anyone know anything about AT&T U-Verse?

[Syrinx]

I've been going crazy trying to figure out a good, affordable way to get broadband at home.

I got an ad in the mail for U-Verse. And I went to the U-Verse website, and it said the service is available where I live.

I figure I can get 1.5 Mbps internet (not that fast, but way better than dialup) and basic cable channels for slightly less than I'm spending on DirecTv and dialup. But that'll mean no more HBO.

I was wondering if anyone has experience with U-Verse, and what can you tell me about it?

[RoyGBiv]

1. Not personal experience ...

As in, I don't subscribe to it at the moment.

But, I've seen it, and in my previous life, I was a part of meetings about it. It scares the hell out of the cable industry (Comcast, Cox, Time-Warner, etc.) because it really is a better service than cable. The technology is better, iow. The only real issue with it right now is a lack of infrastructure, mature software, and a marketing plan that prices it more competitively.

You'll be dealing with AT&T, so you can consider that from the customer service angle. I dunno how you view your current customer service. The idea of AT&T might be an improvement.

So, basically, from the perspective I have as someone formerly of the cable industry but who hasn't had U-Verse in his home yet, I'd recommend it.

[Syrinx]

2. thanks Roy

I value your opinion.

The big sticking point for me is that I live about two-hundred feet off the main road. Hopefully I can find someone to run internet service that far without charging a fortune.

I'm told I can't get DSL here. Does that make sense? That I can't get DSL, but can get U-Verse?

[RoyGBiv]

3. Yeah, it makes sense ... sorta

Remembering your travails with service at your location I was shocked to see you say that U-Verse is available where you are. AT&T has been putting in the infrastructure for it for about three years now, but they've been concentrating on high market areas. It's cost them hundreds of millions.

But, that is one reason it makes sense. DSL runs off phone lines with a requirement of a node within so many thousand feet. U-Verse runs off a completely different circuit based on fiber. It's as expensive as hell to put in, but once it is, you (from the service provider perspective) don't have the same kind of problems, cost, or bandwidth restrictions associated with DSL service.

Apparently, the lines for that got put down where you are.

[Syrinx]

4. I think I understand. Sort of. :)

Thanks again!

[RoyGBiv]

5. It's basically a new network ...

Built from the ground up. U-Verse is just a brand name. It's the same kind of network that Verizon established in various locations.

IOW, it's totally different from DSL. It's just the same company that is often associated with DSL selling it.

The bandwidth available is incredible. They've so far limited their residential Internet packages to a maximum of something like 16Mb/s, but they have the capacity of upwards of 50-60 Mb/s. Contrast this with cable offerings of around 12-15Mb/s max at the moment, which is pushing the absolute limit until the infrastructure is improved.

Anyway ... it's going to be available at my apartment complex soon, and I'm getting it. I'm so fed up with Comcast that I've learned to appreciate my former company/employer Cox far more than I did. Comcast flatly sucks. (And they HATE it when I call tech support because I know when they're lying to me.) I knew that already, but now I have personal experience. They suck more than I even suspected.

[Syrinx]

6. I'm thinking I'll probably call them in the next day or two

To see if I can really get it.

dslreports.com said that I could get Comcast, but I called them Monday, and the lady on the phone said she didn't "think" they served my area. She didn't really sound like she was too sure. Maybe a different rep would tell me something different. :shrug:

I'm really jealous of my friends, some of who live in more "rural" areas, but are closer to their main road, that are watching Hulu and downloading massive amounts of subversive political videos. :)

[Why Syzygy]

7. Does it require a commitment contract? nt

[Syrinx]

8. I don't think so

But I've read that you have to sign up for TV if you want the internet. But that you can turn around and cancel TV on your first day, and keep internet. :crazy:

I don't think I'll be able to get this anytime soon, regardless of what their website told me. I drove up and down my street several times this evening looking for one of these things.



That is called a "VRAD." I'm not sure what that stands for, but I think that's where the fiber meets the old-fashioned copper telephone wires that lead to homes. Without one of those boxes fairly nearby, U-Verse isn't going to happen. I did see one a couple of miles and a turn up the road, near a somewhat more "upscale" neighborhood, but none in my specific area that I could locate.

EDIT: I looked it up, and VRAD stands for Video Ready Access Device.

The search continues. Sigh.

[Why Syzygy]

9. That looks like what Grande

http://www.grandecom.com/

installed in my old neighborhood. I don't know if it's available outside of Texas.

Here's a forum entry about VRAD and distance from user.
http://www.uverseusers.com/index.php?option=com_smf&Itemid=2&topic=12502.0

[RoyGBiv]

10. Have you gone to the website?

There's a tool there where you can put in your street address, and it checks to see if it is available.

Their being one near an "upscale" neighborhood makes sense. That's what they are targeting. They need lots and lots of customers who will subscribe to full service all at once to help defray some of the costs of implementation.

In OKC they did some sort of demographics study and put in the VRADs in Edmond near higher income, dense population areas first.

[Syrinx]

12. yeah

And it said "Congratulations, U-Verse is available in your area!" But if there is one of those VRADs anywhere on my street, it is really well-hidden.

