|
(Disappointing) Notes from AT&T Investor Webcast |
|
Written by uvadmin
|
|
Tuesday, 12 June 2007 |
|
AT&T had their Investor Relations Webcast today, and revealed some disappointing interesting details about the state of its U-verse IPTV product. Most disappointing was the announcement that several key features of the IPTV platform have been pushed back an entire year. Here is a brief summary of the information that was revealed.
Current State of Service
- U-verse TV is currently passing 3 million homes in 21 markets
- More than 70% of AT&T's access lines have received approval for U-verse
- Current Install Rate - 600 per day, expect 10,000 per week by end of 2007
- More than 40,000 current subscribers
Planned Features & Target Dates
- Photos, VoIP, U-Bar, Yellow Pages - Q4 2007
- 2 HD Streams, Pair Bonding, iNID - Q2 2008
- Whole Home DVR - Q3 2008
- Caller ID on TV - Q4 2008
- Higher Speeds based on loop length - 2008
Additional Notes
- Planning to have 100+ HD channels by 2009
- 4 HD Streams + Internet + VoIP will require 37.8Mbps
- Pair Bonding can deliver 58Mbps or higher depending on loop length
Many of these announcements come as a surprise to those of us that have been following U-verse. The biggest surprise is that Whole Home DVR has been pushed to Q308. That feature was originally planned for Q306 and later pushed to 2007. Users have also been told to expect multiple HD streams by the end of 2007, but it appears that deadline has slipped also. We are hoping that these target dates are purposefully pushed back to ensure that they hit their deadlines, but it sure doesn't look like we will be seeing Whole Home DVR any time this year.
|
|
|
What is U-verse?
U-verse is AT&T's revolutionary IPTV platform capable of delivering standard and high-def television over a high-speed internet connection. U-verse utilizes both fiber-to-the-node and fiber-to-the-point technology to obtain speeds upwards of 25Mbps to the user's home. AT&T is attempting to leapfrog current cable systems by offering features like a DVR that can record up to 4 shows at a time and is programmable from any web-connected computer.
|
|
|