Residents across northern Pinellas County can expect the local phone company to dig up their front yards soon - all in the name of new cable TV choices.

After months of private meetings, Verizon Communications Inc. has won tentative approval from Pinellas officials to begin a massive digging project to string hundreds of miles of underground cable across the county.

The project is expected to begin in the next several weeks. It will allow Verizon to offer combined telephone, high-speed Internet and cable TV service in Pinellas, in direct competition with Bright House Networks and Knology Inc.

County officials praise Verizon's willingness to bring more competition for cable TV. But as recently as April 5, they privately warned Verizon that Pinellas will not tolerate the kinds of problems Verizon caused in Hillsborough County, where crews broke hundreds of water, sewer and power lines while digging.

"We just don't want the same mistakes to happen here," said Charles Norwood, director of geographical services for the Public Works department of Pinellas County. "You can meet with Verizon all you want, and they tell you how good they are, but they will bring in 50 to 80 contractors from wherever they can find them, and the quality of work falls apart fast."

Pinellas officials took such a cautious stance after meeting in February with Hillsborough utility experts who were forced to stop Verizon's digging project several times after crews broke water, power and sewer lines, leading to damaged roads and warnings to residents to boil their water.

Verizon has dramatically improved construction methods and is breaking fewer utility lines in a digging project that continues across the region.

In most cases, Pinellas residents can expect similar work to what Verizon is doing in Hillsborough and Pasco counties. Dozens of workers will hand-dig holes in front or back yards, then bury cooler-sized utility boxes at property lines between houses. Using boring machines, crews will drill under driveways and yards and connect the boxes underground with orange plastic conduit.

Later, other crews will string fiber-optic lines through the conduits to deliver data and video service.

Verizon has committed to treat lawns with care and restore yards to original condition, which often requires replanting sod.

The project is part of a multibillion-dollar national strategy by New York-based Verizon to use fiber-optic lines to deliver a myriad of digital entertainment and communications services. Florida is among the first states where Verizon put the project into motion, and in two years the company has spent $500 million on construction and equipment.

To smooth the process for residents, Pinellas officials required Verizon to follow guidelines:

• Notify residents several times in advance that contractors will begin work soon.
• No work in residential yards before 9 a.m.
• Every work crew must have at least one English-speaking worker to answer residents' questions.
• Only dig in areas where underground utility lines have been clearly marked in advance.

Verizon's project in Pinellas will expand quickly, Verizon spokesman Bob Elek said.

In the first eight months, Verizon told county officials to expect about 300 miles of trench digging to serve 5,000 households, starting at the northern-most portion of Pinellas: in Tarpon Springs, Dunedin and Countryside. Verizon chose that area because it is already building a fiber-optic network in Pasco County that stretches south across the border into Pinellas.

Plans are still in development, but the peak of construction could come in August. Work will last several years, with hundreds of workers digging trenches for fiber-optic lines.

Generally, residents can expect that once Verizon installs the orange conduits, the company could start offering cable TV service in 120 to 180 days. However, that schedule can vary widely because Verizon needs permission from local governments to sell cable TV service. Authorization has taken a year or more in some cities.

By RICHARD MULLINS rmullins@tampatrib.com
Published: May 11, 2006