AT&T to launch U-Verse June 30th

what is uverse?

Any VRAD lit from Green Bay down to Fond du lac will be available at launch. If you need specifics, e-mail me at jh5509@att.com and I will get back to you when U-Verse will be available.

Jon Hayden
AT&T Wisconsin

Any thoughts on Green Bay launch? Will customers be able to only select high speed internet or is it all or nothing?

People will be able to get U-Verse Internet only if the customer is unable to get DSL or if they get U-Verse Internet Max.

Well looks like I'm stuck with TWC then for internet as I don't need the max speed and I won't give up DirecTV for TV and don't need phone as we a cell phone only home.

You can't get DSL unless you have land line right?

No. you can get DSL without an AT&T home phone. It is call DSL Direct (dry loop). The plans start at $24/mo for Basic and go up to $39/mo for Elite.

Couple of questions:

Is the 2HD/2SD per box or is that for the entire household? If for the entire household is there plans in the works to expand on that? I could see this easily being a problem if you are watching HD on 2 different televisions and trying to record others.

For additional receivers do those also come with DVR service or is the DVR service only for the first box?

Is there some place that we can go to find out exactly what HD channels you get with each packing?

Will you be able to purchase the TV service without internet?

For additional receivers do those also come with DVR service or is the DVR service only for the first box?

Jon from AT&T says "Right now, it is only 1 DVR per household. We are expecting to lauch Whole Home DVR sometime late this year. DVR is included in U200 and higher and U-Family."

Is the 2HD/2SD per box or is that for the entire household? If for the entire household is there plans in the works to expand on that? I could see this easily being a problem if you are watching HD on 2 different televisions and trying to record others.

That is for the entire household.

Is there some place that we can go to find out exactly what HD channels you get with each packing?

As of this writing, the Northeast Wisconsin channel lineup is not available.  If you go to AT&T's U-Verse site and look up Milwaukee's channel lineup (I did with a Milwaukee zip code), ours should be the same but with different locals (obviously).  There you can see what channels come with what packages.

Well I will definitely be signing up for it. I've heard so much about it I want to see what it's like first hand and plus you get a month free so it doesn't hurt to try.

Channel lineups are available now at http://uverse.att.com/. Enter in 54301 for the zip code.

Thanks for the heads-up, Jon. I put in my apartment address on the site and it's letting me set up an order already.

I can't sign up yet here in Green Bay. I even tried my buddy's address and no go.

No go for me either in the Town of Menasha

There will be areas where there is no service yet.

Although I am not getting Uverse for awhile, my address did go through for Uverse in Appleton, I did notice U-Voice was not available in my area. I would need that if I were to switch in the future but I am sure it will come in the area soon.

Wow, great news. Any competition is good competition.

Is the internet an "always on" connection like TWC or is it like DSL where you have to log on everytime you go online?

That's the one thing holding me back from DSL. I wouldn't mind the DSL Elite without landline but, I want an "always on" connection.

If TWC dos the "pay per use" or "download caps" and AT&T doesn't, get ready AT&T as you are going to gain a huge subscriber base.

Has anyone heard how the the HD channels are on U-verse as well as the reliability in general? I have been reading many reviews online saying the HD picture is not very good and that the service seems to loose connection a lot.

Jon, You certainly are peaking my interests with DSL over TWC for internet but, my friend has AT&T DSL and the computer requires a username and password to get online. I know this because, I had to go over there and set up his computer for him to connect by saving the username and password so all he has to do is click the icon on the desktop and then click the connect button. Now, he has had DSL though for a long time, since the Ameritech days. Perhaps this is why he doesn't have an "always on" connection?

Last time I had to go over there and set things up for him, when I called for the username and password (he has poor memory), customer service told me there was no way for an “always on” connection. Is there something you can suggest? I'm sure he would love an always on connection.

I believe that is called PPoE DSL when a user is required to use a username and password to connect vs an always on connection.

