CABLEVISION general manager Jeremy Elmas is the first to admit that Bermuda's cable television viewers have not up to now enjoyed the service they have been entitled to expect.

The network, built in the late 1980s with 1970s technology, has been in dire need of modernisation for many years.

If the days of fuzzy pictures and frustrated viewers are not yet over, they are numbered, if you believe Mr. Elmas. Yesterday, CableVision announced the switching on of 20 new fibre optic 'nodes' - part of a $7-million overhaul of the whole cable TV system.

Some viewers are already experiencing the benefits and work is now under way to replace worn sections of hundreds of miles of distribution cables which criss-cross the island and all of the 'taps' through which the signal makes its way into customers' homes.

The primary aim of the changes is to create a network which will preserve the quality of the signal as it makes its way from the CableVision nerve centre in Hamilton to all corners of the island and so give a clear picture.

The company predicts that the project will be completed in another 18 months and the new system will open the way for more channels, digital television, more interactive services and even the Internet.

JEREMY Elmas has had something of a rough ride since he took over at the helm of CableVision 14 months ago.

Just a glance at the letters pages of the local newspapers during the time last summer when all CableVision customers had to collect and install converter boxes to continue watching television was an insight into the frustration of viewers who demanded better.

An outmoded, creaking network, ill suited to meet the considerable expectations of the 21st-century TV watcher, was the main obstacle standing in the way of improved service.

According to the company's interim chief engineer, Michael Simmons, homes have been receiving a signal that has come through up to 53 amplifiers and stretches of deteriorating cable, so it is little wonder that pictures have been less than perfect.

CABLEVISION is now biting the bullet and facing up to carrying out the expensive, but badly needed modernisation of the whole network.

"One of the reasons we have not had a stirling reputation in the past is because the picture quality people have been getting is not what they should have been receiving," conceded Mr. Elmas.

"The new cable system is just one portion of our plan to provide excellent customer service.

"The system we have did not always get proper maintenance in the past and we had to make a decision to either invest in keeping the old car running or get a new model."

The 'new model' will entail the use of fibre optic cables running from CableVision headquarters at Laffan Street, Hamilton, where satellite signals are received, processed and sent out to viewers. The fibre optics, effectively thin strands of glass that transmit light signals, will be encased in heavy duty protective coatings to make them impervious to weather stress.

The fibre optics will form the backbone of the network and will carry the signal to 58 'nodes' spread out evenly across the island, each node serving an average of 450 homes.

THE nodes, inside rectangular, metal boxes attached to telegraph poles, have receiving and transmitting capabilities that will allow two-way services - the key to the new system.

The signal will be carried from the nodes to homes via 280 miles of copper wire distribution cables, all of which will be checked and replaced where necessary as part of the overhaul.

The first 20 nodes, in Pembroke, Devonshire and parts of Smith's, have already been installed and activated and some cutomers have called in to remark on an improved picture.

CableVision's chief technician, Michael Jones, said: "Enhancements in picture quality are often immediate with the introduction of fibre optics. In some cases the full impact may not be evident until the new coaxial distribution lines have been installed to replace the worn or cracked lines connecting the customers to the fibre optic nodes.

"So that the greatest number of customers can enjoy the improvements as we go, we started with some of the higher population areas."

The work will cause disruption to the service, but Mr. Elmas said the company planned to work in hours that would cause least inconvenience to viewers and warnings would be given.

The new broadband network will significantly boost the amount of information that can be carried.

"All the elctronics will be upgraded from 450 to 625 MegaHertz and that means we will be able to increase our number of channels," said Mr. Elmas. "It will give us the capacity for 37 to 40 additional channels.

"We plan to offer a digital TV tier in the future and for every one analogue channel, you could have ten digital channels, so in theory we could offer hundreds of new channels.

"Digital TV gives better quality pictures, like the difference between DVD and VHS pictures. And people can also use surround sound equipment with their television."

As for what Bermuda's viewers would want from the provision of a large number of new channels, Mr. Elmas thought music would be high on the list. Seventy per cent of respondents to a recent survey of viewer preferences said they would like to see more music channels. The new tehnology will introduce the possibility of customers being able to use their CableVision link for high-speed Internet access, either via a modem into computers or via the television itself - web TV. But CableVision will have to fight a battle before it will be able to provide that service.

"In future we will be capable of providing any broadband service and that includes the Internet," said Mr. Elmas. "But there are so many hurdles that will have to be jumped first, like getting a licence.

"But I think we will have a good case, because we would be offering something new, the highest speed Internet access on the island. Also it's always going to be cheaper to run one line to a house than two. Sooner or later it is inevitable that different technologies will join together. And from our point of view, of course we'd like to do it, because it would help to make us more profitable."

IN the bowels of the CableVision building, situated at the top of the hill on Laffan Street, its roof bedecked with huge satellite dishes, another part of the revamp has taken place.

Hundreds of metal boxes packed with complex electrical equipment sit on shelves with lights blinking as they interpret, process and transmit signals received from the sky.

This is the control centre which has undergone a painstaking revamp under the supervision of Mr. Simmons. The new 'headend' as it is known features state-of-the-art equipment from the United States.

Eventually, the system will allow viewers to order pay-per-view programmes through their remote control channel switcher. Another capability, which Mr. Elmas believed unlikely to be used any time soon, is that of inserting local advertisements into international cable TV programming. Local TV broadcasters vehemently opposed this, conceded Mr. Elmas, though he argued that Bermuda could benefit from it.

"Imagine if you're running Little Venice and you're trying to advertise to tourists on the island through TV," said Mr. Elmas. "Is it going to be better for you to advertise through Channel Nine or on CNN?

"We can put the ads on CNN and the advertisers know they will get a much better hit rate with the tourists. That makes complete sense to me. It's an asset we are not using."

Making sure the staff have the sufficient know-how to operate and maintain the new network is yet another challenge facing CableVision. Mandatory training will take place in the coming months.

"We want our customers to enjoy good reception all the time and we know that hasn't been the case with the old system," said Mr. Elmas. "As we bring these new technologies into service, more customers are beginning to experience improvements. We look forward to completing the system so that everyone can enjoy its full benefits."