AT&T explains why it can’t build its TV service underground
August 18th, 2009, 7:40 am · 24 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 said in July 2009 that it was halting further expansion in seven O.C. cities. I’m talking to each city so keep checking back for updates! This story, in particular, is the long promised update on why AT&T can’t build its U-verse TV technology underground, as every city prefers.
When AT&T said it would stop pursuing expansion of its highly anticipated U-verse TV and Internet service in seven Orange County cities (Cypress, Dana Point, Irvine, Lake Forest, Newport Beach, San Clemente and Tustin), readers blamed the cities. Why would a city not want to offer residents another TV option?
U-verse box in Brea
Most of the cities responded, saying, no, they haven’t rejected AT&T U-verse. Rather, they’re waiting for their laundry list of requirements to be fulfilled or at least answers to their multiple questions. Cities want AT&T to build the large U-verse utility boxes underground. Otherwise, cities believe they’ll be deluged with ugliness complaints or spray-can wielding vandals.
AT&T tells me it has responded to all concerns among the cities. Multiple times.
“Over the past two years, we’ve met with cities repeatedly and answered the same questions on the same issues,” said an exasperated H. Gordon Diamond, with AT&T’s public affairs, after reading some of the responses from the cities.
Cities have nitpicked AT&T, some asking for the company to pre-engineer each location (which takes 50 hours a pop, says Diamond), others putting requiring a list of “standard” conditions be met. While some cities say they just care more than those cities, AT&T says this is holding up progress and keeping an alternative TV service out of reach of residents.
So, let’s look at AT&T’s response to the biggest issue: AT&T says it can’t build these utility cabinets underground.
And why not?
Diamond gave me the same explanation AT&T offers the cities via a 1-page handout. Read the document yourself: “AT&T’s undergrounding facts.” To see if they jibe with the industry, I’ve run the responses past Steve Woo, a former AT&T engineer who now works for a firm that constructs utility cabinets for AT&T, Verizon and others. Woo supports AT&T’s belief that utility boxes are best built above ground because of lower cost and easier maintenance.
Expensive. To protect electronics from moisture and extreme temperature changes, AT&T would need to invest in a special Controlled Environment Vault (CEV), which aren’t cheap.
Woo says: CEVs are $40,000 to $60,000 each, depending on size. This doesn’t include the equipment or installation.
Space. An underground structure is nine to 20 feet deep, plus additional space is needed for a technician to access it. So, not only does AT&T need to find enough room underground, the space can’t interfere with existing underground utilities like water, power or the sewer system. By comparison, an above-ground U-verse cabinet was designed to fit within the sidewalk area and within the right-of-way of other utilities.
Woo says: Underground cabinets can also be designed to fit the width of a sidewalk and minimize the impact to other underground utilities. The entrance can be placed in the parkway adjacent to the sidewalk.
Access. Electronics inside need to be accessed for maintenance or repair, sometimes immediately. Underground structures aren’t easy to access.
Woo says: Workers must climb down a ladder to get inside. When replacement batteries weigh more than 100 pounds, maintenance and upgrades can be tricky.
More on the U-verse impasse Added expense. If AT&T were required to put U-verse cabinets underground, the company would also need build room to house backup power, lighting, gas testing, ventilation, cooling, alarms and emergency water pumping and waterproofing.
Woo says: While underground vaults are guaranteed to be waterproof, they can fail due to improper installation, leading conduits and broken sprinkler lines. However, above-ground cabinets also need protect the electronics from extreme weather conditions. Some have multiple fans, which can be noisy for residential neighbors. Above-ground cabinets require the same controls to provide cooling and ventilation, alarms and power backup systems. But as mentioned, above ground is easier to upgrade. Upgrading below-ground vaults would be cost prohibitive.
Not completely underground. An underground vault still needs at least one above-ground structure in order to access the vault.
Woo says: The above ground “hatch” which houses the air-conditioning equipment and is about 36-inches high.
AT&T has, and some cities have verified, worked to make sure the cabinets are screened or ‘beautified’ with shrubs and other greenery. It also pays the cities the same cable franchise fees as the local cable TV providers.
While the seven cities in Orange County may not be getting U-verse TV service anytime soon, the company is still expanding service in these cities: Aliso Viejo, Anaheim, Brea, Buena Park, Costa Mesa, Fountain Valley, Fullerton, Garden Grove, La Habra, La Palma, Laguna Hills, Laguna Niguel, Mission Viejo, Orange, Placentia, Rancho Santa Margarita, San Juan Capistrano, Santa Ana, Stanton, Villa Park, Westminster, and Yorba Linda. (I keep an updated list of U-verse cities HERE.)
“We’re in 220 communities now. We know what’s standard or not,” Diamond said.
