More Than 200,000 Houston Customers Choose AT&T U-verse TV Over Cable

HOUSTON, Feb. 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Video choice and competition have reached Houston consumers in a big way, and they have responded. AT&T* today announced that more than 200,000 Houston customers have made the switch to AT&T U-verse(SM) TV. The milestone comes after the initial launch of U-verse TV in the Houston area only three years ago.

Houston customers were among the first to receive AT&T U-verse in November 2006, and AT&T has continued its efforts to make the service more widely available in the market. AT&T U-verse is currently offered throughout the Houston region, including parts of Brazoria, Fort Bend, Galveston, Harris and Montgomery counties. From 2006 through 2008, AT&T's total capital investment in its Texas wireless and wireline networks was more than $6 billion, which helped facilitate the roll out of AT&T U-verse services across the state.

"Today's AT&T U-verse subscriber milestone reflects our commitment to make the investments necessary to bring consumers across the greater Houston area a new era of true video competition," said Don Cain, AT&T Texas president. "We are thrilled to offer this innovative video choice to Houston area customers, and even more excited about the strong customer response we're seeing."

Texas was the first state where AT&T U-verse services were deployed, as a result of legislation passed in September 2005 by the Texas Legislature and signed by Gov. Rick Perry.

This legislation provides an environment that encourages new video providers, such as AT&T, to invest in Texas to compete against incumbent cable providers.

"The Texas Legislature was the first in the country to pass a bill that enabled a quick roll-out of this video service on the basis that it would bring competition, jobs and lower prices to Houston. That's exactly what has happened," said state Rep. Sylvester Turner.

"Today's milestone confirms what we've known all along. Houston customers want a new and better TV choice," said Chris Penrose, vice president and general manager for AT&T in South Texas. "Houston customers love the better DVR, better apps and better experience they get with U-verse TV, and we look forward to more customers learning why U-verse TV is such an exciting TV service. After all, what Houston cable customer can say they've received more than 20 free TV apps at no extra charge and have more HD channels than their U-verse neighbor?"

AT&T U-verse TV is the only 100 percent Internet Protocol-based television (IPTV) service offered by a national service provider, making AT&T U-verse one of the most dynamic and feature-rich services available today. AT&T U-verse TV ranked "Highest in Residential Television Service Satisfaction in the South Region Two Years in a Row," according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2008 and 2009 Residential Television Service Provider Satisfaction Studies(SM). Today, AT&T has 2.1 million U-verse TV subscribers nationwide.

Since the initial launch, Houston U-verse TV customers have received numerous AT&T U-verse enhancements and apps at no extra cost including:

• Total Home DVR, which gives you the freedom to watch and manage recordings from a single DVR on any connected TV in the house.
• U-verse TV Multiview, an award-winning app that lets you watch up to four channels at once on your TV screen.
• Regular additions to the U-verse High Definition (HD) channel lineup, which now offers access to more than 120 HD channels — more than the local cable providers.
• Remote Access to the DVR, which lets you schedule and manage DVR recordings from any Web-connected PC or mobile device.
• Film Awards Interactive, a new app today that lets you read bios, watch previews and vote for your favorite award-nominated films and stars for this season's award shows.
• AT&T U-bar, which gives you personalized, on-screen weather, sports, traffic and stock information.
• Media Share, which lets you stream your personal photos and music files located on your home computers to any connected TV in the home.
• Weather On Demand, an app that gives you instant access to check the current weather conditions and detailed forecasts in any U.S. city.
• Yahoo! Sports Fantasy Football, an app to help you manage your fantasy teams from your U-verse TV screen through the AT&T U-bar during football season.
• College Basketball from Yahoo! Sports, which gives basketball fans the ability to view tournament brackets, their personalized completed bracket, game summaries and box scores, and more through the AT&T U-bar during the basketball season.
• Santa Tracker, an app available during the holidays that lets you follow Santa around the globe, visit Santa's workshop at the North Pole and more.
• Online Photos from Flickr, an app that lets you view personal photos on your TV that you have uploaded to flickr.com.
• Offers On Demand, an app that lets you redeem a coupon code on-screen for discounts on movie rentals.
• TV Awards and New Shows, an app that helps you stay on top of the season's award shows and season premieres during the fall.
• U-verse Voice Call History, an app that lets you view your Call History from your PC or TV screen.
• U-verse Voice Click to Call, an app that lets you initiate a call to any number in your Call History with one click of a mouse or the U-verse TV remote control.
• Introduced faster Internet surfing speeds with the launch of AT&T U-verse High Speed Internet Max (up to 12 Mbps downstream) and Max Plus (up to 18 Mbps downstream).

