(Sorry this was sent to me in an email, I dont have a link to the article.)
AT&T Boosts U-verse Rollout Tab by $1.4 Billion
Scales Back Number of Homes It Will Reach in 2008 by One Million
By Sanford Nowlin, San Antonio Express-News
AT&T Inc. said Monday it will spend up to $1.4 billion more than planned to continue rolling out U-verse, its Internet-based video service, potentially quieting speculation the company is seeking another route into the TV business. The San Antonio-based telecommunications giant will spend up to $6.5 billion by the end of 2008 on U-verse, up from previous projections of just more than $5 billion, according to spokesman Wes Warnock. It's expanding the service to compete with cable rivals such as Time Warner, which have moved into the phone and high-speed Internet business.
"By the additional spending, it's obvious that they're committing to U-verse," said Paul Erickson, telecom analyst for IMS Research in Austin. "It seems to put to rest the rumors that they're looking for another video solution."
AT&T also has scaled back by 1 million the number of homes it expects to reach with the service by the end of 2008, Warnock said.
The company will be able to offer U-verse to 18 million homes across the 13 states that represented its service region before its purchase of BellSouth Corp last year. AT&T once said it would reach 19 million homes by the end of next year.
"We remain very optimistic and aggressive in our rollout of U-verse," Warnock said. "We feel very good about it."
Warnock said the company expects to incur the additional expense in purchasing more video servers, the equipment that allows the company to add high-definition channels and features.
AT&T expects to revise its U-verse coverage numbers upward in a matter of weeks, Warnock said. The company will announce plans to expand the video service into former BellSouth territory, mainly the Southeastern U.S.
The spending follows a rough patch for AT&T as it worked to iron out service and technical glitches with the fledgling video service.
Late last year, the company temporarily put the brakes on its rollout so it could deal with service problems. During that time, industry observers speculated the company might look for another way into the video business — buying a satellite TV provider, for example.
Since then, however, the company has resumed its expansion, bringing the service to 18 markets, including Milwaukee and Los Angeles. The company now has more than 20,000 subscribers and is capable of reaching up to 2.8 million homes with U-verse.
AT&T Boosts U-verse Rollout Tab by $1.4 Billion
Scales Back Number of Homes It Will Reach in 2008 by One Million
By Sanford Nowlin, San Antonio Express-News
AT&T Inc. said Monday it will spend up to $1.4 billion more than planned to continue rolling out U-verse, its Internet-based video service, potentially quieting speculation the company is seeking another route into the TV business. The San Antonio-based telecommunications giant will spend up to $6.5 billion by the end of 2008 on U-verse, up from previous projections of just more than $5 billion, according to spokesman Wes Warnock. It's expanding the service to compete with cable rivals such as Time Warner, which have moved into the phone and high-speed Internet business.
"By the additional spending, it's obvious that they're committing to U-verse," said Paul Erickson, telecom analyst for IMS Research in Austin. "It seems to put to rest the rumors that they're looking for another video solution."
AT&T also has scaled back by 1 million the number of homes it expects to reach with the service by the end of 2008, Warnock said.
The company will be able to offer U-verse to 18 million homes across the 13 states that represented its service region before its purchase of BellSouth Corp last year. AT&T once said it would reach 19 million homes by the end of next year.
"We remain very optimistic and aggressive in our rollout of U-verse," Warnock said. "We feel very good about it."
Warnock said the company expects to incur the additional expense in purchasing more video servers, the equipment that allows the company to add high-definition channels and features.
AT&T expects to revise its U-verse coverage numbers upward in a matter of weeks, Warnock said. The company will announce plans to expand the video service into former BellSouth territory, mainly the Southeastern U.S.
The spending follows a rough patch for AT&T as it worked to iron out service and technical glitches with the fledgling video service.
Late last year, the company temporarily put the brakes on its rollout so it could deal with service problems. During that time, industry observers speculated the company might look for another way into the video business — buying a satellite TV provider, for example.
Since then, however, the company has resumed its expansion, bringing the service to 18 markets, including Milwaukee and Los Angeles. The company now has more than 20,000 subscribers and is capable of reaching up to 2.8 million homes with U-verse.