AT&T Inc. and Starz Entertainment Group LLC (SEG) announced a distribution agreement to deliver Starz linear, high-definition and on-demand programming as part of the AT&T U-verseSM TV channel lineup.

Say goodbye to the entertainment divide between the TV and PC — and hello to the digital living room. AT&T Inc. announced the launch of AT&T Homezone, a groundbreaking new service that integrates AT&T Yahoo! High Speed Internet, AT&T | DISH Network satellite television and AT&T Home Networking services via a single device.

AT&T Inc. and TV One, the new entertainment and lifestyle television network for African-American adults, announced a distribution agreement to deliver TV One programming as part of the AT&T U-verse TVSM channel lineup.

AT&T Inc. today announced a comprehensive agreement with Discovery Communications to deliver all of its U.S. linear TV networks, as well as high-definition and on demand services, as part of the AT&T U-verse TV channel lineup.

More San Antonio consumers can now enjoy a new universe of communications and entertainment through the AT&T U-versesm experience.

AT&T Inc. announced the initial expansion of AT&T U-verse services — the company's next-generation television and high speed Internet offerings — in San Antonio. The services utilize AT&T's fiber-rich network, which extends optical connections deeper into customer neighborhoods.

AT&T has a new privacy policy that will go into effect today. The changes are raising eyebrows because of some new context. AT&T writes that they can access customer confidential information "to protect its legitimate business interests, safeguard others, or respond to legal process." The new policy also includes provisions for the monitoring of viewing habits of its U-verse IPTV service customers.

Privacy advocates and consumer groups are not pleased with the changes. They claim that AT&T is making personal information a business asset.

AT&T has slated to spend $336 million in the next three years to bring its U-Verse IPTV service to Connecticut. That, however, could change.

On June 7th, the state Department of Public Utility Control (DPUC) voted 3-2 that IPTV is not subject to traditional cable franchising regulations.

CNET has a write-up describing AT&T's U-Verse IPTV service and the challenges they now face in terms of acquiring customers, proving service quality, and being able to support new features going forward. The article should have been titled, "IPTV Prepares for Prime Time in the U.S." IPTV has actually been slow to take shape in the U.S. compared with Europe, Asia, and even Canada, where some companies have been offering IPTV for several years.

Despite semantics though, it will be interesting to see how the offerings of AT&T and Verizon stack up in the near and long term with both of them taking dramatically different approaches in their network rollouts. Is AT&T clever in their network approach or will they end up with a bottleneck long-term?

AT&T reported Friday that it will spend approximately $247 million to upgrade its fiber-optic network in Kansas, which will allow it to offer IPTV to homes.

AT&T plans on spending $4.6 billion through 2008 to upgrade and ready its national network to support IPTV and other services. CEO Edward Whitacre plans for the network to reach 19 million homes within three years.

As you hopefully read in our last post, Alan Weinkrantz is giving us a first hand look of the AT&T U-Verse IPTV service at www.satechblog.com. We'll be checking back there daily to read the full user experience.

Some more background on the service...AT&T has been conducting field trials of their new U-Verse IPTV service in the San Antonio, Texas area for some time. Just recently, AT&T launched limited availiability for their U-Verse IPTV service (also known as Project Lightspeed) in the San Antonio market. You can visit the new AT&T U-verse website for a preview of their TV and high speed internet packages.

PR tech blogger, Alan Weinkrantz, will log daily posts this week at his blog, www.satechblog.com, showcasing his experience and comments in being trial user of AT&T's new U-verse IPTV service.

"The week of May 22, I'll be writing about my experience with both AT&T and Time Warner ordering service, disconnecting the cable company, the installation and set-up, and user experience," stated Weinkrantz.

Telecomweb and Paul Erickson of IMS Research shed some interesting viewpoints on the AT&T/BellSouth merger and how it may affect the U.S. IPTV market.

The viewpoint is that a combined AT&T/BellSouth, because of their size, resources, and buying power, could hasten their IPTV rollout (See also AT&T May Speed BellSouth's IPTV Rollout in the Carolinas) and substantially increase their chances of success.

Scott Marshall reports that San Ramon, California and AT&T were expected to reach an agreement yesterday over AT&T's proposed IPTV service offering.

Unlike other cities where AT&T has failed to reach agreement, San Ramon says it does not require a franchise agreement from AT&T for their proposed IPTV service. The cities of Walnut Creek and Livermore believe differently and contested that AT&T would be required to get a franchise agreement just like cable companies. AT&T says they do not need cable franchise agreements to offer IPTV because they are a regulated telephone company.

Update: San Ramon and AT&T reached an agreement yesterday allowing AT&T to offer their IPTV service. The agreement makes San Ramon the first city in Northern California to sign such a deal.

AT&T Inc. and BellSouth Corporation announced today an agreement to merge the two companies, a combination that will create a more effective and efficient provider in the wireless, broadband, video, voice and data markets.

As a result, the combined company will be better able to speed the convergence of new and improved services for consumers and businesses, and embrace the industry's shift to Internet Protocol network-based technologies.

Consumers seeking a real alternative to cable monopolies should see faster and more economical deployment of next-generation IP television networks and similar services as a result of AT&T's groundbreaking entry into IPTV and the unparalleled research and development work at AT&T Labs, coupled with BellSouth's extensive deployment of fiber networks for DSL and other broadband services.

Video choice and hundreds of millions of dollars of broadband investment are coming to Texas faster than other states because of legislation passed last year by the Texas lawmakers, said Lea Ann Champion, AT&T senior executive vice president-IP operations and services.

At a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) hearing in Texas on video competition, Champion touted the Texas state bill, which eliminated barriers to broadband investment and enabled a clear path to deployment of AT&T's U-verse services, bringing consumers an innovative new option for their TV and entertainment services.