AT&T also expanded its U-verse bundle choices with the introduction of AT&T U-verse Voice in Houston in January 2009. U-verse Voice is a managed IP-based digital voice service that is delivered over AT&T's fiber-rich network. This allows U-verse Voice customers to enjoy great sound quality and reliability, as well as unmatched calling features that combine with your AT&T U-verse TV, broadband and wireless services. At the end of January, AT&T announced it had more than 1 million U-verse Voice lines nationwide.

AT&T U-verse customers enjoy quadruple-play integration, enhanced features and greater value, all made possible by IP technology. For additional information on AT&T U-verse — or to find out if it's available in your area — visit www.att.com/u-verse, call 800-ATT-2020 or visit a local AT&T location.

*AT&T products and services are provided or offered by subsidiaries and affiliates of AT&T Inc. under the AT&T brand and not by AT&T Inc.

About AT&T

AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) is a premier communications holding company. Its subsidiaries and affiliates – AT&T operating companies – are the providers of AT&T services in the United States and around the world. With a powerful array of network resources that includes the nation's fastest 3G network, AT&T is a leading provider of wireless, Wi-Fi, high speed Internet and voice services. AT&T offers the best wireless coverage worldwide, offering the most wireless phones that work in the most countries. It also offers advanced TV services under the AT&T U-verse(SM) and AT&T | DIRECTV(SM) brands. The company's suite of IP-based business communications services is one of the most advanced in the world. In domestic markets, AT&T's Yellow Pages and YELLOWPAGES.COM organizations are known for their leadership in directory publishing and advertising sales. In 2009, AT&T again ranked No. 1 in the telecommunications industry on FORTUNE® magazine's list of the World's Most Admired Companies.

Additional information about AT&T Inc. and the products and services provided by AT&T subsidiaries and affiliates is available at http://www.att.com. This AT&T news release and other announcements are available at http://www.att.com/newsroom and as part of an RSS feed at www.att.com/rss. Or follow our news on Twitter at @ATTNews. Find us on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/ATT to discover more about our consumer and wireless services or at www.facebook.com/ATTSmallBiz to discover more about our small business services.

© 2009 AT&T Intellectual Property. All rights reserved. AT&T, the AT&T logo and all other marks contained herein are trademarks of AT&T Intellectual Property and/or AT&T affiliated companies.

IMPORTANT OFFER INFORMATION: Geographic and service restrictions apply to AT&T U-verse. Call or go to www.uverse.att.com to see if you qualify. All promotional offers expire 3/20/10. Residential customers only; Prices, programming, and offers subject to change without notice. A one-time TV service activation fee of $29 applies. AT&T U-verse High Speed Internet: Internet speed claim(s) represent maximum downstream and/or upstream speed capabilities. Speeds may vary and are not guaranteed. Many factors can affect actual speeds including the use of other U-verse services. Credit and other restrictions apply. Purchase of U-verse TV required to order AT&T U-verse High Speed Internet. A $3 monthly High Speed Internet equipment rental fee will apply. Channel counts include optional channels available in plan; Wireless networking may require adapter purchased separately; Fiber-optics apply to part or all of the network depending on your location. Other Charges: Taxes, city video cost recovery fees, and other fees extra. Installation Included: Offer ends 3/20/10. No charge for standard professional installation for new AT&T U-verse customers ordering qualifying U-verse TV packages. 30 Day Money Back Guarantee: Offer ends 3/20/10. Residential customers ordering new U-verse service may cancel all AT&T U-verse services within 30 days from service activation. Money-Back Guarantee includes adjustment only of initial installation charges and one month service charges, if paid; Customer is responsible for all additional charges including but not limited to Video on Demand, Pay Per View, international calls, other pay-per-use features and non-returned equipment charges. HD Service: Access to HD service requires $10/mo. HD Premium Tier available for an additional $5/mo. HD channel availability varies by package selected. THDVR: Four channels can be recorded to the DVR or viewed simultaneously. Full Total Home DVR functionality requires a receiver for each additional TV at $7 per month each. DVR not included with U100 or U-basic packages. Media Share requires Windows XP or Vista operating systems and streams only photos or songs that are supported by Microsoft Media Player. Multiview: Channels/content available for viewing in Multiview are based on TV package subscription and additional programming purchased. AT&T U-verse services are provided by AT&T local telephone companies. For On Demand coupons full terms and conditions visit channel 199. Customizing options require AT&T U-verse High Speed Internet Service. Wireless phone with Internet access required and standard data charges may apply.

AT&T U-verse received the highest numerical score among television service providers in the South in the proprietary J.D. Power and Associates 2008-2009 Residential Television Service Satisfaction Studies(SM). 2009 study based on 28,118 total responses from measuring 13 providers in the South (AL, AR, FL, GA, KS, KY, LA, MS, MO, NC, OK, SC, TN, TX) and measures consumer satisfaction with television service.  Proprietary study results are based on experiences and perceptions of consumers surveyed in January, March and June, 2009. Your experiences may vary. Visit jdpower.com

SOURCE AT&T Inc.