AT&T U-verse now serving 2 million+

Data caps and tiers could be on the way for the mobile side, but things look all good for AT&T's U-verse TV service, as it announced it has crossed the 2 million subscriber threshold (up from 1.3 million at the end of Q1) and is snapping up 60% of the share of customers in new markets. Even better, a new High Speed Internet Max Turbo package just launched, offering customers 24 Mbps down / 3 Mbps up speeds for $65 a month, closing out a year that's seen the launch of new HD channels, new interactive apps, Total Home DVR and expanded availability overall. Of course, that just means the bar has been raised for our 2010 expectations. we're thinking a Sky TV-like Xbox 360 tie-in, expanded streaming video portal and... another new remote?

[Adam Miarka Posted Dec 9th 2009 3:30PM]

Too bad it stops 400ft short of my house.

[quick Posted Dec 9th 2009 4:32PM]

New 24mb speed doesn't seem to available in Houston, TX yet... price is not actually $65, it's actually $75 afaik. $65 is likely the promotional rate for 6 months or something (if added with TV and/or phone service)

[kcmurphy88 Posted Dec 9th 2009 4:37PM]

At the rate they're expanding, it should get to my Los Angeles neighborhood by 2017 or so. Of course, by that time, I'll have moved to someplace I can get Fios.

[nrb Posted Dec 9th 2009 6:49PM]

and I'm limited to 3Mb for the foreseeable future.

*sigh*

[trinh Posted Dec 9th 2009 7:52PM]

I just got this 5 days ago, and so far everything is going great. I'm also feeling its UI compared to Directvs. Speed is a pro since I used to live way too far for DSL (extra 10,000 ft further)

[barkingghos Posted Dec 10th 2009 5:53AM]

Opposing report:

I live in an AT&T neighborhood. I reside 30-40 miles outside of Atlanta, Georgia in a county with 750,000 residents. I live in a middle income neighborhood within walking distances of neighborhoods from starter homes to luxury homes.

No U-verse for us, not now nor anytime soon. Not even when several company employees reside here, too. Makes not a bit of difference that we have Ma Bell fiber running up and down our streets (IFITL platform). AT&T (ahem, SBC) just doesn't care one bit.

Now add to the fact that they are over-compressing their h.264 video streams for HD and you have to ask yourself why would you ever bother with them? Not even if you work for them.

[boilerdown Posted Dec 10th 2009 8:14AM]

@(Unverified)
Because it beats the hell out of cable providers. Especially Time Warner which is a PoS that hasn't innovated in a decade and leaves us without NFL Network/Redzone or a cavalcade of HD channels unlike Uverse. As soon as it hits my building I'm signing up even if it's more expensive.

[JeffThurston Posted Dec 13th 2009 12:42PM]

I've had this for a few months now. That "box" is about 3 blocks away. But I am still limited to only 1 HD channel at a time. After bouncing around on their telephone support lines for about an hour (major hot-potato scenario), I finally spoke to a techie who told me the bandwidth to my house isn't sufficient for "profile A" and that I was on "profile B". My router shows 19.2Mbps coming into the router, so I don't get it. This is my biggest complaint at this point, especially after all their ads harp on multiple HD channels. Frankly, it sucks...

I also have not been able to figure out how to get a button on that remote to put my name-brand TV into "sleep mode". But maybe that's just me being a moron...

I also see frequent blips similar to what one would see on a YouTube video when the bandwidth is barely sufficient. I wonder what that's all about...

The multi-room DVR feature is FANTASTIC! Can even watch HD movies on the SD TV (it must refactor the images).

From a technology stand point, I like the way they have this set up. It's a LAN that can be extended over existing twisted pair, existing coax, plus wireless. The installer replaced my LinkSYS router with this fancy new modem/router that has several connections of various types on the back. He connected my existing coax runs to each TV, my existing Cat-5 runs to my computers and I was set in about an hour. Slick... And that's why that multi-room DVR thing works so well...

I do have a nice fat 6MB internet connection too. Wow...

I was a DirecTV subscriber for 10 years and am a huge fan of this company and their technology. But in order to hook up my new HD TV, I had to buy a new box and a new dish. The box was included with U-verse signup. And when I asked them about multi-room DVR, they said it was too confusing. I'm guessing it's because they don't have the network setup that U-Verse does... no LAN, just raw signal to the back of the TV converter box. And the real deal breaker was that DirecTV Internet service is a lousy value for an urban-dweller. Oh well, so long DirecTV... it was great while it lasted.