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The Gadgetress ~ TV, mobile and Internet: Covering technology's monthly bill

Archive for the 'U-Verse' Tag

AT&T U-verse raising TV, phone, Internet prices in 2010

December 21st, 2009, 12:26 pm by

UPDATE, at 4:29 p.m.: AT&T says Internet price increases affect new customers only and not existing customers. TV prices affect everyone.

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AT&T U-verseNo AT&T U-verse service goes untouched by the latest round of price hikes for 2010. Most customers will see a $3 to $5 increase in their monthly bill when the new prices go into effect Feb. 1, 2010, confirmed an AT&T spokeswoman.

U-verse, which offers phone, TV and fast Internet service, is available in several Orange County cities. Here is a list: U-verse in O.C.

AT&T says the increased costs reflect more TV channels and better options, including more TV apps and the recent addition of 5 new HD channels. This is the company’s first price hike to its core TV service since launching in 2006.

AT&T isn’t the first to notify customers of 2010 price increases. Earlier this month, Time Warner Cable customers began receiving notices that bills were going up in January. See the earlier story: “Time Warner 2010 price hikes mostly affect those who order the least.”

AT&T provided examples for some of the price increases: Read the rest of this entry »

TV, mobile stories I couldn’t get to this week

December 18th, 2009, 3:27 pm by

File this in the stuff I just couldn’t get to but thought was interesting for readers:

Here’s what I spent my time on this week:

Have a good weekend!

AT&T U-verse gets Cartoon Network HD, MSNBC HD, 3 more HD

December 14th, 2009, 9:30 am by

AT&T U-verseNoted: For those in Orange County who can order TV service from AT&T, a few more high-definition channels of interest are launching. The company said today it added 5 new HD channels for its U-verse TV customers. Those channels are:

  • Cartoon Network HD
  • MSNBC HD
  • TV One HD
  • TBN HD (begins Dec. 15).
  • WFN: World Fishing Network HD

The new channels join existing U-verse HD service, except for the World Fishing Network, which is part of the HD Premium Tier.

“Customers don’t think of HD as bonus content anymore. HD is now the norm,” said Dan York, executive vice president of content and programming, AT&T Converged Services.

AT&T also added two foreign-language, non-HD channels:

  • VivaTV, a 24-hour Filipino-language channel that joins the Filipino Package.
  • TVBe, a Cantonese-language channel, which is $17 a month.

U-verse is only available in certain parts of 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. For more details and an archive of older U-verse stories, please visit the Gadgetress Guide to U-verse, at gadgetress.freedomblogging.com/uverse.

Recent new channel announcements:

AT&T U-verse hits 2 million users today, no O.C. updates

December 9th, 2009, 3:26 pm by

AT&T U-verseNoted: AT&T U-verse service expects to sign up its 2 millionth customer today.

That means the company, which launched its alternative TV service in Orange County in 2007, has doubled the number of subscribers this year.

U-verse is still one of the smaller TV services available nationwide. Verizon FiOS, another Internet-based TV service, had 2.7 million by the end of September. Time Warner Cable has about 13 million customers while DirecTV has 18 million.

Currently in Orange County, U-verse is available in parts of 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.

Earlier this year, AT&T halted expansion in 7 cities in Orange County because of difficulties getting permits approved. A spokesperson from AT&T confirmed today that there are no updates on the U-verse status of these cities. Read the original series: “The AT&T U-verse impasse in O.C.

Recent U-verse stories:

AT&T U-verse Internet speeding up to 24 Mbps

December 9th, 2009, 12:17 pm by

AT&T U-verseAT&T U-verse’s Internet service is ramping up to 24 Mbps downstream and 3 Mbps up.

The faster “Max Turbo” service is rolling out first in St. Louis, Mo., and Austin and San Antonio in Texas, but it should reach other markets “in the coming months,” according to AT&T. With special promotions and bundle discounts, the upgrade is $65 a month. Otherwise, according to U-verse’s price page, it starts at $75. Small business customers can order it for $95 a month.

While not quite Verizon FiOS fast, the new U-verse speed is faster than what AT&T offers in Orange County, which tops out at 18 Mbps. Comparably, Verizon FiOS offers 50 Mbps down, 20 Mbps up. The local cable companies are in the 10 to 15 Mbps range.

Interestingly, in cable news today, DSL Reports writes that Cox Communications is launching 50 Mbps Internet service in Las Vegas. It offers faster service via DOCSIS 3.0 technology and has rolled out similar services in Rhode Island, Arizona, Northern Virginia and Lafayette, LA.

Time Warner Cable has also launched 50 Mbps Internet using DOCSIS 3.0 in other parts of the country, most notably in New York.

