Wednesday, October 3, 2001
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Wednesday, October 3, 2001 |
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Cable upgrade complete, except for PTC customers By DAVE HAMRICK
Fayette's cable provider, AT&T Broadband, announced this week that the long-awaited upgrade of its local facilities is finished. Unless you live in Peachtree City, that is. The city's cable service previously was provided by Intermedia, a separate company from Wometco, which owned the facilities for the rest of Fayette. Upgrade of former Intermedia facilities is expected by year's end, said AT&T spokesman Reg Griffin. The Wometco upgrade affects more than 22,000 homes in Fayette County, bringing dozens of new cable TV channels, greater system reliability and an opportunity to experience the company's new digital TV service, said Griffin. The announcement is good news to County Administrator Chris Cofty, who has occasionally had harsh words for the company's handling of local service complaints, and delays in completing the upgrade. Complaint calls to the county "have really slacked off," said Cofty. "I'm really glad to have this thing done." Cofty said he has driven around the county and verified that the upgrade is indeed up and running. Customers at first will notice the addition of several new cable TV channels including The History Channel, Speedvision, Sci-Fi Channel, Fox News Channel, Turner Classic Movies, The Golf Channel and others. Griffin said customers also will notice a significant improvement in the reliability of the network and enhancements to picture and audio quality. "Over the last several months we have been focused on upgrading our current network to a highly reliable hybrid fiber-coax network," explained Mark Davis, vice president of network engineering and construction for AT&T Broadband's Atlanta Region. "We have engineered and installed the latest broadband technology capable of delivering improved cable TV and other enhanced services to our Fayette County customers. These services are delivered to each neighborhood via hair-thin fiber optic strands," Davis explained. "A small fiber optic node serving approximately 500 homes converts light signals back to electronic signals for transport over a coaxial cable the last few thousand feet to each home. In addition to expanded channel capacity and new services, this technology dramatically improves video and audio quality." Affected customers were mailed a letter from AT&T Broadband-Atlanta, which included a new channel lineup card and further instructions on how to receive the new video services. Fayette County customers can also visit the company's Customer Service Center at 107 South Glynn St., Fayetteville or online at www.attbroadband.com for information on the new services. You can also still call the County Administrative Complex at 770-460-5730. An AT&T worker is stationed at the complex. As a result of the upgrade, Fayette County customers now have access to a new Digital Basic lineup including MSNBC, Game Show Network and National Geographic and a new Latino Bonus Pack featuring eight new Hispanic video channels and eight new music channels. The company's other digital programming includes a Movies and Music Bonus Pack (including Lifetime Movies, two new MTV channels and three new VH1 channels); Information Bonus Pack (including CNNSI, CNNfn, History International and the Biography Channel); and Family & Variety Pack (featuring E! Style, Discovery Home & Leisure, Inspirational Life and EWTN). "With our new additions and enhancements with digital cable TV, AT&T Broadband is bringing our Fayette County customers greater variety and choice than ever before," said Dave Stockton, vice president of marketing and sales for the Atlanta Region. "There is truly something for everyone, including many popular channels that our customers have been requesting in recent surveys and letters to us." Stockton said the upgrade makes AT&T Broadband more competitive with satellite TV companies in Fayette County. For information on the firm's products and services or to check the services available here, phone 678-545-2BUY (2289) or visit www.attbroadband.com. AT&T Broadband, a business unit of AT&T, is the nation's largest broadband services company, providing cable to more than 14 million customers across the nation. The company also provides advanced services, such as digital cable, high-speed cable Internet services and local phone service.
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