Cable television service in Fayette County is going to get better, and in fact already is getting better, MediaOne representatives promise.

After two years of negotiation, the county and cable company have penned a new franchise agreement that calls for complete upgrade of the cable system within two years, and gives the county broad powers to enforce performance standards.

"MediaOne has done a poor job of addressing customer service in Fayette County," said County Commission chairman Robert Sprayberry during a public hearing on the new franchise agreement last week. "They appear to be operating in good faith now," he added.

Four local residents punctuated Sprayberry's comments with horror stories of poor customer service in the past.

"There is no reason why every time you call they put you on hold for 13 to 25 minutes, then when you do finally get somebody they are rude to you," said Marsha Nearman, secretary of the homeowners' association in The Woodlands subdivision. "More of my neighbors would have been here had it been an evening meeting," she added.

Sallie Bonner of The Oaks subdivision added, "I have found only one individual in this company with an attitude of complete customer service and satisfaction," adding she just wants to "see a Braves game from start to finish."

Jim Futral urged commissioners to open the county to other cable companies, and Holly Monihan wondered, "Why can't we get another cable company?"

But residents admitted the company has made efforts in recent months to improve its response to complaints. "They made promises that did result in better service," said Bonner.

Dennis Lopatch, vice president for media and government affairs for MediaOne, promised that recent improvements are only the beginning. Complaints "came to a head" this past summer, Lopatch said, when repair crews were overwhelmed with storm damage. "My impression is that service has been improved since then," he added.

Customers' complaints about unreliable service, outages, poor quality picture and the like won't be completely resolved until the firm replaces its aging lines and equipment, which were built more than 30 years ago, Lopatch said.

As part of the new franchise agreement, the company will spend about $30 million in Fayette alone putting in new fiber-optic cable and state-of-the-art equipment, he said.

Chris Cofty, the assistant county administrator who handled the technical negotiations with MediaOne, said the company will be required to file periodic reports with the county, detailing complaints and how they were handled. The company also will be required to conduct testing of its system if county officials feel there may be a problem.

Surveys of subscribers to be sure they're satisfied with the service also will be required, and there are limits on how long the firm has to effect repairs and new installations.

New educational, government access and public access channels are required, along with the equipment to operate them, and MediaOne will have to maintain an office in the county.

A security fund will be deposited in a local bank, and the county will have access to that money in case the company is moving too slowly on repairs, said Cofty.