No, it's a PPPoE DSL connection. Can someone with AT&T PPPoE DSL trade in for an always on DSL connection? If so, are there any fees associated with the trade?

PPOE is correct. But with today's modems, you never have to log in every time you want to go online. Six years ago when I had Ameritech DSL, I never logged in either.

The modem keeps the connection online, if you are doing PPOE in Windows, that's a different story. But there is still a log in and password that is stored in the modem.

One more thing, with U-Verse it is an always on connection because VDSL is differnt from ADSL. There is no PPoE.

You can set in your router the username and password for PPPoE, so every time you go to the internet, your router does the logging in for you. My sister had it done this way.

So here is the million dollar question then. What is the advantage over VDSL (Uverse) vs. ADSL (what is currently available)? I can get them both in 6 Mbps. Why would I want one over the other?

I want this so bad, but it is not available in my area. I was talking to peeps at work and all but one cant get it. Thanks AT&T for getting my hopes up and then crashing back down. I hate TWC so much and I have to many trees for a sat. system. Hopefully it will be available in my area soon.

turns out alot of areas are not going to get serviced. looks like jon from at&t dropped the ball. like they say do not count your chickens until they hatched. i will be waiting until u verse has been out b4 i would jump the boat from cable.

^^^ i agree 100% ^^^

AT&T didn't say EVERY single house from Green Bay to Fond Du Lac was going to get it on day one. He said those places that have lit VRADs would.

AT&T is able to "cherry pick" locations so some places won't be able to receive service. Give it time it is costly to build out.

Exactly, I believe my words were about lit VRAD's, not everyone. The build in Milwaukee isn't complete and they've been on for more than a year. Takes time for a build. Remember, Time Warner has had 20 years or more to build their network.

Paitience is a good thing, and remember, we are still working on getting more and more coverage areas. It takes time to prep the sites, run the fiber and get everything working smoothly.

It's not in the Appleton (Darboy) part of the area either. I am so looking for something cheaper than TWC!

Jon,

What about New London? I am the first house out of town...just inside of the high school. I get Charter, but can not get AT&T. Can I expect U-Verse in the future?

Bill

on the corner of colin st and ryan st in darboy (right by schmalz landscaping) has 3 lit vrads in that neighborhood. my neighbors still are not able to set up a order for the service????

I would say that anything is possible. The wire travels in strange routes sometimes. What I would recommend is sign up for the availability alerts at http://uverse.att.com/

Due to the large amounts of availability requests hitting my inbox, I can no longer accept any availability questions. The online tool works extremely well, and you can get alerted with when U-Verse is available.

If you anyone has other questions about the service, please let me know.

Thanks!
Jon Hayden

Jon, what is the advantage over VDSL (Uverse) vs. ADSL (what is currently available)? I can get them both in 6 Mbps. Why would I want one over the other?

With ADSL, there is PPoE overhead which means that you actually do not get all of the advertised speed. For example, 6 Mb/s service is more like 5200 kpbs, and the uplink speed is 768 kb/s. With U-Verse, you get 1 Mb/s upload and there is no PPoE overheard. If you have a 6 meg connection, you will get extremely close to that 6 megs and the 1 meg uplink.

Thanks Jon, I will consider switching my isp when Uverse becomes available in my area.

At launch in Milwaukee, a friend of mine received 3 boxes and a year of HD for free, on top of the intro deal we are getting in the Fox Valley. Is there a reason why Milwaukee got such a sweet deal, but our prices now are at or above Time Warner Cable without the ability to watch on every TV in the house unless you have a box for each (for $5 each)? Within 6 months, U-Verse went from a $15 savings to being about $15 more than Time Warner. As much as I dislike Time Warner and how far behind they are in HD... and as much as I love the features of U-Verse (most noteably NFL, Big Ten, etc)... I cannot bring myself to pay an extra $200+ a year it appears it will cost to go to U-Verse.

I do have to say that the customer service (Jon and the people I have IM's at support) blow Time Warner out of the water. Too bad I am such a penny pincher.

