A mail survey of 91 past and present users of the community programing (public access) channels in the Toronto, Canada, area revealed that personal contact is most important in the diffusion of knowledge about access opportunities. Friends and colleagues were the most often cited initial source of information; but contact by the cable company itself most often proved critical for actual user development. This latter point suggests that only when knowledgeable persons make contact and explain matters are such inhibiting factors as lack of understanding of the telecommunication process countered, enabling community groups to effectively use and develop cable television as a medium of public communications. The results of this study strongly point to the necessity of some kind of promotional and facilitating action by expert or professional groups in the development of public access cable television channels. (RL)