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AT&T Has 18,000 U-Verse Subscribers
Launches remote DVR management service

Having just hit the 10k mark, AT&T yesterday announced that their U-Verse IPTV VDSL service now has 18,000 users and will be launched in the Los Angeles area shortly. AT&T insists the service should pass (not necessarily serve) 8 million consumers by the end of the year. U-Verse is currently only available in select portions of fifteen U.S. markets. From the release:

"Our video strategy is showing strong momentum as we add new subscribers at an increasing rate," said Ralph de la Vega, group president-Regional Wireline Operations, AT&T. "Consumers are clearly hungry for an alternative to the cable companies, and AT&T U-verse is a very attractive choice. We offer more High Definition channels than local cable companies in the markets we serve, the ability to record up to four programs at once, and the ability to set DVR recordings remotely using the AT&T Yahoo! portal or, soon, a mobile device."
Of course, users are still waiting to see that promise of dual HD streams in action. It's interesting to see AT&T be so forthcoming with the subscriber count -- Verizon included FiOS customers with DSL customers in financial reports until they felt their total was impressive enough. While you have to start somewhere, 18,000 when compared to the nation's 68.3 million cable customers doesn't awe quite yet.

The company also says that U-Verse users can now schedule and manage their U-verse TV recordings from AT&T wireless phones and devices. As always, discussion of the service can be found in our U-Verse forum.
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MarkyD
Premium Member
join:2002-08-20
Oklahoma City, OK

MarkyD

Premium Member

whoopee!

AT&T's effort at next gen offerings is pretty horrible.
Even the areas that have FTTP only get 1 HD stream.
Not to mention the 6/1 speeds...
AT&T is living in 2001, and hoping it will carry them through the next decade. Foolish.

dslwanter
20 years on this site
Premium Member
join:2002-12-16
Mineral Ridge, OH
·Armstrong
Ubiquiti UniFi AP-LR
Ubiquiti EdgeRouter X SFP

dslwanter

Premium Member

Re: whoopee!

said by MarkyD:

AT&T's effort at next gen offerings is pretty horrible.
Yeah it is. I can't believe their max broadband package with U-Verse is 6mbps/1mbps. Most of the cable companies around here (not mine, mine thinks it's still 1982 when they first deployed) are offering 10mbps/1.5mbps or in some cases better. I understand it's a new service but if you're going to compete then you have to offer better services. Pretty soon DirecTV is going to be offering 100+ HD channels. Oh and don't even get me started on the areas that still can't get DSL.

en102
Canadian, eh?
join:2001-01-26
Valencia, CA

en102

Member

Re: whoopee!

Since TimeWarner only offers 8/768 here at best on the 'extreme' package.

Eg.
Timewarner (doesn't require cable TV service)
8Mbps/768kbps = $54.95
6Mbps/384kbps = $44.95
1.5Mbps/384kbps = $34.95

DSL-Extreme (requires $10 POTS)
6Mbps/768kbps = $32.95 + $10 POTS = $42.95
3Mbps/512kbps = $22.95 + $10 POTS = $32.95
1.5Mbps/384kbps = $17.95 + $10 POTS = $27.95
768kbps/384kps = $12.95 + $10 POTS = $22.95
BosstonesOwn
join:2002-12-15
Wakefield, MA

BosstonesOwn to MarkyD

Member

to MarkyD
What I find amusing is the 4 streams at a time !

If I want to use a dvr , and have hd , why prey tell would I want to record 4 sd streams , when I can record 2 on cable currently ? Is there any shows you would watch in sd instead of hd , that are actually shown in HD ?

I know I always prefer the hd content to sd when it's available.
Expand your moderator at work

NOCMan
MadMacHatter
Premium Member
join:2004-09-30
Colorado Springs, CO

NOCMan

Premium Member

Too Slow, Deployment Failed

If they have only 18,000 sub's by now then something is obviously wrong.