What is a "lit VRAD"?

im guessing it is a vrad with the meter already running. (meter for the 5v running thought the phone line)

Jon, i have another question once the service is installed and it breaks or there is service issues how long is the wait for service. also if somthing is broken are you going to replace free of charge (aka. the box, the gateway, wires) also i have heard there is daily drop out of service right around the 5pm from people i have talked to in milaukee. is that true if so is it because everyone turns on there tv as soon as they get home

U-Verse is more than just TV, its a viewing experience from the picture quality, to the included DVR, to the high speed Internet connection. Can you get the same channels on cable or satellite? Yes. Can you get a DVR with TWC or satellite? Yes.

Yes. But what you don't get is the interactive guide, the seemless intergration between the web and your TV, and world-class customer service. U-Verse is more than cable or traditional TV, it's a solution built from the ground up.

Is it cheaper than cable? Depends. Is it a better value than cable? Absolutely. Right now I pay $30 for Internet, $50/mo for Dish Network AT200, $20 for HD and $8 for DVR service for a total cost of $108/mo before any taxes. With U-Verse, I will pay $90/mo for U200 and Pro Internet, $10 for HD. It is actually $2 higher, but it is a better value than anything I could get with Dish or TWC.

If anything, having wired-based competition will push TWC to improve their product...with the end result better products for all.

As far as any issues you may have while viewing your TV, yes, if equipment fails, it will be replaced. I am unaware of the issues Milwaukee has at 5 p.m.

Ok, I can't let this go on. How in the world can we bash Time Warner's customer support. I used to (and I'm not disgruntled here, just have alot of inside knowledge) work for an outsourcer that is contracted with AT&T to provide Tier 1 technical support for U-verse customers. I have seen the customer service, and it isn't terrible. But I have seen AT&T. They are so big that they have no concept of customer service. No nmatter what you think of TWC, AT&T's support it is quite inferior to Time Warner. Here in the Valley, time warner operated as individual division. Recently to be more competitive they merged with the milwaukee area to create the Wisconsin Division. That created a bit of a challenge for the company. They have spent Millions improving their telephone customer support, right here in Wisconsin, and most of that here in the fox valley area. I can call right now and get my problem handled professionally, by someone here who actually works for TWC, not an outsourcer. I do not wish to bash U-verse, but when you see the quality of the services, particularly the lesser video and data bandwith, you are probably going to realize that TWC is a better experience overall. U-verse is a great concept that falls short due to the "copper to premesis" limitation on the network in 95% of their homes. I think they are doing "fiber to prem" in the new construction areas, but how many of you live there. If you are one of the 95 I predict you'll see massive pixellation on your HD feeds. And you will always get a comparable price from TWC, don't think they aren't going to compete on price. And no, I do not work for TWC, I just think they're a pretty good company who is committed to customer service and investing big in the Fox Valley. Regardless of what any of the previous posters may think. That's one person's opinion who used to work for an AT&T outsourcer, but I urge you to try U-verse if you really think it will be a better deal.

Can't disagree.... if you only have 1 TV. With the average household having 2.8 TVs, you would have to add an additional $10 onto your number... $15, $20, even $25 for some.

I have to admit... I was about to write an apology about my comment about TWC's customer service, even before seeing triplewhopper's post. I mistakenly mixed TWC up with another company's customer service. I apologize for the mistake. Triplewhopper is right on with their assessment of TWC's customer service overall. The only problem I have had with them is getting installs done in the time frame they told me they would be done in... and since I have not worked with ATT on an install, it is unfair to say that they are better in that area.

Jon is right about U-Verse being a better service overall. No arguing that. Time Warner's channel lineup sucks and their guide is less than interactive, it's just cruddy. We'll see what happens when they roll out Navigator this year, but I have a feeling there will be some "bugs."

I also agree that U-Verse "may or may not be cheaper" than cable. It depends on your setup and needs.

