AT&T Rolls Out Florida Service, Bullish On Future

TVAT&T said this week that its telco TV service is on pace to top 1 million subscribers by the end of the year--a figure that would give it the size of a top-10 cable operator. Subscribers to its U-verse service have skyrocketed from some 51,000 a year ago to about 549,000 as of July 1.

Still, U-verse trails the other telco TV provider, Verizon, whose FiOS service was at 1.2 million subscribers on April 1. Verizon is expected to report further growth next week.

In the recently completed second quarter, U-verse added 170,000 new TV customers. CFO Rick Lindner was bullish on its prospects Wednesday, saying it "continues on a good trajectory." AT&T has said that the challenger to cable and satellite operators could be a "multibillion-dollar business," and Lindner essentially reaffirmed that while discussing second-quarter results, even in light of the slowing economy.

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This week, AT&T rolled out U-verse in parts of the Miami and Ft. Lauderdale areas, and next week turns the switch on in Palm Beach.

AT&T is attempting to use U-verse to offer customers a bundled package of TV, phone and Internet--something cable operators have done for some time.

But even after it makes U-verse available as widely as intended in its footprint, there will still be areas where the service will not be available. And in those markets--in perhaps up to half its footprint--AT&T will continue to look to partner with a satellite provider--be it Dish Network or DirecTV--to market its own version of a phone, Internet and TV triple-play.

AT&T has said it will cancel a current contract with Dish at the end of the year. It is then expected to either renegotiate with Dish or reach a deal with DirecTV. Lindner said that the company is "working toward renewing relationships on the satellite side by the end of this year."

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