AT&T's 24Mbps U-verse broadband hits 22 new states, 120 new markets
By Tim Stevens 
posted March 30th 2010 9:36AM
posted March 30th 2010 9:36AM
Maybe you're sick of waiting for FiOS, maybe Time Warner or Comcast have rubbed you the wrong way, or maybe you just really want in on that mobile DVR action AT&T announced last week. Whatever the reason, if you're interested in U-verse the Max Turbo broadband service now available in 120 new markets across 22 states. That entails maximum download speeds of 24Mbps with 3Mbps upstream -- less than half the maximum speed offered by Verizon or most cable companies, but its cost of $65 per month actually makes it quite competitive against mid-tier broadband plans. What AT&T hasn't said is exactly which new states and markets can now join in the fun, but there's an availability checker on the site that will quickly tell you the good or bad news.
wake me up when they reach ludicrous speed
@skyblaze
IMO for 65$ that for 24Mbps just isn't worth it. I pay that for 50 from my cable company
@skyblaze
What would you consider ludicrous speeds?
@skyblaze
Until just a couple of months ago we were running subpar dial-up. Now we are using subpar satellite because these and mobile broadband are our only options where we live. Speeds like this would be a blessing for us.
@PlatinumSkeet 88 mph
@PlatinumSkeet That's an easy one to answer. When the bandwidth available to me exceeds the bandwidth I could possibly use, ever.
@PlatinumSkeet wasn't there an article on here a while back about some people in the Netherlands having 200Mbps connections?
@PlatinumSkeet
Plaid.
@skyblaze Wake me up when they don't force you to go into debt just to get their service. They don't let you sign up without a credit card (no, bank cards don't count). That's asking too much for some folks (like me) who do not and will not get a credit card (for whatever reason). If a deposit for the equipment isn't good enough, eff em.
@thesafecigarette
You realize that with cable internet you are sharing bandwidth with your neighbors, right? That means that you are using a fraction of the 50 Mbps.
DSL is a direct line, so you get to use ALL 24 Mbps that you are paying for.
@sweet greggo I didn't need a credit card to sign up for the service. Then again I've been an AT&T phone and dsl customer from before. Got the full uverse package and again no credit card required. Even got $350 in rebates up front with no contract.
@PlatinumSkeet Gigabit up/down, no cap. For residential service, I'm pretty sure that would classify as ludicrous speed.
@thesafecigarette
You people need to be thankful. I pay $50 for 6Mbps speeds where I live and that's as fast as it gets.
@thesafecigarette Maybe it's not competitive for you. I wonder how many other people don't have access to your cable company?
The problem I have is that there's no way I can even pay the cable company to lay a cable my direction, and my stretch of road doesn't have enough people to make it worth their money laying cable.
@JDM same here
@thesafecigarette Yeah I paid 50 same speed
Who even cares???? THey choke the network so bad anyway, that I would get excited now-a-days just to get the 6mbps that I pay for
@EzB
We average 15-17 on our 18mbps package in CT, and that's tested on a wireless connection too
@z0phi3l Ditto, I have the 18/2 package and usually get 17.3/1.5 all day long. Using multistream downloads from MSDN I usually get all 17 of that flowing on down the line too. The only thing I'm annoyed by is that they have had the 18/2 pack priced down to $55 a month for the last 2 months but I was still being charged $65. 6/1 more bandwidth, hopefully now, makes it a little easier to deal with.
meh....I'll stick with WOW..........
It's amazing that U-verse is so awesome but AT&T Mobility is such garbage. It's almost like they're two separate companies.
@jgp U-verse is awesome?? LMAO...compared to what? REGULAR DSL?
Dont get me wrong its an OK service, but its far from Awesome.....
@Chris DPSN AggieCEO XBLThe Aggi
Let's see...
AT&T doesn't throttle BitTorrent or cap bandwidth like cable companies do, nor do they block ports 80 and 25 like FiOS does. AT&T doesn't give a shit about what you do with your connection as long as you pay the bill on time, which is exactly how I like it.
AT&T lets me hook up everything, including all TV STBs, with Cat5e instead of coax. I don't have a single foot of coax in my house. Name one other provider that lets me have coax-free TV; even satellite companies use coax.
Exclusing power outages, I've never had a single service outage with U-verse in the nearly three years I've had it. Back when I had Time Wanker (and Cockcast before that), I could expect multiple service outages per week.
U-verse lets me watch or record four TV streams simultaneously. Cable companies only give you two streams.
