U-verse TV

U-verse is a VDSL service operated by AT&T. It provides internet access up to 18Mbit/s along with phone and television services. Total bandwidth is 20-25Mbit/s dependent on the distance from the neighborhood fiber gateway.

AT&T U-verse TV Interactive program guide, with picture in picture of selected channel, while original channel plays in the background.

Short description

AT&T provides their U-verse services primarily through fiber-to-the-node and recently fiber-to-the-premises. Both methods employ a VRAD, in FTTN it is a DSLAM, in FTTP the VRAD is a fiber multiplexer with the conversion to copper taking place at the demarcation point on the customer property. FTTN is more common, with FTTP only in new housing developments or areas not otherwise served by copper POTS. VDSL is used with speeds up to 25Mbit/s down and 3Mbit/s up, but as with all DSL systems, speed can vary with increased distance from the VRAD. Currently 7Mbit/s is used for Cable television with the remaining 18Mbit/s for internet service and VOIP. VDSL can provide faster speeds but AT&T does not offer them. Once inside the customer's property, service is carried over Ethernet or the existing coax network using HomePNA.

U-verse TV

U-verse TV is AT&T's television service, part of the U-verse bundle of services, which is 100-percent Internet Protocol (IP)-based video service. U-Verse delivers its digital television services to its customers via phone lines or over fiber using Internet protocol (IPTV - Internet Protocol TV). The IP services are delivered over AT&T's expanded fiber network. AT&T is bringing fiber even closer to customers' homes using fiber-to-the-node (FTTN) and fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) technologies. U-verse TV is delivered over IP from the head end to the consumer's set-top box. U-verse uses H.264 (MPEG-4 AVC) encoding which compresses video more efficiently than the traditional MPEG-2. Broadcast channels are distributed via IP multicast, allowing a single stream (channel) to be sent to any number of recipients. The system is also designed for individual unicasts for video on demand, central time shifting, start over services and other programs desired by only one home at that particular time. The set-top box does not have a conventional tuner, but is an IP multicast client which joins the IP multicast group corresponding to the stream ("channel") desired. In the IP multicast model, only the streams the customer uses are sent. The customer's connection need not have the capacity to carry all available channels simultaneously.

Total Home DVR

Total Home DVR is a DVR service that can record four standard definition or two high definition video streams at once and play them back on any TV connected to U-verse via a set-top box. The DVR can be programmed to record from the on-screen menu or any internet connection using AT&T's website

U-verse Internet

Internet service is provided to computers connected to the on premise Ethernet cabling or a HomePNA gateway. AT&T U-verse High Speed Internet is offered in five speed tiers:

• Express - Download Speed: Up to 1.5 Mbit/s; Upstream Speed: Up to 1.0 Mbit/s
• Pro - Download Speed: Up to 3.0 Mbit/s; Upstream Speed: Up to 1.0 Mbit/s
• Elite - Download Speed: Up to 6.0 Mbit/s; Upstream Speed: Up to 1.0 Mbit/s
• Max - Download Speed: Up to 12.0 Mbit/s; Upstream Speed: Up to 1.5 Mbit/s
• Max 18 - Download Speed: Up to 18.0 Mbit/s; Upstream Speed: Up to 1.5 Mbit/s

AT&T does offer dry loop service for internet only users, it is now available on the website but is rather difficult to find because there are two U-Verse sections. There is a one-time set up fee of $150 for internet-only.

U-verse Voice

File:UverseCall-history.jpg

Call History on U-Verse TV Screen

AT&T U-verse Voice is a voice communication service delivered over AT&T's IP network. U-verse voice is currently available only in some areas. Customers subscribing to both AT&T U-verse TV and Voice are provided an added feature, Call History and Click to Call, which displays missed and answered calls on your TV screen and with a click of your remote returns a call. U-verse voice is $25 per month with a 250 minute local calling package, and $30 per month with unlimited local calling.

History

In June 2004, AT&T announced Project Lightspeed. Alcatel-Lucent was named as the Systems Integrator for Project Lightspeed. AT&T originally planned to reach nearly 18 million homes by the end of 2007, a target not likely to be met until early 2009. U-verse will also be available to a limited number of homes in the old BellSouth region. AT&T has not announced whether they would offer faster 50-100 megabit symmetric service to the 1.5M homes announced by BellSouth before the purchase. BellSouth had already invested in fiber to the curb, so the higher speeds would require little additional investment. Some parts of San Antonio, Texas offered SD TV commercial service in June 2006 with 30 HD channels available to some in December, although limited to a single channel per household. AT&T has announced they will offer two HD channels to a home, which will allow watching one channel while recording a second. As of the end of July 2008 many U-Verse customers finally have the two HD channel offering. The standard definition packages currently offer as many as 400 channels. Pricing varies widely, with "special offers" changing rapidly. The channel lineup and pricing of AT&T U-verse is similar to most cable and satellite systems. There may, of course, be differences between a local cable provider and the AT&T U-verse selection. For a listing in a specific area, consult the U-verse channel lineup. Voice over IP is available in only some U-Verse areas in July, 2008.

External links

• AT&T U-verse