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AT&T U-verse TV non-update update for Orange County

March 31st, 2010, 11:30 am by

Readers searching for an alternative TV service have been asking for months: Any updates on the AT&T U-verse roll out?

It’s been 8 months since last summer’s series detailing the company’s decision to stop pursuing 7 Orange County cities, including Cypress, Dana Point, Irvine, Lake Forest, Newport Beach, San Clemente and Tustin. AT&T ran into roadblocks with the city governments to install large utility boxes above ground. The cities wanted underground structures. AT&T decided it wasn’t worth the time or money.

So, what’s happened since? AT&T just got back to me with an answer and you’re probably not going to like it.

“No updates to report on the OC cities,” said Katie Keating, with AT&T.

More on the U-verse impasse

> More on U-verse Impasse<

Keep in mind, U-verse has expanded tremendously in the past year. According to the company’s 2009 earnings report, it doubled the number of U-verse customers to 2.1 million and it still plans to make the service available to 30 million by the end of next year.

AT&T continues to market to new customers in 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.

But like the other newish TV service, Verizon FiOS, there have been no expansions into new cities. This week, the Associated Press reported Verizon is winding down FiOS expansion. We already knew this was happening in Orange County last year and the company confirmed as much just a few months ago.  If you can’t get FiOS today, you probably won’t be getting it for a very, very long time. Sounds like the same is true with U-verse, at least for the 7 cities previously mentioned.

There is still some hope that Orange County cities will get fiber Internet, if not TV service. Google’s recent pitch to help out cities build fiber networks did attract some local attention. Fullerton, Mission Viejo and Anaheim all made a bid (read earlier story: “Orange County doesn’t go crazy for Google’s 1 gbps fiber Internet“).

More on U-verse:

Posted in: Video & TV • • • • • • • • • • • | 25 Comments »

Watch O.C.’s Super Bowl 2010 TV commercials

February 7th, 2010, 10:12 am by

It’s a big year for Orange County’s tech-minded companies. Three are involved in Super Bowl ads, airing today. We got them ahead of time and have set them up to be available once they appear on TV. Until then, you’ll just see some blank spots below and will need to satisfy yourself with the extra filler.

Read the rest of this entry »

Vizio, HDTV company in Irvine
Please enable Javascript and Flash to view this Brightcove video.

Posted in: news • • • • • • • • • | 4 Comments »

O.C. Agency’s Super Bowl ad mixes The Who, hip hop and Haiti

February 5th, 2010, 3:35 pm by

Peter AddertonWho could forget those crazy Boost Mobile commercials with senior citizens dancing and talking “10 kinds of nasty.” Thank Peter Adderton for that.

The Australian native, (pictured on right) who founded and later left Boost, says that Boost was all about marketing a new brand aimed at the untapped youth market. Branding and marketing is his expertise.

Adderton, who never left Orange County, is at it again on Sunday with Super Bowl XLIV. This time, with his new advertising firm Agency 3.0 in Newport Beach, he developed three TV commercials for some other company: Flo TV, the mobile TV service from San Diego’s Qualcomm Inc (see earlier story, “Qualcomm’s tiny 3.5-inch TV coming this holiday“). The goal is to get consumers familiar with the service, which offers TV shows in a moving car, on your phone and out shopping when you’d rather watch a football game.

“That’s where our strength is. We launched the brand (Boost) and used wireless to push that through,” said Adderton, explaining how he went from founding mobile phone companies to an ad agency.  ”Flo TV is an extension of our expertise in that area.”

Added Feb. 6: Peek at Flo TV’s “Moments” Super Bowl ad with Black Eyed Peas’ will.i.am remixed “My Generation” by The Who:

YouTube Preview Image Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Cell phones • Video & TV • • • • • • • • • • • • • • | 2 Comments »

Psssst: Digital cable TV is cheaper than analog cable

December 17th, 2009, 9:22 am by

Time Warner Cable signHere’s a little known fact about cable TV service from Time Warner Cable: Digital cable is cheaper than analog.

In Orange County, Time Warner’s digital cable package includes 200 channels, on-demand video and one special tier of channels (movies, variety, sports, etc.) for $50.95. This is the published rate, not a special promotion. You will need to rent a digital cable box for $6/month.

Basic analog cable, which is $55.50 to $58 per month depending on what city you live in, offers much less. That number shrunk this week as Time Warner moved some of these analog channels (ABC Family, The Weather Channel, TruTV) to digital to make room for more digital services for the majority of its customers. Time Warner has said that 80 percent of its Southern California customers are digital subscribers. Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Video & TV • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • | 48 Comments »

AT&T explains why it can’t build its TV service underground

August 18th, 2009, 7:40 am by

Where is AT&T's U-verse service? 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?

Closeup

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?

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Video & TV • • • • • • • • • • | 24 Comments »

Permit hassles stymie AT&T U-verse in Newport Beach

July 7th, 2009, 5:33 pm by

Where is AT&T's U-verse service? Readers: This is part of an ongoing series of updates on what happened to the U-verse rollout in Orange County. So keep checking back!

It’s been a year since the city of Newport Beach last heard from AT&T and its proposed TV service called U-verse.  The city, one of seven in Orange County that AT&T has decided to stop pursuing, said that AT&T’s application hasn’t been denied. It’s just incomplete.

Steve Badum, public works director for the city, cited several unresolved issues. A city ordinance requires public utilities to be built underground whenever possible and so far, AT&T hasn’t offered a reason why the large U-verse boxes can’t be built underground.