Previous U-Verse news:
Check out the Gadgetress Guide to local TV services
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BEFORE YOU GUYS COMPLAINING ABOUT GETTING ATT U-VERSE, LET ME GIVE YOU THE PROBLEM THAT WE HAVE SINCE SIGNING UP FOR AT-T U-VERSE. BATTERY FOR REMOTE CONTROL HAVE TO BE CHANGE CONSTANTLY. IT LAST ABOUT 2 MONTHS COMPARES TO MY UNIVERSE REMOTE CONTROL THAT LAST MORE THAN A YEAR. THEY REPLACE 7 DVD BOX IN LESS THAN 1 YEARS. I STILL HAVE PROBLEMS WITH THE BOX SUCH AS SWITCH CHANNELS AND THE PICTURE FREEZE, RECORD TV SHOWS START AND END AT THE WRONG TIME, HAVE TO RESET THE BOX DAILY WHEN IT DOES NOT RESPOND.
Yikes! There may be advice from other U-verse users at the U-verse forum board: utalk.att.com/utalk.
…where to start…
Maybe command of the English language?
Oh, the key to the left (izquierdo) of the ‘A’ key is how you can turn Caps Lock off.
I have 3 remotes with U-Verse and have had the service since January 2009 (we watch our main TV 3 to 5 hours per day)…I have NOT replaced a battery yet in my remotes so unless you are watching TV more than 16 hours a day then that would be the problem. Second, I had picture freeze and some other problems but they were from the connections being used from my old cable companies equipment, it started to occur after the addition of more channels and my box was not receiving the upgrades properly. Once the cabling was replaced and connections upgraded I have not had a problem. Also consider that if you are recording more than one program (4 is the max), watch on more than one TV, use computers, watch in HD you will get some lag…remember it is a computer box you are using not an antenna on the roof or cable or sattelite. Also, you may have a problem being on the edge of the service area, actually away from the switch box which may also contribute (unlikely because they would not install a system with a weak signal–it happend to me when they first rolled it out).
So, check your wiring, watch less TV to conserve your remote battery, call their customer service and have them fix the problem and get the card of the technician who did the work so they can continue to trouble shoot. They have trucks all over my area and have had them dispatch a truck at the end of the day so it’s not like cable where you have to wait 2 weeks.
Good luck.
Here’s my comment about these boxes being graffiti magnets…any wall, electric box, telephone box, or tree is a target. These cities are just trying to make it difficult and the only way for people to get this service is to go to council meetings, submit a petition and demand that AT&T be allowed to roll out the system. They will bend, plus in addition putting in these boxes it will enable them to upgrade existing telephone systems making it better for its customers. Putting these boxes underground is just not practical. There are many above ground boxes that will just be replaced with the newer boxes as I understand it. In the area around my house boxes were replaced and upgraded (never lost any phone or tv service during this time because I had cable and Vonage–so maybe people had some problems). So maybe the cities should put in as part of the agreement to maintain the boxes (duh, they already do) and paint them when vandals violate them (again, they do). So what’s the problem?
You have it 100% right about the excuse about above ground boxes only being objectionable because of possible graffiti. They could also be driven into by a drunk in an out of control car, or some fool walking a baby in a stroller could run off the sidewalk into the side of the box.
All crap reasons. If they want the service, this sort of crap will vanish, plain and simple.
They can not even get the cell service right for God’s sake. I would not even begin to trust them for TV service. They tell me I am located right between 2 cell towers within a mile and a half from me and I can not even get a signal in my own home, I live off of Warner and Bolsa Chica in H.B. Every time I contact them about it I just get the run around, nobody has any answers as to why this persists. I have had their reps. tell me they get many complaints about this from the area but yet they choose not to address the problem. Keep your cable or sat. service folks, you will be glad you did.
I agree Dennis, ATT cell service is dismal. I have Verizon for personal, and ATT for business… miserable coverage.
Now, U-Verse… more red tape from these cosmetically happy cities. These residents (many of them) pay almost 1%/ year for Melloroos, and have to have further limitations imposed? Is Cox cable gifting things to the city boards? I think so. If you live in an association (much of Irvine), you usually can’t have satallite, if you face east/ north, no Satallite… if you live in IAC appartments, no satallite… who does that leave? Cox cable…. so of course they are the biggest opponent of the ATT service. I have heard good things about U-Verse, I hope they get this crappola settled up soon.
I gave them a try, but after going through 2 HD-DVRs in less than two months, I switched back to DirecTV. U-verse was nice when it worked, but he hardware problems weren’t worth the benefit.
Wow. You gave an entirely new technology platform 60 days. Patience isn’t a virtue, huh???
60 DAYS! Wow patience gets thrown out the door IMHO long, long before that when dealing with cable, telephone or satellite
We have had U-Verse for about a year here in Riverside. It had some glitches at the beginning (new technology and all…), but the signal, picture quality, online programming access, et al is EXCELLENT!
