MOORESVILLE -- Seventeen thousand households from Huntersville to Troutman could soon have a new cable television provider, their local government.

That’s because Adelphia, their current provider, has filed for bankruptcy and the cities have the option to take over their local cable service.

Time Warner Cable has already moved in to operate Adelphia’s cable service in Mooresville, but this is just temporary until the six jurisdictions decide if they want to buy the cable service themselves.

It's an idea with as many opinions as there are cable subscribers and too many cable TV is a topic of frustration.

"I think that cable costs way too much for what I'm getting, you know? There are 30 stations that I never look at," said cable subscriber Deedi Sutton.

Her neighbor Wisdom Stikeleather agrees and said she’s not sure if she wants their local governments involved.

"It would have to be a reliable situation because we all get mad when the cable goes out," Stikeleather said.

"I don't know that cities don't have enough to do already that they should be getting involved in another entrepreneurship," Sutton said.

For the cities it's a chance to tap into more than $10 million a year in basic cable fees. The Assistant City Manager of Cornelius, Andrew Grant, said a locally owned and operated cable service is an opportunity for the local government to make cable more affordable and reliable for the community.

"We're considering what financial benefits may be for our citizens and business operators," Grant said.

But the cities are still researching for what channels they might offer. They're also crunching the numbers to see if buying the service would benefit the communities at all. Until the final decision is made, Time Warner Cable is operating Adelphia's cable service so residents should see no change on their screens.

The five cities are expected to make their final decision in mid-October. If they decide not to buy the cable service then Time Warner Cable will take ownership.


http://www.wcnc.com/news/local/stori...e.7c09fdc.html