Recent AT&T U-verse stories:

Forget snail mail, text Santa your wishlist this year

November 21st, 2009, 8:03 am by

Track Santa Claus this Christmas Eve.Noted: With this week’s earlier hubbub about the North Pole not accepting “Dear Santa” letters this year (apparently, this just got cleared up), AT&T customers offers another method: Texting.

If children, um, parents text SANTA to 1224 between now and Dec. 24, they will get an invite from the jolly man himself to send their wish lists. Thanks to a “special agreement” between AT&T and the North Pole, the texts will be free. More details HERE.

Those AT&T customers who also subscribe to AT&T U-verse TV service can track Santa’s movements on Christmas Eve with the Santa Tracker service on Channel 98. The channel should have enough arts and crafts ideas, music sing-alongs and holiday games to keep the kids occupied.

More stories on mobile service:

Movie coupons, caller ID, ESPN are latest U-verse TV apps

November 17th, 2009, 12:58 pm by

AT&T U-verse adds coupons on demandThere are three more things AT&T U-verse customers can do on their TV: See who’s calling on the phone, watch four ESPN channels at the same time (for ESPN Full Court customers only) and get instant discounts on movies on demand.

None of these “apps” are that new for the industry. But all are useful. This brings the U-verse TV apps count to 20.

To get an instant $2 discount, U-verse customers just turn to channel 200, get the code, and redeem the coupon instantly on channel 199. Customers can also go to U-verse’s customer Web site and get the discount code. The first coupon will be available on Monday, Nov. 23. If you’re also an AT&T Wireless customer, you can get coupon alerts send to your phone by texting “On Demand” to 9696.

The discount movie coupon is something I hope cable providers will soon add. Time Warner, for example, does offer local coupons on demand (they’re actually sent by snail mail), but to get discounts on its on-demand movie library, customers have to snail-mail back a paper coupon with their monthly bill.

AT&T U-verse adds caller ID for TV users.The onscreen Caller ID feature is, of course, only for customers who get home phone and TV service from AT&T. The feature also notifies TV viewers of new voicemails. The messages pop up in a small box on the TV screen for six seconds. This feature is coming soon and right now, only available in Austin, Tex. (AT&T, after all, is based in Texas.)

Lastly, ESPN Full Court package subscribers can watch four basketball games on the same screen on channels 4500 and 621. The package is priced at $105 through Nov. 28.

Here’s AT&T’s official video about how the new apps work: Read the rest of this entry »

AT&T U-verse TV available to 3 million California homes

October 21st, 2009, 9:12 am by

AT&T U-verse

Thanks everyone who left a comment about AT&T U-verse availability in your neighborhood. I’m going to update my map. Stay tuned for a link… For everyone else, please continue to let me know by commenting below if you can order U-verse.
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Slowly but surely, AT&T’s TV service called U-verse is popping up in cities across the state. The company says the service, an alternative to cable TV, is now available to 3 million homes in California.

Service, however, is not available to everyone living in the 225 cities and counties where U-verse is offered statewide. This is because AT&T relies on local city governments to allow facility upgrades within neighborhoods and not all cities have obliged, saying they don’t want more ugly boxes decorating city streets.

In Orange County, U-verse is available in certain parts of  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.

Originally, AT&T had targeted more cities but dropped its pursuit after running into roadblocks with the cities. Those cities include Irvine, Laguna Woods, Newport Beach, San Clemente and Tustin. (See earlier coverage on the slowdown in Orange County on this page: “The AT&T U-verse impasse in O.C.

Question of the day: Can you order AT&T U-verse TV at your house? Help me track the service and tell me where you are by leaving a comment below. Leaving your zip code would be informative. Thanks!

But as part of this week’s announcement, the company says it invested nearly $7.9 billion in wireless and wireline (which includes U-verse) networks in the state between 2006 and 2008. It even quotes Anaheim Mayor Curt Pringle, who applauds AT&T’s move:

“I have always believed that choice and competition in the marketplace benefits consumers,” said Anaheim Mayor Curt Pringle. “AT&T’s commitment to deliver a choice for video and high-speed Internet to the residents of Anaheim, and to hundreds of other cities across the state, has only reinforced this belief. Consumers win when businesses compete.”

There’s no mention of how many of those 3 million potential customers actually subscribe. Those numbers could possibly come out Thursday during the company’s next earnings report.

At last count, AT&T U-verse’s TV service had 1.6 million subscribers nationwide in June (see earlier: “AT&T’s U-verse TV jumps to 1.6 million subscribers“). Comparably, Verizon FiOS, another new cable TV alternative, had 2.5 million customers. Both services continue to grow while cable TV companies reported a decline in subscribers.

Recent TV service news:


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