Orange County Register

Tustin’s turn: Why AT&T U-verse isn’t happening here yet

July 13th, 2009, 11:38 am · 14 Comments · posted by Tamara Chuang, a.k.a. The Gadgetress

Readers: This is part of an ongoing series of updates on what happened to the AT&T U-verse rollout in Orange County. The company recently said that it was halting new activity in seven O.C. cities. So keep checking back for updates!

UPDATE, 7/24/09: Added comment from AT&T’s H. Gordon Diamond regarding U-verse utility boxes and defective batteries. See below.

Efforts to offer Tustin residents AT&T’s U-verse TV service remain in limbo as the city and AT&T sort out their differences. But limbo could become eternity because the city believes it’s waiting for AT&T’s responses to ordinance requests, while AT&T has decided to stop its pursuit of 93 permits after more than a year of effort. Tustin, like five other cities I’ve interviewed, offered one primary reason it wasn’t keen on the project:  The city wants the boxes built underground. 

But underground isn’t the only issue for Tustin and below-ground utility boxes aren’t mandatory. Some of these utility cabinets have already been built above ground, including one in front of C. E. Utt Middle School on Browning Avenue. The city has other issues it wants resolved before greenlighting the rest of the project, said Elizabeth Binsack, Tustin’s communicty development director, who invited me to view the presentation given to AT&T about AT&T and given to the Planning Commission and City Council.  

“I gotta tell you, the sites we looked at in our walk, some were conflicting with line of sight, some were in the spot of trees and fire hydrants. I don’t think they looked at those sites at all. We did,” Binsack said.

 Other issues:

AT&T's plan to install 93 utility cabinets in Tustin included underneath this tree. City officials stand next to mock AT&T box. Photo from city of Tustin.

1. AT&T’s unwillingness to move these boxes to less obtrusive areas, such as the back of the park instead of smack dab in the middle, or off the edge of the sidewalk and into the landscaping (see photo on right and below). ”We haven’t heard back from AT&T,” she said.  

2. U-verse isn’t as advanced as Verizon FiOS, which instead of offering fiber optic technology to the middle of a neighborhood, builds the fiber all the way to the house. (”What if we end up with 93 boxes that are obselete?” Binsack wondered.)

3. Safety, not for the box, but the public. ”Forgetting the issue of safety (of the box), but personal safety. In Houston, a U-verse box blew up. It melted the guy’s garage,” she said, handing me the articles to prove it.

   

More on the U-verse impasse

At this point, AT&T seems to shrug its head and sigh in disbelief. H. Gordon Diamond, with AT&T’s public affairs, said the company has gone over and over again with each city offering answers to questions.

It has repeatedly explained why boxes can’t be underground (to protect and easily access the electronics inside — I’ll address this more in a later post). The boxes also need to be near electricity and, similar to DSL Internet coverage, near AT&T’s hub.

And as Diamond has previously pointed out, U-verse has been installed in 220 cities in California. AT&T worked with each city to address safety concerns, maintenance obligations, city ordinances and all other issues.  

As for the exploding boxes, these were rare instances. Defective batteries caused the explosion. AT&T has removed all of those and hasn’t had an incident since. This also never affected any properties in California. (See Light Reading’s “AT&T Investigates DSLAM Explosion” and “AT&T Begins Massive Battery Replacement.“)

ADDED July 24, 2009: Says Diamond, “This was never an issue here in California. More than 2 years ago there were a few incidents in other states involving batteries used for backup power in AT&T U-verse network cabinets. As we gained experience with these batteries, we found they no longer met our stringent performance and safety criteria. As a result, we replaced all of the batteries and finished that in early 2008.”

Next, I’ll explore a city that welcomed AT&T U-verse inside its boundaries, plus a look at why AT&T can’t and won’t build its U-verse utility boxes underground.

More U-Verse news:

Check out the Gadgetress Guide to local TV services

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Posted in: Video & TV • AT&T U-Verse • legal • permits • Tustin • U-Verse • U-verse impasse
 

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 14 Comments

• Space Kimchi says:

  July 13, 2009 at 12:11 pm

  It’s really too bad that AT&T is having so many problems getting U-Verse installed. I’ve used at length pretty much every TV service available in Orange County, and U-Verse is by far my favorite (then again, I haven’t had or used FiOS’ TV service). I’m really disappointed I can’t get it at my new place

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• Blutarsky says:

  July 13, 2009 at 3:29 pm

  Could it be that Tustin city officials are in the back pocket of Cox Cable? Nah, of course not!

