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AT&T's U-verse headed to San Antonio's Vidorra Condominiums
There's no denying that fiber providers (we're looking at you, AT&T and Verizon) are on the offensive in an attempt to get new condos, college dorms and other dwellings wired with service from day one. A fortnight after AT&T announced plans to install U-verse into a forthcoming residence hall at the University of Houston, the outfit has now made public its plans to give the same luxury to residents of Vidorra Condominiums. The 20-story high-rise development in downtown San Antonio is currently being constructed, and when it's complete, it'll offer U-verse TV / internet to every single resident. 'Course, guests to the facility may be more intrigued by the private outdoor swimming pool and the top floor "sky room," but we're sure they'll only be able to stand so much outdoor amusement before those high-def images have them running back in.
AT&T stringing U-verse to more of Austin, Texas
Just four months after AT&T ran its U-verse television service to Austin, Texas, the firm is now announcing that folks located in the outskirts can hop in, too. Right now, greater than 150,000 living units in and around Austin can access U-verse TV and internet; more specifically, we're talking about regions of Cedar Park, Leander, Pflugerville, Round Rock, Sunset Valley, and West Lake Hills. Better still, AT&T's looking to take the service even further from the city center, and given that the Lonestar State was U-verse's first (and remains its favorite, some would say), we don't doubt that one bit.
AT&T offers exclusive Olympic footage via U-verse VOD
Just over a month after we saw Verizon ink an exclusive deal to offer VOD viewing of a certain program, along comes its arch rival (one of the many, actually) pulling a similar stunt. Announced this week, AT&T will be the lone home for catching "exclusive episodes and behind-the-scenes footage of US Olympic Team hopefuls as they train for and compete in various sports." Rightfully dubbed AT&T Team USA On Demand, the new category of VOD content will "showcase episodes of USA Gymnastics Behind the Team," which will reportedly cover American athletes as they gear up for the summer games in Beijing. Unfortunately, we don't see this being available in high-definition, but it's surely a perk for U-verse subscribers who happen to be Olympic junkies on the side.
AT&T's U-verse coming to University of Houston residence hall
Just in case a free iPod touch / iPhone isn't enough to convince you to attend a certain university, how's about dorm-installed U-verse? Hailed as the first planned deployment of AT&T's fiber-based services into student housing on a college campus, the University of Houston has teamed up with the aforementioned carrier in order to bring TV and broadband internet to "every room of a 547,000-square-foot residence hall under construction for graduate and professional students." When complete, The Calhoun Lofts will be home to some 1,000 U-verse connections, and while there's nothing specific said about the availability of HD channels, we can't imagine any upstanding Cougar settling for less.
AT&T expands U-verse to more of Sacramento, California
While the Northeast seems to be getting all the love from one particular fiber provider, AT&T is looking out for those on the left coast. Announced this week, said carrier is expanding its U-verse services to more of Sacramento, California, which means that some 160,000 living units in the area can now receive U-verse TV. Since introducing the service to the region in August of last year, it has since stretched out to 17 communities, and there are already plans in place to expand even further.
U-verse bets on Vegas on Demand
Whether you've never been to Las Vegas at all, or you've been there but somehow missed your "Vegas experience" (take the Engadget team's CES week, for example), AT&T's U-verse is offering to help. Yes indeed, you can fill in that cultural void now that U-verse is offering the VOD (video on demand) programming aptly named "Vegas on Demand." Each month, you can expect about 50 of the more than 1,000 archived programs to come tumbling to you like quarters from a slot machine. In true Vegas fashion, the features will be "comped." Stretched metaphors aside, Las Vegas seems like a great place to grab some HD footage, so we're hoping the Players Network steps up to the task; then we'll see if people prefer HD Vegas to the real thing.
Realtors bring suit against U-verse
In case you've been hiding in a cave, you know the real estate market in the US is experiencing a kind of meltdown these days. It's probably no coincidence, then, that The National Association of Real Estate Brokers (NARB) has turned to a classic alternative revenue stream -- the lawsuit. NARB has brought suit against AT&T, citing the exploding batteries in some U-verse cabinets as damper on property value. NARB claims that sales in areas near the affected cabinets "will show a dramatic drop-off until their security is ensured," which will in turn negatively impact the livelihood of realtors. Oh, if only blame could be laid at the feet of "supply and demand" issues instead!
