Fayetteville

TV is coming to a cable converter box near you.

The city is

getting its own cable access channel which will be available to AT&T

cable subscribers. The channel will be used to notify residents of coming

events and other information from the city.

So far, AT&T

has spent over $30,000 getting the system ready. And to avoid having those

funds come from subscribers through a rate increase, the Fayetteville

City Council has agreed to spend $12,324 for a digital character generator

to complete the system.

The bill increase

which will no longer be needed ­ would have spiked local cable bills

Without the

arrangement, the company could have passed on the costs to its subscribers,

Morton said. He noted that funds were available for the purchase from

the excess franchise fees that have been collected for cable TV service.

Morton also

noted that the city has had "quite a few calls" from residents

about a recent increase on local telephone bills, indicating that a possible

cable bill increase would yield a similar result.

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