AT&T’s New Fiber Optic Service: One-Time $145 Fee;
Only Available Bundled; Now TV Will Be Wireless Too!
AT&T is moving to build UVerse market share in this Glendale, California neighborhood. I somehow managed to pay attention – even though my short-term memory priorities were KFI Talk Radio and UCLA Seminar highlights – when a sales rep showed up at the door last night to sign me up on the new bundled plan.
An unresolved but relevant issue for consumers citizens to keep in mind when considering such offers is detailed in a Canadian news story published this month. Excerpt:
An international group of scientists is calling on Canada and other countries to bring in tougher safety standards for cellphone use after a Swedish team found a fivefold elevated risk of malignant brain tumours in children who begin using mobile phones before the age of 20.
The plea — and the science underlying it — is published in the forthcoming edition of Pathophysiology, devoted to peer-reviewed research about the biological effects of the global explosion of wireless technologies and devices like cellphones, cordless phones, wireless Internet and cell towers.
The findings of 15 studies from health researchers in six different countries, looking at the effects of electromagnetic fields and radio frequency radiation on living cells and on the health of humans, should jolt government agencies into action as a precautionary measure, Dr. David Carpenter, director of the Institute for Health & the Environment at the University at Albany, and one of the co-authors, said in an interview.
Gleaned from the conversation with the sales rep at my door, and follow-up calls to AT&T today:
AT&T has laid fiber optic wiring from its main locations to several neighborhood “nodes.” Eligible households (near the nodes) can upgrade their DSL service to “fiber optic” UVerse service for a one-time $145 fee, to pay for the technician connecting the household wiring at the node, and also rewiring some connections inside the home. This will provide a direct pipeline for internet service, not shared with other AT&T subscribers, dsl or otherwise.
The upgraded service is only available as a TV/Internet/Phone bundled service, with several integration “advantages” (all of absolutely no use to me, like programming a DVR from your cell phone, looking at a call list on your TV screen, etc.). Combination fiber optic/copper phone wiring could be strung to the house, but I wasn’t able to get complete clarification on that. The technician I spoke with, who wouldn’t tell me his physical location but of course wanted to know where I was calling from, said that it was cheaper for AT&T to offer this wiring than pure fiber optic wiring.
Customers who upgrade receive new 2Wire Residential Gateway modems connected to the node by Cat 5 cables. These modems emit a wireless signal for TV reception, as well as for internet connectivity and interior cell phone use. The salesperson I spoke with on the phone said that this 2Wire modem is configured specifically to work with fiber optic cable signals, as opposed to DSL.
When I asked about the greater range/signal strength of this modem I was referred to a technician, who really didn’t answer the question. After a long conversation which provided some of the information above, he did say that the modem was limited to inside-the-house use (because of password protection), but confirmed that it had a 500-yard range.
Is this AT&T’s marketing answer to neighborhoods that don’t want unsightly, microsite transmission antennae/vaults every few blocks, threatening local property values? Or is it a low-cost way to provide some sort of fiber optic service, in response to growing competition from FiOS (Fiber Optic Service) providers like Verizon, without actually restringing phone lines and rewiring individual homes so customers can have direct, wired connections for every device that needs one?
Interesting article, thank you. Wondering about the potential health effects of such powerful wireless devices (powerful enough to reach 500 yards!!).
Have a great weekend,
Michael
It was a delight to meet you at the Pasadena area blogger picnic 2day in Altadena!
Very happy to have met you as well. The local blogger’s gathering was a wonderful idea.
Our household has been struggling with trying to get reliable internet service for almost a month. Since Charter Cable declared bankruptcy on April 1, 2009 the joke has been on the consumer. We did not have internet service of any kind for over 3 weeks. Our house is over 200 feet from the nearest Charter cable box which means that Charter is selling us a product that it can’t deliver. We have had the service for 16 years and our Cable has always had poor quality. I have also heard that large areas of Pasadena also did not have internet service for over a week at a time.
We have also tried to get AT&T DSL for almost 3 weeks, but are probably too far away from the node, which is 1.1 miles away. Our private IT contractor and AT&T’s technicians cannot get it to work. They were selling us a higher speed internet service when our lines could only accept a much slower speed.
Our next step, we will try to get Time Warner to give us service. At least we have a third company we can try to get reliable internet and Cable service from.
All the Telecom companies are selling services that are not reliable or that they cannot fix. There are no industry standards for consumer protection and in the mad rush to get the most customers. The California and Federal governments do very little to protect the consumers. Buyer Beware!