AT&T routs U-verse services to Northeastern Ohio
Not only did Clevelanders get blessed with a full-time HD channel to check out their Indians this season, but consumers in the area now have yet another option for acquiring content. Announced today, AT&T has strung U-verse service up to Northeastern Ohio, giving Columbus residents one less thing to brag about. Citizens in 135,000 living units within Cleveland, Akron and surrounding areas can now phone up the carrier and order their own fiber-based TV and internet service, but ironically enough, SportsTime Ohio HD has yet to land a carriage deal with AT&T. Decisions, decisions.
Engadget HD definitively answers: does cable, satellite, or fiber provide more HD?
You want to know -- nay, you deserve to know -- which service provides the most HD content. Engadget HD's got the answer, see how your HD provider stacks up.
Ask Engadget HD: Does cable, satellite, or fiber provide more HD?
Particularly of late, cable television providers have been bullying each other on the air and proudly proclaiming superiority in the high-definition department. One would immediately assume that there's some black and white somewhere in this equation, but honestly, things are pretty gray. Hard though it may be to believe, there actually isn't a clear cut answer to this week's Ask Engadget HD question, which comes to us from the bewildered mind of Brian: "I want an unbiased opinion, and more importantly, the facts. DISH Network is looking more and more like the leading HD provider with its weekly HD additions this past fall. However, now my local cable provider, Comcast, is running ads stating that it has More, More, More HD. My question is simple: who has more HD channels including and not including HD VOD?"The inability to find a clear cut answer hasn't stopped us from forging ahead in the past, and it won't be slowing us down today, either. Ready to plunge deep into the increasingly murky waters of HD offerings? Join us after the jump as we take a critical look at high-def options from DirecTV, DISH Network, Verizon, AT&T and a slew of traditional cable operators in order to best address the above inquiry.
AT&T brings U-verse to even more Kansas City, Missouri residents
Not even a year has passed since AT&T's own fiber-based television service wheeled into Kansas City, Missouri, but now it's delivering the U-verse goods to even more residents in the area. By expanding the service out to a new chunk of consumers, some 130,000 living units are now blanketed. As expected, users in the area can also look forward to the firm's U-bar, YellowPages.com TV and Yahoo! Games features. Ready to jump ship on your current provider? Phone up AT&T and see if your abode is covered this go 'round.
AT&T ends 2007 with 231000 U-verse subscribers
Make no mistake, the number 231,000 in and of itself isn't exactly valuable, but considering that AT&T is aiming to secure one million subscribers to its fiber-based U-verse service before this year comes to a close, it certainly comes into perspective. Just months ago, AT&T was reporting that it had 126,000 U-verse customers and was handling around 10,000 installs per week. Currently, the carrier is suggesting that it's over one-fourth of the way to its goal, but considering that "just" 12,000 installs per week are being done now, it's not exactly on track to hit that million. 'Course, if it keeps on rolling U-verse out to new markets at a furious pace, we suppose anything could happen, but it's not like the provider hasn't overshot estimates in the past.
AT&T brings U-verse to Northeastern Illinois: largest launch market to date
No sooner than Southern Illinois gets gifted with a handful of new HD channels on Mediacom, the opposite side of the state now has access to U-verse. You heard right -- Northeastern Illinois has just been dubbed AT&T's largest U-verse market launch to date, giving more than 175 communities the ability to acquire its fiber-based services. More specifically, residents in Bellwood, Buffalo Grove, Crystal Lake, Dolton, Elmhurst, Harvey, Hoffman Estates, Melrose Park, Oak Lawn, Orland Park, River Grove, St. Charles and Waukegan (among many, many more) can all phone up AT&T and get U-verse headed to their abodes. And yes, Big Ten Network is indeed included in the lineup, so you can let loose that pending sigh of relief.
AT&T's U-verse motors to Detroit, Michigan
For Motor City residents wondering when AT&T's U-verse would ever find its way to your neck of the woods, you can finally sleep easy knowing that it's available now. As of this week, those who call Detroit home can order up AT&T's fiber-based TV, internet and / or phone service, as it is being hailed "the first area in the nation where AT&T U-verse Voice is available." Granted, we're sure the most of ya already have the phone thing covered, but just be prepared to fend off those lightning quick "triple-play" sales pitches when you call up to order TV service exclusively.