For my situation, much as I really really really wanted to get U-Verse, to get what's more or less comparable to what I have right now with Time Warner would be $48/mo more with U-Verse. I've posted this over at AVS Forums too but here's my comparison:

Right now I have Time Warner Digital Cable Basic with HD DVR, HBO and Road Runner Standard (6 Mbps down). I also have two cable lines feeding my Windows Media Center PC for DVR functionality and servicing one other TV as well (no box). My monthly bill averages $75-80/mo (depending on ordering on-demand movies that month)

AT&T U-Verse U200 plus Elite 6 Mbps Internet is $99/mo, plus HD (+$10) and only 1 extra receiver (+$5). If I added in HBO (+$14), that's $128/mo plus tax.

U100 plus Elite Internet is $84/mo, plus DVR fee ($15/mo) plus HD (+$10) plus one receiver (+$5). With HBO (+$14) is $128/mo too.

For ME to get comparable service, AT&T doesn't work. If you have a different setup or have a different price plan from Time Warner, it may well be cheaper for you. NO one service is cheaper for EVERYONE.

Again, though I am a Time Warner customer, I'm NO fan of them by any means. I'm pretty much stuck with them because my apartment building doesn't allow satellite dishes. I've been a Time Warner customer for well over 20 years (mostly via my parents, but I've been a customer for a few years personally). I've rarely had problems with the service or calling customer service. I've found them to be responsive for the most part. I did have a huge issue with their installers, who missed my service window for service calls three consecutive times in the span of two weeks, but they were quick to issue service credits for the inconvenience.

I don't mean to knock AT&T for service, as I haven't dealt with them for TV service yet. I had a huge issue with DSL customer service in Milwaukee on my sister's account. They were outsourced and totally useless. Local service, and/or the TV service people, may very well be better, so I don't want to make a broad generalization. NO service is immune to customer service issues. Dealing with people day-to-day, there's bound to be a few times when service is not ideal.

My two cents...

very well put mark, fyi rr stand should be pulling about 7Mbps they did a speed increase from 6Mbps to 7Mbps in the middle of 2007. as triple whopper was saying i did notice a issue with customer service back in august 2007. But they have picked up and latley whenever i call i get right though. there hd lineup isnt the greatest but i would think they are working to get more. it is prob a bandwith issue. with other services (direct,dish,uverse) everything is ran complety digital and that is why you need a box for each tv. unlike cable you can have as many tv's you want with basic and stand for free NO EXTRA CHARGE PER MONTH. i was a at&t customer for phone and the dish though them as well. It really irrated me when somthing was broken they charged ME to come take a look that THERE stuff. back in the storm on june 11th 2004 it cost me 150 dollars to come get my dish reallined. i have been with cable ever since.

that why i was asking jon if something is wrong are they going to fix it at
NO CHARGE

Just doesnt make sense that you have to pay your bill each month either way if it is working or not. but then you have to pay them to get it to work. to me that is B.S

You're right, Hobo... it is 7 Mbps. Just looked at my price guide and it is 7 down.

IMO Time Warner's customer service here has been excellent, especially compared to Charter Communications who I used to have to deal with when I lived in Madison. The one thing I absolutely love about Time Warner is that they have allowed me to do things like pick up a cable modem and converter box and "install" them myself. Charter in Madison used to require that a service tech come out for that type of thing. I admittedly haven't tried to call them after my initial installation- I've always just stopped into their office whenever I've needed anything and the service there has been quick.

With that said, I am disappointed with Time Warner's lack of HD channels. I've stated it a couple of times already here in the forums, but I'm giving them to the fall to improve their HD selections and if I'm not happy then, then I will switch TV providers. And really the only reason I'm waiting that long is to see what happens with their internet service. Whether or not they enact usage limits will determine whether or not I need both a new ISP and TV service or just new TV service.

I don't think the usage limits will come right away (if at all). It all depends on the tests in Texas and whether they respond to public sentiment on the matter.

