Competition creates choices for customers
Published: Sunday, January 20, 2008 at 3:33 a.m.
Last Modified: Sunday, January 20, 2008 at 3:33 a.m.
When James Walsh moved into a Rincon Valley condominium in September, he faced an unfamiliar choice.
Did he want the cable company to provide his TV, Internet and phone service? Or did he want to buy it from the telephone company?
A growing number of Santa Rosa residents are facing similar decisions as AT&T rolls out its new U-verse service, giving people more choices than ever before in the increasingly competitive market for TV, phone and Internet service.
"I was a little tentative about trying AT&T's new U-verse service," Walsh said. "But I decided what the heck, I'd give it a try."
Walsh got the digital video recorder and wireless Internet network that comes standard with U-verse, plus he got to keep his e-mail address with AT&T.
"I haven't been disappointed," he said.
Comparing the packages offered by AT&T and Comcast can be a challenge. The two services offer some different channels and features.
Comcast offers faster Internet speeds, while AT&T's new U-verse service offers more customizable features and a clearer glimpse of the future of TV.
Both services reach the home using utility lines, rather than a satellite dish.
AT&T uses a technology called IPTV, which literally sends TV programs over the Internet. TV service comes into the home on copper wires that for decades simply delivered phone calls, and more recently Internet access. But copper wires are fairly limited in the amount of data they can transfer.
Comcast uses coaxial cable, which allows it to send much more data per second. The cable company claims it will be able to deliver speeds up to 100 Mbps by the end of this year after it is done upgrading Santa Rosa's antiquated cable network.
AT&T's top Internet speed is currently 6 Mbps and likely will not increase much. Still, that is a lot faster than most people's Internet connections at work and plenty fast for even the most demanding Web sites.
But AT&T runs into another problem with its smaller bandwidth. Currently, U-verse customers can only watch one HD channel at a time due to the limitations of copper wires. If one person is watching an HD show in the bedroom, then another person cannot watch a different HD channel in the living room. AT&T hopes to be able to simultaneously deliver two HD channels by the end of this year using compression technology.
On the flip side, AT&T can offer a virtually infinite number of TV channels by using the same Internet technology that allows someone to jump from one Web site to another. AT&T simply switches which TV station it is streaming over the Internet to a customer's home.
It currently offers over 40 HD channels, more than Comcast now provides.
Comcast's technology forces it to deliver all its channels at once. At some point it reaches a limit on the number of channels it can fit into the coaxial cable.
IPTV technology also puts AT&T on the forefront of innovation. A standard feature dubbed the U-bar allows customers to create a scrolling ticker on the bottom of the screen. It can be programmed to display local weather, news or individual stocks. And that is just the beginning.
IPTV allows for futuristic technologies such as video phones to be run on your 52-inch television. It allows advertisers to send targeted commercials, depending on what you're watching and what they know about you. It allows third parties to develop new applications such as games and social networking tools for your TV, just like companies do with the innovative Web site Facebook.
"The excitement over IPTV isn't over what is being rolled out now. It's over what is going to happen in a year," said Vince Vittore, a market analyst with The Yankee Group in Boston. "They have already started opening up the market for application developers. Two years from now the landscape is going to look a lot different."
Walsh connected to AT&T's U-verse in late September, only months after the telephone company began slowly deploying the new service. U-verse is still not available in most Santa Rosa neighborhoods. AT&T also plans to roll it out it in Petaluma, but has not disclosed its plans for other cities.
"Overall, I'm real happy with it," Walsh said. "It provides a great picture. And some of the features are terrific."
One standard feature allows people to use the Internet to record TV programs while they are away from home.
A few Sundays ago, Walsh was at a friend's house in Santa Rosa when he and his wife decided to spend the day in Healdsburg. Walsh used his friend's computer to access AT&T's Web site. From there, he programmed the set-top box in his living room to record an NFL game.
"Sometimes your wife is happier when you don't smother the whole day with a 49ers game, especially when they're not winning," he said. "So I got to be the chivalrous good guy, and I watched them lose later."
The set-top box for U-verse also functions as a secured Wi-Fi network for Walsh's home -- a standard feature that is provided at no extra cost.
Both Comcast and AT&T offer familiar programming, such as the major networks and popular cable channels, including MTV, ESPN, the History Channel and Comedy Central. But TV viewers with particular interests should dig deep into the channel lineups and compare the two.
For instance, AT&T's basic bundle offers the Speed Channel, which specializes in the world of motor racing, while Comcast does not. Conversely, AT&T does not offer the local PBS station KRCB, which is based in Rohnert Park and included in Comcast's basic service.
For Santa Rosa resident Barrie Mason, the absence of KRCB was a deal breaker. Only two days after getting U-verse in November, she switched back to Comcast even though she thought AT&T's reception looked better.
"I really value KRCB," Mason said. "I'm back on Comcast."
While Santa Rosa customers benefit from being on the front lines of a tech battle, they will suffer through the growing pains of evolving technology. In the first few weeks after receiving his AT&T service, Walsh had to reset the whole system three times by pushing a button on the main receiver.
"Their customer service people were all over me, and in a good way," he said. "I was probably a fine guinea pig."
He also had to look up the new channel numbers for his favorite stations, such as the History and Discovery channels.
"You have to get used to the new number sequences," he said. "Now I've got to grab a card to see where it is."
The city of Santa Rosa advocated hard for AT&T to offer its new service here. Now it hopes the added competition will drive down the cost of TV and Internet service for all residents.
"I'm hoping that as AT&T gets more customers, that overall rates drop. We suspect it will happen," said Eric McHenry, chief technology officer for Santa Rosa. "In every city where we have seen competitive offerings, prices decrease and services improve."
You can reach Staff Writer Nathan Halverson at 521-5494 or nathan.halverson@
pressdemocrat.com.
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