AT&T has launched its suite of U-verse services – which includes U-verse TV, U-verse High-Speed Internet and U-verse Voice – in El Paso, Texas; Topeka, Kan.; Salinas and Monterey, Calif.; in parts of west and northwest Arkansas; and in parts of 20 local communities in mid-Michigan.
AT&T offers customers more than 85 high-definition (HD) channels. U-verse TV subscribers have the ability to set their digital video recorder (DVR) from any location – including any Web-connected PC or compatible AT&T mobile phone (wireless service charges apply) – and can simultaneously record up to four standard-definition (SD) programs, or two HD programs, with the DVR. Customers can also store up to 37 hours of HD content, or up to 133 hours of SD content, which is more storage than most cable providers’ DVRs, according to AT&T.
And with AT&T’s Total Home DVR, customers can watch recorded SD and HD programs from a single DVR on any connected TV in the home. They can also pause a recorded show and pick-up where they left off in another room, and can playback multiple recorded shows at once. In November, AT&T announced that it had finished rolling out its Total Home DVR in each of the 69 markets where U-verse services were available.
AT&T U-verse TV subscribers also have access to AT&T Online Photos from Flickr, which allows them to upload photos and watch slideshows on their TVs. Other features of U-verse TV include AT&T U-bar, which brings customizable weather, stock, sports and traffic information to the TV screen; Yahoo Sports Fantasy Football; Yellowpages.com TV; AT&T Yahoo Games, which are also available on the TV screen; Built-in Picture-in-Picture; fast channel changing; and an ever-growing video-on-demand (VOD) library.
And AT&T U-verse High-Speed Internet provides consumers with a maximum downstream speed of up to 18 Mbps, and a maximum upstream speed of up to 1.5 Mbps. All AT&T U-verse High-Speed Internet packages include wireless home or office networking at no extra cost. Subscribers also receive virtually unlimited e-mail storage, anti-virus and anti-spam software, and access to AT&T’s Wi-Fi network, with free unlimited connectivity at more than 17,000 hotspot locations nationwide.
U-verse Voice is a digital voice service that brings more control and functionality to the home phone. U-verse Voice is a managed IP-based service that is delivered over the company’s fiber-rich network. Features of the service include a single, combined voice mailbox for U-verse Voice and AT&T wireless messages; U-verse Central, on online portal where users can manage call preferences and settings; an online voice mailbox; the ability to view call logs from a PC or TV screen; the ability to make a call from a PC or TV using Click to Call; an online address book; and Locate Me.
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