EPB President Harold DePriest says the utility expects to be able to choose an equipment provider for the system's planned new cable TV service by next month.
He said it has taken longer than expected to settle all the provider, who will furnish an "end to end" electronic backbone for the system.
Mr. DePriest says EPB may spend some $10 million to get that equipment in place, which will be a major step in getting the cable TV venture going.
He said EPB is now looking at providing cable TV service by next February.
The process is also ongoing to line up the channels that will be offered, he said.
He said EPB will likely sign up with one provider who has contracts with a large number of channels, then will have to deal separately with such popular offerings as ESPN.
Mr. DePriest said as EPB's fiber optic network is expanded to make way for the new cable TV service, it also will allow new customers for the already-existing EPB phone and Internet service. There are about 1,000 customers now, including McKee, Unum and the major hospitals.
He said the current 200 miles of fiber goes past half the downtown businesses. But the goal is to have 3,000 miles of fiber optic, and an additional 3,000 miles going from the trunk system to homes.
He said EPB will bundle its video, phone and Internet offerings with customers getting a price break for taking all three.
He said EPB expects to offer more channels than competitors and to have a "far superior picture" for TV viewers.
He said, "We will have more high-definition channels."