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• Ladera Lady says:

  July 13, 2009 at 6:07 pm

  Has anyone actually seen these boxes? The are HUGE and major ugly!!! Nobody wants these things in front of their home or blocking their sidewalk! If At&t really wants to provide service, you’d think they’d be a just a little sensitive to what the community wants. They are just bullies stomping their feet because they can’t get their way.

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  • rickpaul says:

    August 27, 2009 at 11:58 am

    I suppose it depends on how strategically they are placed. I wouldnt mind living next to one if that was the difference between having Uverse and not having uverse.

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• Lake Forester says:

  July 13, 2009 at 10:05 pm

  AT&T can put one of these on my lawn if they want! If that’s what it takes to get U-Verse going in my area…

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• Jon says:

  July 14, 2009 at 7:06 am

  I have been waiting for over a Year in Sweet anticipation for AT&T U-Verse, now I have read why its not Tustin (Thanks Gadgetress).
  I am SOOOO disappointed in my city counsel, we have enough bureaucracy in Government. Words can not describe how utterly stupid my city is being, the residents of Tustin want U-Verse let them build the damn boxes.

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• BobG says:

  July 14, 2009 at 10:57 am

  As a realtor, I can tell you that having a utility box the size of the one in the picture near your home, especially in front of it, will significantly affect the marketability of it. A quick sale is seriously out of the question. It takes a certain type of buyer to look past what is basically a large blemish. That’s what “curb appeal” is all about.

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• cmsa uverse user says:

  July 14, 2009 at 11:47 am

  First off the boxes are not painted bright white. They are usually painted green. They seem to fit just fine on our little sidewalks here in Costa Mesa. As a result we have the best and lowest cost cable. I really doubt ATT is going to continue pursuing permits in Tustin after this. Good call Tustin City gov’t.

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• Happy in Costa Mesa says:

  July 14, 2009 at 4:33 pm

  I switched to U-verse about two months ago and am very happy with the features and pricing. I think having an alternative to cable - after being ripped off by rising cable prices for years - outweighs the box issue by a long shot. It’s time city bureaucrats woke up to what people really want.

  Thanks Costa Mesa. Now if you could just do something about timing of the traffic lights at Baker and Bear …

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• Ladera Lady says:

  July 14, 2009 at 7:46 pm

  We don’t know if the explosions were rare or not because AT&T refuses to disclose the full extent of the problems. The only expolsions and fires we know about are those that made the news. A telecommunications commission member in Wisconsin called them on this after one blew up in a nearby town.

  If AT&T is the only source, then we should question their claims. In the meantime, if you want to know how the Commisioner in Wisconsin responded, read:

  http://www.biztimes.com/blogs/milwaukee-biz-blog/2008/2/6/at-t-is-not-being-transparent-about-exploding-cabinets

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• Dont get it says:

  July 14, 2009 at 9:07 pm

  I dont get it - how can ATT work with 220 other cities and a run down city like Tustin even have a problem with this? Get real people - this is nothin but a bunch of excuses by tustin to stall TV choices for the residents. Heck – these boxes dont even look that bad – just check out the HUGE monster boxes every city [yeah – even Tustin] drops at every corner for there own traffic lites. Talk about blocking sidewalks and looking freakin UGLY- someone should make all the citys hide there own dam boxes before calling the kettle black. Give me more channels…cheaper!

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• Jonthan says:

  July 14, 2009 at 10:13 pm

  Dear Ms Binsack I am writing to you in protest to the blockage of U-Verse in Tustin. I and many other residents have been waiting for a higher speed internet to come to our beautiful city. I have read the article in the OC Register and was appalled at the reasons given for blocking U-Verse. Please do not deny us a great technological advancement that will improve our daily lives. I’m sure this sounds silly to you but we have very limited choices in my area at least for internet providers.

  Thank you

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• Rappy says:

  July 15, 2009 at 12:12 pm

  I guess I am on of the lucky ones that lives in Tustin and has AT&T U-Verse. It is a wonderful service and so much better than Time Warner!!!

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• Nina says:

  August 4, 2009 at 9:00 am

  I wouldn’t fret. I had Uverse for a year, spent three of those months on the phone frequently because the service froze 20-30 times daily. Finally had to switch to satellite because I rarely got to finish a movie. Still have Uverse internet but only because Time Warner wants to charge us again to install Roadrunner. As with the tv service, our Internet freezes constantly.

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