AT&T- TV Mobile

AT&T launches TV service

AT&T Inc. has launched the company's integrated suite of U-verse services in Wichita, a frontal attack on its cable competitors.

The company on Monday made its U-verse TV service commercially available to 5,000 homes in San Antonio.

U-verse, which includes television, high-speed Internet and telephone services, is highlighted by the nation's only Internet-based television service.

Until this week, AT&T's TV service was available to only a handful of consumers in that city, the first of many on the list of U-verse prospects. AT&T expects to offer the service to a total of 15 to 20 markets by the end of the year. The company has said it plans to spend $4.6 billion through 2008 to bring television and high-speed Internet services to almost 19 million homes.

At least initially, AT&T's service, which is based on Internet Protocol technology, will be very similar to what is already offered by cable companies. The starting price for packages is $69 a month and goes up to $124, depending on Internet speeds and whether the customer opts for premium-channel packages.

It's available in pockets of the greater Wichita area where fiber-optic cable has already been placed, said Kris Ryan, AT&T's general manager for Kansas and Missouri.

AT&T is offering three months of free U-Verse service to customers as part of its promotional push. It's also marking down its installation fee to $20 from $95.

This offering is on par with those of its cable rivals. But AT&T claims that it offers customers more for their money, including fast channel changing, video-on-demand, three set-top boxes, a digital video recorder, a picture-in-picture feature that allows viewers to surf channels without switching channels and an interactive program guide.

That network will continue to expand into areas where AT&T is the primary telephone service provider, Ryan said.

"In the last 10 years, things have changed. Cable is selling telephone service... and it's not perfect. Telephone is selling cable service, and it's not perfect. Both are into new areas, and they're learning and fixing things as they go."

"I've generally heard good things about U-verse," he said. "Thing is, we're in the first inning of a nine-inning game.

Chelsey Ilten, an AT&T spokeswoman, said in an e-mail that the company intends a problem-free rollout in Wichita.

The bugs are the price consumers pay today as the industry evolves into a "customer-friendly market," Kagan said, with more options and lower prices.

"Our customers expect the very best, and we work each and every day to make sure we're meeting and exceeding their expectations, and that includes a great experience on day one of our launch in Wichita," she said.

"The early (subscribers) should be ready for things that don't work," he said. "It will get better."

AT&T launches TV service on new phones, rivaling Verizon
NEW YORK - AT&T Inc. is launching its new video service for cell phones Sunday on two phones, and will charge $15 per month for 10 channels.

AT&T Mobile TV is almost identical to Verizon Wireless' V Cast Mobile TV, and is operated by the same company, Qualcomm Inc. AT&T will have two exclusive channels on the service, it said Thursday.

AT&T already has a mobile video service called CV, which is based on different technology. It works like Internet video, providing short clips on demand.

Qualcomm's MediaFLO service is more like regular TV broadcasts, constantly streaming shows on airwaves that run alongside regular cell-phone spectrum. Judging by V Cast Mobile TV, which is available on four phones, the quality is much higher than on-demand cell-phone clips.

The service will launch in 58 markets including Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, and Seattle. There will even be parental control features offered, to restrict access to content that would be inappropriate for younger viewers.