AT&T U-Verse.... anyone using it?

[DaveTN]

Anyone using this?

I have never been able to find and alternative for my big azz Comcast bill, but this may be it.

It appears that they are over $60 a month less on comparable packages.

If the quality is there I may look at switching.

Before everyone starts ripping on Comcast I will add this for comparison. My Comcast internet is so fast the numbers don’t matter anymore, it never goes out, 2 HD DVR’s that are constantly recording without any issues, all premium movie channels on-demand. It’s an awesome set-up but I’m paying over $200 a month because Comcast doesn’t have any competition. This package that appears to be close is $139.

They are really pushing the cell and home phones to get a good deal, but I don’t need a home phone and I am happy with Verizon wireless. I had AT&T cell and it was terrible. I really wish Verizon had come up with this first. But I’m sure they will follow.

[dunndw]

I have it, love it. The package we got ended up costing as much as our Comcast deal, but the ablity to record 4 shows, start watching in the living room, finish that show in the bedroom, etc.

I will warn you that ATT screws with POP3. You can't use a "business" POP3 e-mail address. You have to use your ATT e-mail. That happenned to a client of mine, and to my wife.

[TripleDigitRide]

I thought about switching to AT&T from Comcast, but I decided against it for a few reasons.

Based on my current plan with Comcast, AT&T was only going to save me $15 a month. Remember to add in the taxes and other charges.

The main reason I decided to stay with Comcast was, the technology, IPTV. If one of your services (Internet, Phone, TV) goes out, all of them go out. They are all run on the same system.

After talking to a few people who made the switch, I wasn't crazy about the installation times. Almost 4 hours for one, about 5 hours for the second, and nearly 8 hours for the last person. From what I understand, the installation time can vary greatly depending on the age of your house.

Another thing that bothered me was, they don't have any offices in the Middle Tennessee area. Comcast has several offices scattered all over the place. If your equipment quit working and you didn't want to wait 2 or 3 days for a new one, you can take it to the Comcast office for an exchange. Not so with AT&T.

Because AT&T has no offices in the area, you have to give them your credit card info to hold on record. This is to ensure that you return the equipment should you move and/or cancel your service. You don't have to do that with Comcast.

There were a few other things, but I can't remember them right now.

Edited November 1, 2009 by TripleDigitRide

[TNTitan]

I looked at it closely. Had a DTD salesman come by and said they were installing it in my area and if I buy from him.. I get free installation and no charge for addt boxes, something the website couldn't offer. I said I would look into it and get back to him, even though Im not a DSL fan (not what he wanted to hear).

So I called the company. Turns out I could get free installation through their website but additional boxes were extra. Nice work DTD salesguy. And the HD stream limit was bothersome.

The coup de grace came when I told the guy on the phone to go ahead and do it and I would try them out for a while and see if I liked it. The tech showed up to install 3 or 4 days later and tested the fiber. The signal was so weak he said there was no way it would work. We talked for a while and he said they were having trouble all over the place. If you are not right next to the VRAD hub, it wouldnt work. I asked him where the hub was and he pointed down the street.. like 20 houses down. I said thanks for your time and went back to enjoying Comcast HD.

[DaveTN]

Good points. I’ve had two HD DVR boxes with Comcast that I returned because I didn’t like the way they were performing. Taking them two miles down the road is convenient. I wonder how AT&T handles a hardware problem. I would assume in this day and age they just overnight you a new box and have you return the bad one….??

I don’t plan on paying for installation and my house is totally wired with both cable and CAT5; so I really wouldn’t care how long installation took as long as it was done right.

I wouldn’t consider it, but they have my wife’s attention…. $60 a month is a lot.

TNTitan… that’s what I’m wondering about. There is no way you could stream 4 channels of HD TV programming at a time without a rock solid service. I assume they have a trial period?

[TNTitan]

yea. no contract so you can give it a go and tell them to hit the bricks if it doesnt work.. that was my plan - but ultimately it never happend due to poor initial signal.

[TripleDigitRide]

TNTitan… that’s what I’m wondering about. There is no way you could stream 4 channels of HD TV programming at a time without a rock solid service. I assume they have a trial period?

I'm pretty sure you're only allowed 2 HD streams, max, with U-Verse.

[TripleDigitRide]

I looked at it closely. Had a DTD salesman come by and said they were installing it in my area and if I buy from him.. I get free installation and no charge for addt boxes, something the website couldn't offer. I said I would look into it and get back to him, even though Im not a DSL fan (not what he wanted to hear).

So I called the company. Turns out I could get free installation through their website but additional boxes were extra. Nice work DTD salesguy. And the HD stream limit was bothersome.

yea, the salesguy that came to my door was the same way. I don't recall the exact numbers, but one of the "perks" he mentioned was a $100 gift card of some sort. Well, when I called AT&T's customer service line with a few more questions, they told me the gift card was $200 or $250.

I guess the salesguy is allowed to pocket that money if he can get away with it, because he didn't even mention it until the very end of our conversation, when he realized I wasn't really interested in switching to AT&T right there on the spot.

[TNTitan]

Im in sales... so I have a softspot for DTD salesdudes.. but I draw the line at dishonesty or dumb/unprepared pitches. I always tell them I dont make decisions at my doorstep and ask for their phone number and some info to take a look at. They usually can provide neither.

[DaveTN]

I'm pretty sure you're only allowed 2 HD streams, max, with U-Verse.

One of the selling points is that you can record 4 shows at a time per box, with Comcast it is two. I can do 4 HD programs at a time with two boxes and not have any loss. Does anyone even watch non-HD anymore?

One thing that I just noticed… they don’t appear to have On-Demand with premium channels. I usually don’t record my movies I just watch them when I want with On-Demand.

[krunchnik]

I switched from Dish tv to the U-Verse for all my needs including the phone and internet.I have the 12 MBS and works great,usually when I test I am running a firm 11 MBS.The main reason I switched is due to the fact we constantly lose signal on our dish,where our house is located the trees in back block standard satellite and is getting worse.the tech for Dish TV said we could never get High Def due to these trees being in the line of sight and it would only get worse,not our property so trimming the trees is not an option.So for the last 2 weeks its been working out pretty decently.Also with the U-Verse phone you have unlimited long distance for $5.00 extra a month.We were paying over $30.00 monthly for a long distance plan alone.

[Guest dart67eb]

I switched from comcast an got better internet and DVR which I didn't have before for the same price.

[Guest mustangdave]

I already have AT&T bundled service...Cell phone...Land Line and Broad Band DSL...it cost me $175 a month...my Comcast is $15 a month for Basic Extended Cable TV. I've been solisited by the door to door AT&T sales reps about AT&T U-vers...for prices from $120-140 a month...sounds good huh? Well...that introductory price is usually good for 6 months...then it'll go up to over $200...and here's another thing...the cell phone plan has less minutes per month than I currently get....the DSL is the SLOWER package...and the Land Line Phone HAS to have all the bells and whistles on it...and the TV package has all the PREMIUM stuff (I'm not interested in)...just be wary of the old BAIT and SWITCH.

[Bubba0031]

Both myself and my sister have Comcast her daughter has AT&T. When my sister is @ her daughters she can not log into her Comcast e-mail account using the daughters AT&T.

I don't like paying $180/month for Comcast but it's all that's available @ my location. I also am not a fan of their service.

[Guest NeuralFizz]

My internet service from comast blows away anything I've ever had from At&T/bellsouth.

[Guest db99wj]

Crap. I was thinking about this, but...comcast, while a little more expensive, is....better. I need to figure out how to save $60 per month so I can get Iphones for me and my wife and the service!