True, there's fiber going into the VRAD's, and you need the electronics for that. But there's all those line cards in DSLAM's for all those terminations that will be basically useless if/when they migrate to FTTP. Plus as Scott said, there will be an upgrade to the existing hardware to allow for pair bonding when they get around to it.
As for your labor shortage point, does it really matter since AT&T could have probably found contractors if they decided to go with FTTP back when they started this BS, and who knows, they still might be able to find them now. Mute point though since the suites in San Antonio are going to stand by their decision, how will it look to have to tell the stock holders, ah we blew a couple billion bucks on something that folks aren't buying, now we need to spend a bunch more to make it right.
As far as the current electronics in the VRAD , I do not know , but I will bet very fast obsolescence in electronics is just a fact of life they just have to live with ? What is your 5 year old computer worth ? Zero !
I know for a fact ( just to do VRADS ) that they were / are using every avalable trenching contractor in town and pulling in contractors in from 2 hours away .
If they tried to replace all the copper , all at once , in all there territories , that this would be no way they could find even a small percentage of the number of trenching contractors needed . Do you have any idea how many MILES of alleys you are talking about ? Multiplied by how many towns and cities ?
And this is just one trade / contractor . How about all the other trades involved ?
How about the material ? How many miles of fiber . The equipment that the cable terminates to . How about the manpower to do all that termination ?
AT&T certainly does not have that kind of manpower . They have been steadily reducing manpower for the last 20 years , not adding manpower .
I doubt if there is sufficient trained / qualified manpower in the outside world to contract out the termination to ?
Some of you say that 4 HD feeds per home will be neded in the future for a video service to succeed . I do not know . I own only one digital TV , a 32" SD TV w/ both analog & digital tuner .
What I am saying is no one is going to replace that much copper that fast .
So , if the consumer does / will demand that much HD , what does it leave ?
Cable ? Personally , I can not imagine going back to cable .
Satellite ? Maybe ? That is where I am now . No immediate plans to change .
I hope U-Verse succeeds . The more competition the better .
If it comes to the point where they can beat satellite in both price and performance , I would switch . And they are going to be MARKETING a package . Local dial tone , long distance , broadband and video . And maybe cellular .
But also consider . A lot of you seem to be crying about only one HD feed per house . Fine , you are the high end customers , evidently with disposable income you are willing to spend on high end electronics . A favorable demographics .
But there are millions like me that are too cheap to buy the HD TV's at todays prices . And then there are those that can not afford the HD TV's .
Henry Ford did not get rich selling Lincolns to the few . He got rich selling Fords to the masses .
I appreciate all of you pointing out the places that U-Verse falls short . As I said , I may be a potential customer , some time in the future . I see the education you all are providing as valuable education .
But step back and take a deep breath . Rome was not built in a day .
Now I will go back to my AT&T ADSL , DN sat TV & FTA sat TV ( I even have a C Band dish & receiver , but mostly Ku Band ) .
Or I may go watch an episode of NCIS I recorded on DVD , off OTA local TV . I can pick up the locals off of an outside antenna . I am too cheap to pay DN for locals off of the sat .
Wyr