[RoyGBiv]

14. They do hide them ...

... in some places. Not sure if my confidentiality agreement is still in place or not, but I guess I can say that my former employer had some of us looking for them in our area, and some were a bit hard to find.

They aren't too big actually. The pic in this thread seems to show a bigger structure than the ones I've seen.

Here's a pic:



Here's another one I grabbed from a website showing its size relative to a person:



You can see the one on the top is surrounded by trees and bushes.

Anyway ... the "congrats" message may mean it is coming soon at any rate. My address comes up with the same message, but it won't be officially available until April 1st. The VRAD is already installed, and it's impossible to see unless you are looking for it ... or trip over it. :)

[Syrinx]

15. thanks for keeping hope alive :)

My dialup account is paid up until July. Sometime between now and then, I'll call AT&T and ask. I'll probably procrastinate, in order to delay the almost certain disappointment. :D

[Jazzgirl]

11. I have had U-Verse for almost a year.

I have been quite satisfied with it. The quality of the pictures on my regular digital TV sets is great though I don't have any flat screens yet. My internet is awesome. When I had the Dish and it rained, I could count on it going out. I have only had my TV go out when I've lost power so far. I've been quite happy with the service.

[Syrinx]

13. which internet tier did you sign up for?

And do your speeds match what was promised?

[Jazzgirl]

16. My speed does match pretty much

what my agreement was for. I got 10 meg down and that is what my agreement was for. It is quite acceptable.

[Syrinx]

17. thanks!

[ailsagirl]

37. What a pretty Siamese!!

I'm trying to figure out if I should switch-- right now I pay about $60 for
my land line + internet. Reasonable. But then I use Comcast (rip-off) for
my cable and it costs another $60/month. Too damn much

[RazzleCat]

18. I have it

So far its great. For me it was way less expensive than doing the dish for television, DSL for internet and land line. I was able to cancel my land line saving money, and I have never lost service due to weather. I also have not lost my internet connection at all since I switched, sounds silly but I had ATT DSL and it would go down, but ATT Uverse stays on.

[Jazzgirl]

19. Me too RazzleCat.

I calculated and it was a little cheaper and my speeds were much, much better. I really do like the TV except for the occasional freeze but that doesn't happen that often and the quality of the picture is phenomenal.

[Syrinx]

20. I went walking up the street today

I still didn't find anything that looked like those VRAD boxes, but I did find something interesting. About a hundred feet or so up the street is a small tubular structure with a rounded top. I'd say it's probably about three feet tall. Written on it is "Lightspeed-ready access point." Does anyone (Roy?) know exactly what this is? Could it be a smaller version of the VRADs? Or something that connects to a VRAD?

[RoyGBiv]

21. That's It!

I think ...

Are you in Southwestern Bell territory?

Project Lightspeed is SBC's infrastructure project to deploy fiber for highspeed Internet, VOIP, and television service.

[Syrinx]

22. No, the old BellSouth area

But they were reswallowed by AT&T. A few years ago, I think. So, you think this thing is like a mini-VRAD? (This is a less densely populated area, than the places I've seen those big cabinets.)

Did you start your U-Verse subscription yet?

[RoyGBiv]

23. It's possible ...

... or it could be the start of one.

It's been about two years since I was swarmed with information about all this, so I'm sure things have progressed. When I was looking for pics of a VRAD earlier I actually did run across a pic that looks something like what you describe, but I dismissed it. It was quite small and on a pole-like thing it seemed. Can't seem to find it now and didn't commit the image to memory. Don't remember the search term I used either; apparently it wasn't just VRAD.

Everything about Project Lightspeed, I just discovered, is now under the ATT URL, so it seems safe to say it is related at the very least.

I haven't started my subscription yet. I got sidetracked by a car wreck on the way home from the airport a couple weeks ago. Been dealing with lawyers and doctors and such ever since and hadn't even thought about it.

[Syrinx]

24. sorry to hear about your wreck

Were you seriously injured? I sure hope not!

I've been doing google image searches trying to find pictures of a structure like the one I found, but I've found nada. And the internet doesn't seem to be aware of "lightspeed-ready access point." I figured I would have come away with a zillion links, since that's what's written on the thing. But no dice. I guess I should invest in a digital camera if only for occasions like this.

Thanks for all your help and advice, and best of luck on dealing with them doctors and lawyers! ;)

[RoyGBiv]

25. Pedestal ...

Found this ...



It's a pedestal placed near a home as a conduit to the VRAD somewhere else. Not a great pic, but it struck me as similar.

About the wreck, I think I'm okay, but it's one of those back/neck things of song and story ... good, old fashioned whiplash. I had my seatbelt on but was jerked around really hard. Some idiot with a cell phone plowed into us as we were sitting still on a highway in stalled traffic. He hit us, then we hit the people in front of us. They went to the hospital, and I went home, but I don't remember much about the rest of the day.

Doing physical therapy now.

[Syrinx]

26. that looks similar to the thing I found

Not identical, but very similar. I'm starting to think I might actually be able to get this service!

