and replacing it with five numbers that company officials say will improve

service.

AT&T and

its predecessor, MediaOne, have had a reputation for poor customer service,

Griffin admitted. The new phone numbers are an attempt to remedy that,

he said.

"We've

tried to grapple with this for a number of years," he said. "That

model a single call center might have worked great when we were only selling

cable TV, but now we have many more products, and we just weren't getting

the job done here," he said.

"During

the past several months, we've used our 'around town' meetings, monthly

customer call-in TV show and other vehicles to truly listen to our customers,"

said Steve White, senior vice president for AT&T Broadband's Atlanta

region. "Our customers have told us loud and clear that we simply

must get better at dealing with their phone calls. This is a first step

in a major customer care improvement project for our region."

Now, when you

call the number to report a cable television problem, you won't be able

to ask the technician a question about phone service or high-speed Internet

service, as in the past. You'll have to hang up and call a second number.

"They'll

have the inconvenience of having to make two calls, but they're going

to get their call answered a lot more quickly," said Griffin.

For service

and repair problems on video, high-speed Internet or digital phone, call

678-545-7372. Those calls will continue to be answered by technicians

here in Atlanta, Griffin said. The phone will be answered by humans 6

a.m. to 11 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Sundays.

Automated answering

service is available outside of these hours.

To ask a question

about your bill for any AT&T product, check your balance or to pay

require a $1.50 service charge. Someone will answer the phone 8 a.m. to

11 p.m. week days and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays. Automated service is

available other times.

AT&T has

contracted with specialists to handle other problems, with calls answered

in Pensacola, Fla., and Corpus Christi, Texas.

"We're

out-sourcing to companies recognized as first class customer service companies,"

he said.

To schedule

installation of video, high-speed Internet or digital phone service, call

678-545-2289 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. weekdays and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays.

To move your

service from one location to another, or to change or upgrade your existing

service, phone 678-545-6683 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. weekdays and 8 a.m. to 5

p.m. Saturdays.

And for technical

assistance with high-speed Internet services, phone toll-free, 866-447-7333,

any time.

For information

on AT&T Broadband visit www.attbroadband.com .

AT&T Broadband,

a business unit of AT&T, is the nation's largest broadband services

company, providing analog and digital television entertainment services

to about 16 million customers across the nation. The company also provides

advanced services, such as high-speed cable Internet services and local

phone service.

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