Cable TV was switched back on last night after Bermuda's only cable provider agreed to a raft of stringent new guidelines that will improve service for residents.

The stalemate between Government and CableVision, which resulted in a two-day television blackout, was brought to an end at about 9 p.m. after the Ministry of Telecommunications and cable bosses signed off on a new 11-year licence and service level agreement.

The agreement means, among other things, that residents will receive credits on their monthly bills if they lose their cable picture and it is not remedied within 24 hours of it being reported.

But there will also be provision for credits if residents suffer a partial loss of service. And where CableVision technicians fail to turn up for a scheduled installation or service call, residents will receive a $10 credit.

Last night, Telecommunications Minister Renee Webb said the 18-page agreement and new licence had finally been signed off at 8.32 p.m. last night, after first being reviewed by the Attorney General's Chambers.

"We are very pleased we have come to a conclusion," said Ms Webb.

"At last the public will be happy. We didn't want people to be without television for the weekend. Throughout this scenario we were looking out for the public. In the long-run, they will get a better service."

Ms Webb said the Ministry had offered CableVision an additional ten-year licence, on top of the 12-month licence it was given at the start of this month.

However, she said at first yesterday, when the Ministry suggested granting an extra ten years, CableVision had "balked" at the idea, still insisting that it wanted a 15 year licence.

But the Minister said she could see no reason for such a licence.

"We had already given them one, so we gave them ten in addition," added the Minister.

"It was not necessary to give them 15 - why not 12 or 13?

"Ten years is more than enough. CableVision is now going to be held accountable.

There is a service level agreement that we can measure them by.

"But it should never have come to this. Cable should never have been taken off in the first place."

Last night, CableVision chairman Rod Hansen said he was very pleased to be able switch the service back on.

"We now have what we need to stay in business, which is a commercially viable licence," he said.

"We would have preferred 15 years, but there is a huge difference between one year and 11 years, and we're glad the Ministry recognised that.

"It's just too bad we couldn't have got together and talked about this earlier, but that is water under the bridge now and we are delighted to turn our cable service on again for our customers."

Bermuda's cable service has been interrupted twice in the last week after the Ministry and CableVision became embroiled in a bitter row over the length of its new licence.

Ms Webb would only grant a one-year licence until a proper service level agreement was put in place by the provider, but CableVision pulled the plug, refusing to accept her offer on the basis that it was not commercially viable for it to continue to invest millions of dollars.

It said that as it had not accepted the licence renewal on offer, it was prohibited from providing a service.

But last night, after an injunction, trips to courts, publicised disagreements and hours of negotiations, normal service was at last resumed.

Mr. Hansen said the service agreement corresponded with CableVision's goal of delivering a world-class service as it progressed to a new broadband network, digital cable and high-speed internet.

"We have already invested some $6.5 million on these improvements, with a further $3.5 million to be spent over the next year or so," he said.

"We needed an agreement that could evolve as we roll out new capabilities. We now have that, and we're glad the Ministry recognises that some of the standards we wish to implement will only be fully within our reach when we complete the new system."

Last night, Ms Webb said she doubted the cable fiasco of this month would ever be repeated.

She said she believed CableVision had been "trying to turn the Ministry's hand", wanting it to back down.

She added: "Competition is imminent because one of the companies (who have applied to provide a cable service) will qualify, if not both.

"Once people have a choice, we won't see this again. I am sure this is the last of anything like this with cable.

"They (CableVision) realised how bad the service was they were offering, because of the feedback from the public.

"I think the public understood that it was necessary for us to do this."

Mr. Hansen apologised to residents for the blackout and thanked both customers and employees for their support and patience.

"We wish everyone an enjoyable weekend of cable television viewing," he said.