As far as their HD selection, from what I've heard, they may only be rolling out another 6 or 7 HD channels this summer. I hope that's wrong though. There are a number of key additions they could make to really shore up their roster. I think they're going to have to act on WLUK, Big Ten and NFL Network this summer or it's going to be a rough fall for them.

Hey Jon... I just went online to look at options and noticed a box for "Coupon Code"... I am on the fence about making the switch from TWC... any chance you have a "Coupon Code" to help push me (and others here) over that fence to U-Verse? You can guarantee some great feedback here once we have U-Verse. And if you are so confident your product is the best on the market, the feedback will be great and will lead to more sales for AT&T to readers of this very website.

I agree that usage limits are not likely to occur quickly and think that this U-Verse competition here is definitely going to make it much harder on Time Warner to enact any type of limits unless AT&T does it first.

I was told by the Time Warner rep when I went to get my HD DVR last month that there would actually be 20 HD channels added here before the end of summer, with some being added by the end of May (which did occur), some more by the end of June, and then still more by the end of July. He couldn't tell me what those channels were and I haven't heard anything since then about additional HD channels, but Time Warner here better be taking this U-Verse competition seriously and at least match the majority what they offer in HD or else this could really hurt their business over the next year.

The number I heard for summer was 13... 6 of which we got last month. The rest come out over the next month or two. The info I got didn't have definite channels for the future additions, just the May ones.

mark is this your longest topic?

This is the first article ever on this site to have more than a single page of replies.

I like it. I started this site to foster discussion on stuff like this. Glad to see it!

There is no coupon code that I am aware of. If you do sign up for U-Verse, you will get $100 cash back and 1 month free. If you're looking to place an order, let me know.

As far as defective equipment, it will be replaced at no cost. I'm sorry if I wasn't clear on that.

As HD becomes more mainstream, TWC will have some capacity issues or they will have to compress the crap out of it to fit more channels or move to multicast technology like U-Verse. They don't have the luxury of launching a new satellite like Dish or DirecTV for added capacity. U-Verse has the capability of having unlimited HD channels because only the channel that is viewed/recorded is the one that is sent down the pipe.

Jon:

Are you aware that TWC has switched digital video deployed in the area? (Though not in Milwaukee)

Mark,

I'm interested in that comment. What did you mean by "switched digital video"?

I know that Dish Network is in the process of or already has switched their HD channels from Mpeg2 to Mpeg4, which allows for them to provide more high quality HD programming using a lot less of their capacity, but I haven't been able to find much info on exactly how cable TV and their capacity works.

correction milwaukee released switched on a few channels this week. slowley all digital channels with be switched.

and jon inst that why people with more than one hdtv do not like uverse

*THIS IS THE END OF DISCUSSION*
every service is not perfect. my suggestion call around find what service fits you best.

do not buy a pair of pants that due not fit to save money. buy a pair of pants that are good quailty and relible.

My assertion with switched digital video is, from every technical article I've read on the subject, it would theoretically allow Time Warner the ability to add as much stuff as they want because only the channels that are watched are sent down the pipe to the customer.

If I'm wrong on that point, by all means correct me. I know we have that in this area though.

I wasn't asserting you were wrong as it's something I have no clue about and was just generally interested. I plan on researching it though- not to prove or disprove anything- just because I'm interested.

you know whats getting really annoying is when i click on the new post on the bottom left it brings be to the first page then i have to click on page 2 and scroll down MARK YOU SHOULD FIX THIS

its not real annoying but hey its your first article that is going to be 3 pages long.

Basically multicast video means that you get only the channel you want to view. Traditional cable is broadcast, you get everything and your TV or box filters out the channel you want. Yes, TWC has switched video on their digital tier, but channels lower than 100 are still broadcast. Most of the highest rated cable channels (ie, the ones people watch), are on their analog broadcast feed.

