• by David Goetzl  @dgoetzl, June 1, 2007

AT&T is on pace to pass the 100,000-subscriber barrier for its telco TV offering as soon as this fall, according to the company's COO.

In an investor presentation this week, Randall Stephenson, who will soon become CEO, said AT&T U-verse is now in 30,000 homes and adding about 500 customers a day.

AT&T has been gradually rolling out its TV service, which competes with cable and satellite operators. It launched recently in the Los Angeles and Detroit DMAs. Stephenson, however, said marketing efforts are increasing in the Dallas and Houston markets, with neighborhood-by-neighborhood initiatives rather than mass campaigns. "Guerilla warfare-type marketing" is how he characterized the effort.

By contrast, Verizon has used local TV spots in the New York and Los Angeles markets for its telco TV offerings there.

As Stephenson prepares to assume the CEO post, he said AT&T will increasingly be in both the entertainment and advertising business, looking to offer both across the three screens it serves: broadband-propelled computers, wireless and TV. Ad revenues, he says, "can move the needle for AT&T."

Moving aggressively into the ad sales business would mark a notable shift for the company, given its legacy in the telephony infrastructure business.