FIOS's adoption rate over the same period an order of magnitude stronger.

morbo
Complete Your Transaction
join:2002-01-22
00000

1 recommendation

morbo

Member

Re: Too Slow, Deployment Failed

18k shows that they can lure their employees to sign onto their new system by giving them discounts, etc. that's it.

i'm truly curious if we are witnessing the slow destruction of AT&T by their poor choices, or if, as some have predicted, they will change courses after the current ceo leaves with his golden parachute.

idjk
@sprintlink.net

idjk to NOCMan

Anon

to NOCMan
I have poster that Bellso (ATTsoutheast) is testing IPTV in Orlando- I heard yesterday that there may be software/hardware problems between what Bell has just put out in the field and ATT U-vers , oh well I'll have to wait some more.

quetwo
That VoIP Guy
Premium Member
join:2004-09-04
East Lansing, MI

quetwo

Premium Member

Whoopie.

If they are ohh-ed and ahh-ed about 18,000 when they pass MILLIONS of customers, then we should all be worried. Other telcos have a much higher penetration rate for their services. Regular cable providers have an even higher penetration rate.

FFH5
Premium Member
join:2002-03-03
Tavistock NJ

FFH5

Premium Member

Re: Whoopie.

said by quetwo:

If they are ohh-ed and ahh-ed about 18,000 when they pass MILLIONS of customers, then we should all be worried. Other telcos have a much higher penetration rate for their services. Regular cable providers have an even higher penetration rate.
Not passing millions of customers til year end 2007.

WeSRT4
join:2000-11-20
Mobile, AL

WeSRT4

Member

Too late to the party

Why even bother when satellite covers everyone and cable is already deployed in most areas? IMO the telcos are simply too late to the party. AT&T would have been better off by buying a satellite provider and using the VDSL deployments to provide on demand and interactive service. This way they would have plenty of bandwidth available for the user. Heck, they could just use their partnership with Dish to do this.

ninjatutle
Premium
join:2006-01-02
San Ramon, CA

ninjatutle

Member

Re: Too late to the party

Not everyone wants to be locked in for 2 years with sat.

MarkyD
Premium Member
join:2002-08-20
Oklahoma City, OK

MarkyD

Premium Member

Re: Too late to the party

said by ninjatutle:

Not everyone wants to be locked in for 2 years with sat.
Dish does not require a contract.

ninjatutle
Premium
join:2006-01-02
San Ramon, CA

ninjatutle

Member

Re: Too late to the party

Sounds good to me. They even have Playboy TV for $15/month
Rick5
Premium Member
join:2001-02-06

Rick5

Premium Member

I am seriously in total awe...

of how a company can put as much as they have into this already and still only have 18k customers.

They should have been able to round up that many employees in the break room at lunchtime to produce results like that so far. But yet, this is their next generation rollout results.

How many homes does this service pass now? It must be closing in on 3 Million. And they've sold it to 18k people out of all those.

Compare that to the recent story here at BBR about FTTH.
1.34 MILLION have signed up for that service.
Out of a little over twice the number of homes passed.
»7.9 Million U.S. Homes Can Get FTTH

How long can AT&T keep up this charade? Until the CEO retires?
Zoly
join:2004-01-04
Houston, TX

2 edits

Zoly

Member

Re: I am seriously in total awe...

Very simple.

Let's say you live in the area that is served by TWC and soon to become Comcast. You suddenly notice that several HD channels are dropped, some moved to some sort extra package. Your monthly bill has been increased.

You've been with them for 5 years and call to complain and ask if there is anything they can do not to raise the pricing as you have been a loyal customer for a long time and you also mention that U-verse is available in your area.

CS representative says: "I am sorry. I am afraid there is nothing I can do" You say: "Then, I guess, my the only option is to order U-verse." CS replies: "Good luck, is there anything else I can do for you?"

You say NO. Call to order U-verse. It takes one week before installation and 5 hours of installation. You get every channel they have, DVR, Internet, 25+ HD channels (crappy but watchable) and pay almost the same as you would with TWC/Comcast.

Two months later TWC/Comcast finally realizes they are losing customers and you started getting mail from them: "We miss you. Come back for only $99 triple play!"

Oh yeah, and weeks later they announce: "We will no longer carry HBOHD and SHOTIMEHD West feeds, we remove all west feeds and if you want Tennis channel, you will pay extra..." we
emptywig
Huh? What?
Premium Member
join:2002-08-05
Pasadena, TX

emptywig

Premium Member

Re: I am seriously in total awe...

Yep. I just got that letter yesterday.

Bastahds.

wig