The VRAD box (the subject of so much city complaining) is right across the street from me. It looks just like any other city/utility box strewn across the neighborhood. Any city rep complaining about the box is blowing smoke. They’re just trying to either 1. protect their cozy, financial backscratch relationship with the entrenched cable companies, or 2. extort more $$$ from the new players like AT&T.
I work for a utility and fully understand how these cities work. They constantly have their hand out and are excellent at placing barriers not to just AT&T, but any business that wants to grow and prosper. This is a shadowy form of corruption, under the guise of “protecting their citizens”. It is truly unfortunate that a superior system isn’t allowed to compete with the entrenched cable company. These cities should be doing everything they can to get AT&T in the door.
Current state law gives the telecom providers all the power when it comes to rolling out services. Cities no longer franchise these companies, the state does.
There are some legitimate concerns with putting boxes above ground but most of the time, cities can do little to stop this practice. Portraying these huge companies as underdogs against the dastardly cities is the funniest part of KO’s post.
We have been happy with U-Verse. If we do (infrequently) have a problem, the phone technical service people are great. We had the freezing problem, too, which was solved by replacing our old cables. We love being able to record up to 4 channels at one time (especially when the new TV season starts). With shows now running 62-64 minutes, Direct-TV would go crazy with the overlap.
u-verse is a joke. they made an appt. to come install it at my place. then told me i would have to wait 30 days. since i use their dsl now, i would have to disconnect it, wait 30 days without an isp, then they would install the uverse. that is a horrible way to try to transition customers over. u have to cancel the dsl before the appointment can be set for Uverse. that is NOT an option for me, no thanks. when is that picture of the box from? 1970?
I believe most Orange County cities who deny ATT UVerse do so because of being lobbied by other interests such as Time Warner or Comcast Cable. City Mangements is, most likely, receiving free cable
as well as some bucks added to their campaign war chest therefore creating BS obstacles which add sufficent cost to keep AT&T from moving forward. Suggest they allow the people to make the decision rather than an autocratic decision behind closed doors at special meetings. Just an opinion!!
I’ve had AT&T U-verse in my home in Orange for about a year and I am not satisfied. I get CONSTANT picture freeze and Internet connection interruption. AT&T has replaced the wiring and the residential portal, but the problems continue. The last AT&T technician recommended I just get used to it. I was not amused.
Fifteen years ago, when I asked Pac Bell (Now AT&T) why I couldn’t get DSL, their response was that in Mission Viejo, I was too far from the CO (Central Office), but they were going to be putting in underground mini-CO vaults so I’d be able to have DSL within three years.
Still no vaults, still no DSL, and no U-Verse.
So I’m stuck with COX cable.
I already have two eyesores on my right of way courtesy of AT&T, an antiquated utility pole and an often graffitied main box. They wanted to add the above ground uverse box that has a loud fan by the way right outside our master bedroom window, I contacted the city attorney’s office and let them know what would happen if they allowed a third bit of property value reducing blight outside my home. AT& T has to now build it across the street where there is nothing to disturb but a garage along the alley. It’s 2009, build it underground like other areas of the country have been doing since the 70s or don’t do it at all. While I have to endure their slow DSL, I will not subsribe to their glitchy excuse for TV service. Directv works just fine and at least they have decent customer service.
I’ve had U-verse for 2 months now and my experience has been great. I was fortunate that I moved to Santa Ana where the service is available. The HD lineup is huge compared to what I had with cable and the Internet is faster. Its good to have a choice.
AT&T went for a business model of copper to houses using existing wiring. It was based on idea that they could take their TV in cheaply then skirt local ords that require new services be buried. Now they are saying “we’re a utility!” and shouldn’t be bound by ordinances for cities. Well it looks like they got caught with bad business model. If the gas company could deliver natual gas easier above ground should they be exempt too? Poor AT&T should buck up and do it right! Did I say poor AT&T? … isn’t that like saying jumbo shrimp?
ATT tried to install Uverse at my home yesterday after constantly hounding us to try it. It might be good or bad but they have not updated the wiring since it was installed in my tract in early 70′s and the signal quality is not able to support Uverse. I found out yesterday that I am the second home on my street to try uverse and neither worked.
I know in my neighborhood in Newport the above ground boxes would never work. The picture shows it in a parkway and we don’t have those in several parts of Newport, it’s house or front lawn, sidewalk, curb, street. There is barely 4′ between my garage door and the street, to put a box on my block would cause the sidewalk to be blocked or they’d have to eliminate an on-street parking spot – not likely in Balboa. Undergrounding is also difficult and costly because of the high water table. I just watched them underground our utility poles and it wasn’t pretty – and we were assessed (a lot) for that. I can’t imagine wanting to do that for free with the hope of maybe getting customers.