@jgp I have TWC...I have had 3 outages in the past 4 years..each time...my power was out too so that was no big deal.....as for the throttling yeah....that does blow ass...but I haven't noticed it on downloads...just uploads...
what cable company only gives you 2 streams? at last check U-verse was the one that lets you only have 2 HD streams & 1 SD stream per house at a time...or 4 SD streams....which sucks when you have 5 TVs....not to mention I would need a box for EVERY TV as opposed to currently with cable I don't....I have 2 DVR boxes and can record 4 things at once....6 things if I include my PC...which BTW I dont need a STB for either....sorry you had bad experiences with TWC and Comcast....but AT&T has a ways to go tech wise before I consider them "AWESOME" i.e. not make be put down a deposit before I can get long distance service....or not have pixelated TV service....or allow me to have move than 5 HD channels watched in my house at a time.....
@jgp
"AT&T doesn't throttle BitTorrent or cap bandwidth like cable companies do, nor do they block ports 80 and 25 like FiOS does. AT&T doesn't give a shit about what you do with your connection as long as you pay the bill on time, which is exactly how I like it"
If you knew how to download the right way you wouldn't have those issues...
@jgp As far as I can tell, TWC doesn't throttle your upload on BT, they just give you ass upload in the first place. If they do, someone please tell me.
@Chris DPSN AggieCEO XBLThe Aggi
You had to put down a deposit because your credit blew ass, or you had piss poor payment history.
Not once has AT&T asked for a deposit from me. I have moved atleast 5 times and cancelled and re-applied for service each time (if I have internet I won't finish unpacking or moving in) and never was a deposit required for the 200+ Dollars of service asked for.
I also don't have to pay a mandatory installation fee for my internet, nor do I have to lease a modem for 3 dollars a month. I pay my bill and the hardware is free, if it craps out they replace it for free.
People can bash AT&T all they want, the fact of the matter is they are the BEST overall experience out there. Even if they are lagging behind in the speed department.
Maybe it will finally launch in the Greensboro/Winston-Salem/High Point market.....they have been setting up for it for well over a year now and I have yet to hear anything about it actually launching here. Not that I will get it, but it should make some nice competition for TWC and get me a lower price...
This is frustrating. I have AT&T U-Verse that is delivered via FTTP. Yet I am stuck with the VDSL speeds that AT&T throws down. Not only that but apparently my market didn't get the 24mbit upgrade yet so I'm stuck at 18mbit for now.
I will say that I can pull ~18mbit any time of day though which is nice. And they've dropped the bandwidth caps which is even better.
competition is a good thing, bring on the lower prices
We live 2 miles from 1 cable company limit, and 3.1 miles from where we used to live and had Time Warner, but where we moved to the only option we have is EVDO cellular. Ugh!
Alabama Arkansas California Connecticut Florida
Georgia Illinois Indiana Kansas Kentucky
Louisiana Michigan Mississippi Missouri Nevada
North Carolina Ohio Oklahoma South Carolina Tennessee
Texas Wisconsin
These are the states listed by the Availability Checker
@BretBeermann But not in my area in Ohio....
@barry99705 Not in my area either. :(
@BretBeermann
Even if you are in a city where it is available, and AT&T DSL is available at your location, U-verse may not be. That is my situation. I just hope they make it available in my area before the trees across the road make my satellite TV reception untenable.
Comcast is available here, but if the choice is between a company that outright lied to me and OTA + online TV only, I'll go with the latter.
I don't think the availability checker has been updated yet.
@mogren
Me either. When I had it check my neighbors, it said up to 18mbit, but when I login to my account I can upgrade to 24mbit if I want.
bad luck for me :( i am n indian
@jayantraj7 An Indian living in India? What do you mean? Or did I just miss a pop culture reference?
24 Mbps available here in Memphis
If U-Verse's HD Picture Quality was better I would be all over this. But it ain't.
@Neros Fiddle Okay so I *don't* want to know what's going on with your avatar.
Are these rates for an unlimited data transfer plan ?
@analogx
for now god knows.....
All we have in our area is Comcast and ATT U-Verse/DSL. Even if Comcast comes to our area with DOCSIS 3.0 and faster speeds, I'll never go with them because of their cap.
But who knows if ATT will put one up eventually nationwide. : (
24Mbps yielded 18Mbps, so I switch to the cheaper 18Mbps plan, but it yielded 12Mbps. My question to AT&T is why can't I get the 18Mbps on the 18Mbps plan? I know it's possible, they proved in when I had the 24Mbps plan.
@Kiljoy
When I had 18mbit I was able to hit full speed the majority of the time. I've since downgraded to 6mbit but in general the speed packages seem true to what I get.
FYI I'm in Michigan.
Trying to determine when U-Verse will be available in my area has been an exercise in frustration. On the website it simply says it's not available yet. I spent 30 minutes looking for an applicable e-mail address that I could send in and ask for more details. User-generated online maps show that people within a 5 mile radius of my house have the HD service, but yet there is absolutely no info out there as to when it will be available.
I know ATT doesn't want to promise a date and then not deliver, but their alternative (i.e. complete silence other than to say "not yet") is becoming incredibly frustrating.
Suburbs of chicago can get it! Just upgraded my account!
@sinroz
but still not in Chicago