I hope that idiot that hit you was a very wealthy Republican asshole banker, and that you take him for all he's worth. And when you do, you give me a bailout. :D

Good luck on the physical therapy.

[RoyGBiv]

27. Not sure, but ...

My lawyer is a radical lefty "I hate insurance companies with a passion and get off on watching their lawyers cry" grizzled old bastard. He does personal injury to pay the bills so he can do criminal defense work the rest of the time. An odd duck, he is, but I suspect he'll do what he can. I imagine if he found out the guy was a rich Republican banker, he'd find some way to sue the bank.

I'll let you know on the bailout. :)

[charlie]

28. Hey, I recognize that

It's sitting in my front yard. Says SBC on it, but nothing about Lightspeed. This is a new development though, less than 3 years old, maybe it's new enough for broadband, I hope, I hope, I hope. The weird thing is, there's one of those for every 2 houses for blocks around.

Roy: When I perfect my remote cellphone disintegrator, you're getting the first prototype. (I'm real glad you're okay. Mend. Decompress. Unleash the law hound on the moron so you can do it in Tahiti)

[RoyGBiv]

29. I don't know how these work ...

My familiarity with the structure of UVerse, etc. is starting to have some significant holes apparently. I'd never seen those pedestals until I ran across the picture, which was attached to a rather detailed news story from about a year ago about ATT's roll-out strategy. As you can see in the picture, those pedestals are in an area where houses were still in the process of being built. The one in the foreground isn't the only one. There seems to be, as you observed near you, one every other house along the road.

I am assuming these are part of a system analogous to the node and branch structure used by cable Internet.

About decompression (literally), I feel as though if I could hang upside down for a day or so like a bat and let my spine stretch out, I'd be all better.

And I'm looking forward to that disintegrator prototype. Although I may need additional services from this lawyer when I get it. :)

[Syrinx]

30. perhaps I've lost my mind

But I went to take another look at that pedestal Wednesday. It seems that it's been swapped since I just found it, what Sunday?

Sunday, the top of it said "Lightspeed-ready access point." That's not there anymore, though there is a sticker on the body of the tube that says it is a lightspeed-ready device, and that crews shouldn't modify it without talking to their supervisor.

Instead, the only significant thing stamped on the top is the URL of the manufacturer.

http://www.charlesindustries.com

While I haven't seen the inside of the thing, the outside looks like this picture.



On my way home today, I noticed a couple of AT&T guys working on a VRAD about three or four miles from where I live. I pulled over and got out of my car and walked up to them. I told them about the ad I got in the mail, and asked them if U-Verse was really available on my street. One of the guys spoke up and said that there is indeed a VRAD on my road but said "I'm not sure if it's powered up yet." I wish I had asked him where exactly it is, but I sensed that they didn't really want to talk about it. I guess sometimes I'm not assertive enough. ;)

I take that the hardware change in the last few days is probably a good sign. If the service isn't yet available here, at least maybe they are actively getting the kinks sorted out.

We'll see what comes of this, but I'm more optimistic about a good broadband source coming my way than I've ever been. Fingers crossed.

[RoyGBiv]

31. Your mind ...

... and my mind must be off partying or something, 'cause I can't find mine either.

That all does sound like the standard scenario. Advertise, then actually make it possible. Creates urgency, you see. Works too. :)

The ATT guys generally don't want to talk about what they're doing just to anyone. I don't know if it was in this or one of these threads where I mentioned that a whole department was made at my former employer that was basically charged with little buy spying on the competition. Walking up to techs and striking up conversations was a common tactic.

Anyway ... I'm following your story closely. I hope it turns out.

[Syrinx]

32. thanks!

By the way, do you know how far, physically, digital data in the range of one to 18 Mbps can be sent over copper telephone lines? As I noted before, I'm roughly 200 feet from the road, and from there it is another 100 feet or so to that pedestal. Thanks, even if you don't know. ;)

[RoyGBiv]

33. Stretching brain circuits there ...

Too many penguins, not enough ice ...

I *think* I recall that about 100 meters is the distance at which significant signal loss occurs, so that's right at your distance. As long as the S/N ratio isn't too dismal, they can fix that with an amplifier I believe.

[Syrinx]

34. that's cutting it close

Thanks. I remain hopeful.

[RoyGBiv]

35. You could rewire ...

They've got this new thing out there now that's supposed to successfully do gigabit transfers without signal loss over the same length of copper that will currently do 100 Mb/s.

Of course, it's copper coated with silver in a particular way, and you'd have to take out a new mortgage for it I imagine. :) (Saw a paper on it ... don't really know any details.)

Seriously, though, the distance problem can be overcome once you have the outlet within striking distance.

I won't bore you with the whole, convoluted story of how this came to be, but we had one guy in OKC who had a line strung to his home who was several miles from the nearest hub. It required a series of amplifiers and *a lot* of money, but it got done.

[keroro gunsou]

36. i've got it...

only complaint is i miss my old land line for dsl. it gave me fewer problems than this stupid usb wireless modem i've got.