AT&T launches U-verse TV in Springfield

AT&T plans to lure Ozarks television viewers away from cable and satellite companies with a service the telecommunications company rolled out last week in the Springfield area.

Its bait is U-verse. AT&T’s TV platform offers 120 high-definition channels and 390 total channels; a digital video recorder that can record four programs at once; on-screen access to personalized stock, sports, traffic and weather information; the ability to watch four sports events on one screen; and 18-megabit-per-second Internet downloads.

On March 22, AT&T brought the service to parts of Springfield, Republic, Nixa, Battlefield and Fremont Hills. Beyond TV, AT&T also offers U-verse Internet and telephone services, which differ from the company’s traditional Internet and phone products because of the delivery method.

New methods
U-verse uses the company’s Internet Protocol network, which allows for switched video, a delivery system that provides viewers with more flexibility and control, said Kris Ryan, general manager of home solutions for AT&T’s greater Midwest region.

“With your typical cable delivery, you’re pushing all your programming through at once. With switched video, you can deliver programs one at a time,” he said.

Among the ways U-verse users can customize programming is the DVR that can record and play back four programs at once from any room in the house.

“You can pause your show on one television and pick up where you left off in another room,” Ryan said.

Another feature, called multiview, plays four programs on one TV screen, giving viewers options between sports, news or family categories. Also, from the U-bar screen, users can customize and access sports, stocks, weather and traffic reports, Ryan said while demonstrating the service last week at AT&T’s South Campbell Avenue store.

A tie-in with Yahoo! creates the opportunity for users to follow seasonal sports interactively, bringing up college basketball brackets during tournament season, for example.

“If you have a Yahoo! Fantasy football team, Yahoo! will scroll your fantasy team scores at the bottom of the screen on Sundays,” Ryan said.

Internet speeds also improve with the U-verse service, AT&T officials say. AT&T’s DSL Elite Internet service promises speeds of up to 6 megabits per second and downloads of 768 kilobits per second. With U-Verse’s Max Plus Internet service, downloads increase to as much as 18 mbps, upstreaming at 1.5 mpbs.

Branching out
The company uses existing fiber-optic technology to expand its service, and follows a two-prong approach called “fiber-to-the-node” and “fiber-to-the-premises,” Ryan said.

Fiber-to-the-node pushes fiber-optics further into residential areas to a network junction, where the service is delivered to the home via copper wiring. The average distance the service travels over copper is 2,500 feet, according to AT&T fact sheets. Fiber-to-the-premises brings fiber-optic wiring straight into the residence, and is primarily installed in new construction within the 22-state AT&T footprint, Ryan said.

The expansion of the service has grown relatively quickly since AT&T launched U-Verse in San Antonio in June 2006, Ryan said. The service entered Missouri markets the following year, rolling out in Kansas City in March 2007 and St. Louis in December 2007.

“Now, there are more than 120 cities where U-verse is offered,” Ryan said.

At the end of 2009, U-Verse had 2.07 million TV subscribers, according to AT&T. By the end of 2011, AT&T’s goal is to have the U-verse network available to 30 million living units, which can be a home, apartment unit or vacant lot, according to AT&T spokeswoman Marisa Giller.

Competitive roll-outs
AT&T’s entrance into the Springfield TV market comes at the same time one of its competitors, cable provider Mediacom Communications Corp., is busy making its own improvements.

In December, Mediacom launched its Ultra 50 high-speed Internet service, said Larry Peterson, regional vice president of operations, who works in Mediacom’s Springfield office. The service downloads at 50 megabits per second and uploads at 15 mbps and is offered to business and residential customers.

Mediacom uses fiber-optics and a process called cable bonding – essentially, taking two channels and bonding them together – to improve transfer speeds, said Thomas Larsen, Mediacom’s vice president of legal and public affairs. It, too, brings fiber to a node, and uses coaxial cable to connect to homes.

The N.Y.-based cable company also is building a virtual transport network between Springfield and Des Moines, Iowa, which will enable an across-the-board digital simulcast, Peterson said.

“Right now, we still carry some analog channels due to the overall cable architecture,” he said. “If you have a digital converter, you’re going to see a big improvement in quality.”

The virtual transport network, which is expected to roll out by June 1, also provides Mediacom with a platform to launch multiroom DVRs. Subscribers would be able to record up to six programs at a time and play back up to three, officials said.

The first face off
While Mediacom has a presence in 23 states, and AT&T is in 22, the two have very few markets where they are in direct competition, said Mediacom’s Larsen, who estimated the company has 60,000 cable subscribers in southwest Missouri.

“This is one of the few places we’re seeing direct competition from AT&T,” he said.

Before the launch of U-Verse, AT&T already was a competitor of Mediacom and satellite TV provider Dish Network, through a partnership with DirecTV. AT&T and DirecTV partnered at the beginning of 2009 to offer bundled TV, phone and Internet services, Giller said. Dish Network officials could not be reached by press time.

With the addition of U-Verse, Larsen said he expects more competition.

“But we’ve been dealing with aggressive competition for years from Dish and Direct,” he added.[[In-content Ad]]