U-verse from AT&T this week became the fifth video provider in the same central California market when it ramped up its U-verse video service, including more than two dozen HD channels, in those areas that already receive AT&T phone service. Included are the state capital, Sacramento (Nielsen DMA no. 20) - along with Gold River, Lincoln, Folsom, Carmichael and Fair Oaks, according to The Sacramento Bee.
The U-verse TV service matches up old and new technology for its distribution. It relies on fiber-optic lines that connect to various neighborhood nodes, which then hop onto AT&T’s traditional copper phone lines for the “last mile” to the home.
AT&T said it’s offering 26 HD channels on its U-verse plan, compared with what the Bee said are 23 HD outlets from SureWest and 19 on Comcast.
While a five-way fight to capture TV consumers in the same market typically would trigger a price war or two, there is no evidence that any such skirmishes were about to begin in the Sacramento market this month, at least prior to AT&T’s throwing its hat into the ring.
