At the end of the year, someone wondered when I would correct my assertion that AT&T’s U-Verse rollout was extremely limited. I’d love to be wrong about this, seriously, but passing a few thousand homes does not a market or a business make. Neither does making franchise agreements easier. AT&T technically is in at least 11 12 markets now, skating in before the calendar page for the much-needed claims of progress but the access in those markets remains quite limited—which means the actual take rate is also pretty small. We may get some more accurate numbers tomorrow when AT&T reports 4Q06 numbers but for now consider this: U-Verse is still only available in roughly 30,000 homes in headquarters San Antonio, the first city to get the commercial service. It has a 10 percent take rate so far, which means about 3,000 people in San Antonio are buying television service from the phone company. The goal is delivery to half of its national customer base by 2008.
Wednesday’s Post-Dispatch examines the service’s status in Missouri, where AT&T already has approval from four communities and is installing some equipment. While the industry chatter for months has been that Microsoft’s IPTV middleware is hampering expansion—denied by both companies—this article (headlined, “Don’t expect it any time soon") looks more at the logistics of adding a complex new service. Some Missouri subscribers could have access this year but it could take six years to pass half of AT&T homes in the state giving cable and satellite companies a lengthy reprieve from what should be a serious video competitor. Meanwhile, Charter Communications, the major cable provider in the St. Louis area, is expanding its phone footprint. The interim cable-telecom battleground is likely to be high-speed data as AT&T’s FCC deal could shift some of the pricing.
The slow pace at least should give AT&T room to make sure the service is ready for prime time technologically and operationally.
Related:
-- Verizon, AT&T U-verse Look Local For Programming
-- AT&T “Introduces” U-Verse Video In Bay Area; Very Limited Availability