Something is still wrong on TWC's end when it comes to HD compression. When I look at a buddy's TWC HD and compare it to U-Verse HD or Dish HD, it looks inferior. While they may have unlimited capacity like U-Verse, something tells me that they still need to compress it down to make it work. (This is just my observation, someone from TWC if there is one please chime in.)

For those that have Charter in Fond du Lac, they still have broadcast cable for both analog and digital channels.

As far as the comment about multiple TV's and HD, yes, 2 streams is a limitation for some. We are constantly working on improving our service. It wasn't too long ago when we had just the 1HD/3SD profile for customers.

while compression may or may not be a issue. is it hd content or upconverted content.

its not fair to say

"i was at my buddies house watching abc family on twc and look horrid compared to discovery on uverse"

to me i have 3 hdtvs in my home with a wmc computer and a hp mediasmart computer and a twc hd dvr and i am always downloading somthing i would never go for uverse bc i would only be able to watch 1 or 2 feeds

Ladies and gentleman, Don't get confused here, 720P is 720P, and 1080i is 1080i. hobo's comment about the original format happens to be correct. ABC family HD starts mostly with SD stuff that's upconverted. But Discovery HD theater, HDnet, HDnet Movies, and Universal HD, and the premium HD channels all use originally mastered 1080i material. Some HD channels use a combination of both types of source material. Neither TWC nor U-verse has superior HD, it's all the same digital format. Some networks broadcast in 1080i, some in 720p. If Jon were correct here in regards to his comment about HD being different, that is like saying that one DVD of "Jaws" was better than another DVD of "Jaws" when they are in fact, identical (If they're the same release, of course)So that's the beauty of digital TV service. The only variable is the many different TV's and the fact that there are still many uninformed people who hook up boxes incorrectly to their HDTV's so that they're watching an RF signal on analog channel 3 of HBO HD and they think that's the bomb LOL.

Oh sorry one clarification...there are potential differences in signal levels and signal quality over the TWC and U-verse NETWORKS that may cause "blocking" or "tiling" effects, but that has to do with the quality of the signal over the respective network, not a "difference" in compression. I apologize if I am stating the ovbvious.

All I can say is that I notice a difference on the same HDTV from when I had TWC to Dish Network. It seems clearer, brighter and sharper. I have always used HDMI or Monster Component cables.

Yes, I know how upconversion works. That isn't my concern because it will never look as good as 720p or 1080i native. However, when I watch sports on ESPN, in native 720p, there was a noticeable difference between Dish and TWC. I can't explain it.

Like I said earlier, its a matter of what's a better value to the customer. If you want the most in HD, go DirecTV. If you want cheap, analog TWC is hard to beat. If you want interactivity between your TV, the Internet, and your computer, U-Verse is where it's at. If you just want HD network broadcasts, a bow-tie antenna from Radio Shack is fantastic.

The beauty of competition is that we have discussions like these and the consumer has a choice.

Can someone please comment on the U-Verse DVR? I'm, hooked on the TWC DVR being able to record 2 shows at one while watching a 3rd. That rocks. Anyone know the stats on the AT&T Version?

with the twc dvr you can eaither

rec 1 show while wacthing live tv
rec 2 shows while wacthing a rec show

with twc you can rec 2 hd channels at once and wacth hd rec program
or wacth a hd channel while recording a hd channel

with uverse you can only have one hd stream in the home
so you can eaither

wacth a hd channel and not rec or
you can rec a hd channel and wacth a sd channel

with twc you can more than one dvr
with uverse you can only have 1 dvr

question is

how many tv's do you have?
do you like hd?
are you a gunniea pig?

cant spell ****watch***

You can record up to 4 programs at once, record 3 programs and watch 1, record 2 and watch 2, or record 1 and watch 3. Keep in mind that at any given time, you can only have 2HD streams used and the rest are SD.

this post came to sudden hault. we need more news!

From todays paper...
http://www.postcrescent.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080626/APC0101/...

Do you know when Fond du Lac, WI will be getting "Total Home DVR" as part of the U-verse system??

thanks