AT&T hands out free hotspot access to broadband customers, ups its bandwidth
AT&T, continuing to be the open, giving, and free-wheeling loony that it is, has decided to bestow cost-free access to its 10,000+ WiFi hotspots (for its broadband subscribers, that is). Effective immediately, if you're tossing money the company's way for any high-speed access, you can hop onto wireless networks in retail shops, restaurants, and airports free of charge... provided they're AT&T networks. We know its a lot to handle, but get this -- the telco has also upped the speeds of its U-verse service to a whopping 10 Mbps downstream / 1.5 Mbps upstream configuration, undoubtedly warming the hearts of AT&T subscribers hankering for a little more bandwidth to sustain their ever-increasing 'net needs. It's like the holidays all over again.Read - AT&T To Deliver Free Access To Nation's Largest Wi-Fi NetworkRead - AT&T Boosts Bandwidth Choices and Speed with 10 Mbps Offer for U-verse Customers
AT&T U-verse batteries going supernova
AT&T is looking to replace 17,000 backup batteries in U-verse equipment cabinets all over the country over concerns that they can explode. Those are confirmed concerns, too, as there have been four confirmed incidents since October 2006. Explosions have occurred in Houston, Cleveland and Wisconsin; the Wisconsin incident reportedly was strong enough to blow the 50-pound cabinet door off its bolts. The bad news for AT&T is that the battery manufacturer, Avestor, filed for bankruptcy in October 2006 and is no longer in business. What's worse is that a consulting firm hired to examine the first incidents deemed the battery design ok, and chalked up the explosions to "manufacturing defects." So now AT&T has taken it upon itself to spend some big bucks to locate and replace the already-in-service (and obviously widely dispersed) lithium metal polymer batteries.[Via TVOver, image courtesy of LightReading]EDIT: Spelling error fixed (thanks, Bryce!) and photo credit changed (thanks, Phil!).
AT&T announces eight new HD channels on U-verse
On the same day that AT&T announced its plans to infiltrate Columbus, Ohio, the provider is also boasting about eight new HD offerings. Starting today, every single U-verse customer can enjoy Animal Planet HD, CNN HD, Discovery HD, Science Channel HD, Starz Kids & Family HD, Superstation WGN in HD, TLC HD, Versus HD and Golf Channel HD. Thanks to these additions, AT&T can now claim that its fiber-based service includes access to over 40 high-definition channels, and adding HD service is still as simple as handing over $10 per month. For those out there with U-verse, how are the new members of the family treating you -- and more importantly, are you satisfied yet?
AT&T to launch U-Verse trial in Atlanta, Georgia
Superfluous washers / dryers aren't the only thing being tested out in Atlanta. Turns out, some 200 families in Georgia's capital will be part of a "controlled U-Verse launch" slated to take place by the year's end. Of course, it's not like we didn't know this was coming, but it's still refreshing to hear that the operator is staying on track with its promised Southeastern rollout. Reportedly, those lucky enough to be among the first to try out U-Verse in the ATL will receive over 300 channels, with "up to 30" of those being in high-definition. According to company spokesman Wes Warnock, this limited launch will allow the firm to "test systems and work out any kinks" before giving other Georgians (along with more of the Southeast) the chance to sign up in 2008. Regrettably, we're still left to wonder where U-Verse is headed after it has infiltrated Atlanta, but we'll take any progress we can get.[Thanks, Bruce B., image courtesy of AT&T]
AT&T brings U-Verse to Austin, Texas
Just days after AT&T announced that its U-Verse rollout would be hitting a million fewer homes at the end of 2008 than it originally planned, we now know that Austin, Texas won't be one of the locales affected. Starting right now, folks down in Austin, Pflugerville and Round Rock can place their orders for the service and can expect installations to start up on November 19th. 'Course, it's not too shocking to hear that more of the Lonestar state is getting blessed with U-Verse -- after all, it was the state that AT&T first deployed the service in. So, for those of you in and around Austin, is the urge to switch over too much to withstand, or will you be stickin' with your current provider?
TBS HD continues its roll, comes to AT&T U-Verse
We're beginning to feel like a broken record with all the TBS HD announcements, but in a good way. More HD is always welcome, right folks? This time around, TBS HD announced carriage with AT&T's U-Verse. Even though the killer content on TBS HD is the MLB playoff coverage, the carriage deals establish a beachhead for (hopefully) more good things to come. After all, it's not so easy/pleasant to take a channel away from customers after it's been given to them.