More on the U-verse impasse

Also, AT&T’s permit application offered just a few locations for these boxes. The city’s attorney needs all locations in order to verify whether the project would stand up to the California Environmental Quality Act.

“We haven’t actually denied them. We just said they had an incomplete permit,” Badum said. “Part of the problem they have in older cities is … they are fiber to the node, which requires an additional box next to every distribution box they have. In Newport Beach, a lot of our sidewalks are three-to-four feet wide so putting a box in would cause an ADA (American with Disabilities Act) violation.” Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Video & TV • • • • • • • | 3 Comments »

AT&T U-verse comes to a halt in Irvine, 6 other O.C. cities

July 6th, 2009, 12:14 pm by

AT&T U-verse

Major correction on this post, which earlier was titled, “AT&T U-verse TV expanding to Cypress, Dana Point, elsewhere.” 

In fact, H. Gordon Diamon, AT&T’s public affairs representative, said that it has been so difficult to get permits in seven Orange County cities that the company has stopped applying for them.

“Specifically, the seven cities that I mentioned to you are not issuing us any permits so we have, in fact, stopped submitting them,” he said. Earlier, he said that AT&T U-verse was “working to secure the required permits for the upgrade” in these seven cities:

The U-verse impasse
  1. Irvine
  2. Cypress
  3. Dana Point
  4. Lake Forest
  5. Newport Beach
  6. San Clemente
  7. Tustin

The company still offers service in five of those seven cities — to all those lucky enough to get it before AT&T ran up against local bureaucracy. Two other cities — Cypress and Dana Point — are new to the list of cities AT&T was targeting. That’s too bad for those residents who were seeking an alternative TV service.

UPDATE: I’m checking with every city to see what happened in regards to AT&T. One has told me that it’s due to aesthetics but it hasn’t officially denied AT&T’s request. Watch for a full report on this blog soon. Meanwhile, I’m also responding to comments below.

Here’s the original post, corrected as necessary with changes in bold and red:

Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Video & TV • • • • • • • • • • • | 39 Comments »

iPhone 3GS lines start; Here’s where you can get one in O.C.

June 18th, 2009, 5:27 pm by

Boxes of iPhone 3GS on their way to stores for June 19 launch.Another summer, another iPhone. The new iPhone 3GS goes on sale as early as 7 a.m. Friday (June 19) and if you’re smart, you would have pre-ordered the phone online or from a store. But if you didn’t, you can still get your hands on one if you’re willing to get to a store early and wait in line.

According to Irvine Spectrum mall officials, customers are already in line in front of the Apple store as the long night begins. (It’s even been Tweeted, with pics of course. See who’s Twittering about lines at the Irvine store  HERE.)

Sonya “iGirl” Smith, the OC Register’s resident iPhone expert, won’t be in line tonight, as she has been for the past two years. She ordered her 3GS the day it was announced and now eagerly awaits its arrival via snail mail. She has already shared her initial thoughts with readers, which I appreciate since I’m not an iPhone user.

Candice Shih, who pens the South Coast Plaza blog (yes, we have a reporter covering just South Coast Plaza!), will be checking in on lines at 7 a.m. Friday, and reporting her findings right here. I’ll also be posting updates throughout the day on sell-outs, lines, etc.

For those who plan to get a phone Friday, please know that people who pre-ordered will have priority at AT&T stores and most everywhere else. It does look like some Apple stores in Orange County will let people in line buy a phone as early as 7 a.m. See details below.

Apple Stores

Orange County’s Apple stores open at 7 a.m. (though some stores say 8 a.m. on their phone message). Expect two lines, one for pre-orders, one for everyone else. See more details about individual stores below:

  • Brea Mall, 1065 Brea Mall, Space #1024A, Brea, CA 92821, 714-255-5610. Store opens at 7 a.m.
  • Fashion Island, 367 Newport Center Drive, Newport Beach, CA 92660, 949-729-4433, Store opens at 7 a.m. Mall officials plan to let people line up starting at 7 a.m. but you might try getting their earlier.
  • Irvine Spectrum, 85 Fortune Dr. #311, Irvine, CA 92618, 949-255-1500. Store opens at 7 a.m. Your best bet if you want to line up all night. People are in line right now (Thursday afternoon), according to the mall.
  • South Coast Plaza, 3333 Bear St., Costa Mesa, CA 92626, 714-424-6331. Store opens at 7 a.m. Mall officials plan to let people line up starting at 4 a.m.
  • The Shops at Mission Viejo, 936C The Shops at Mission Viejo, Mission Viejo, CA 92691, 949-365-0727. Store opens at 7 a.m.

Boxes of iPhone 3GS on their way to stores for June 19 launch.

AT&T Stores

For those heading to AT&T stores (you can search for O.C. locations HERE), the stores open at 7 a.m. but only to allow customers who pre-ordered and notified by e-mail to leave with a phone.

Doors open for everyone else at 8 a.m. If you pre-ordered and miss the 7 a.m. opening, AT&T will let you go to the front of the line until 9 a.m. However, if you pre-ordered a phone and got confirmation that the phone is available, then an iPhone 3GS with your name on it will be waiting at the store no matter what time. You just may not be able to cut in line though if you arrive after 9 a.m. Don’t forget: Bring your receipt!

If you pre-ordered online at AT&T, your phone should arrive beginning Friday. Others could come as late as 14 days from now.

Elsewhere Read the rest of this entry »

Posted in: Apple mania • Cell phones • iPhone • • • • • • • • • • | 2 Comments »

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