According to the Minneapolis Star Tribune…

Minneapolis cable TV viewers are a step closer to having an alternative to Comcast.

A city council panel voted Monday to negotiate an agreement with CenturyLink, which wants to offer cable service to parts of the city.

But some Minneapolis officials are wary of the proposal. City Council Vice President Elizabeth Glidden is worried CenturyLink will pass over poor neighborhoods. And she complains the company hasn’t provided enough information to allay those concerns.

It looks like serving the entire city may not be CenturyLink’s plan…

CenturyLink argues it isn’t bound by a state law requiring it to serve the entire city within five years. Comcast disputes that. CenturyLink has agreed to cover Minneapolis’ legal costs if it gets sued over the issue.

It demonstrates the blurred lines between telecommunications and cable. It also demonstrates that cable isn’t expected to go away soon – despite the Netflix, Hulus and YouTube programming out there.