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AT&T Brings Television Service “Home”

In the race to offer consumers a one-stop shop for all of their home entertainment needs, AT&T, the nation’s largest telecommunications provider, will soon add TV to its integrated service package. Set to launch this July, this new service, called Homezone, will combine all of its home entertainment services — satellite TV programming, DSL service, DVR, VOD, and online content — into one easy to use set-top box. This move will help AT&T remain competitive against cable companies who have already ventured into telephone service and begun luring customers away from telephone companies.

How it works

Homezone is the first step in revolutionizing the way consumers receive television service. As opposed to traditional cable television options, AT&T is using standard internet technology to deliver video signals through upgraded lines in AT&T’s network. (This is in contrast to AT&T’s competitor, Verizon which has chosen to build a fiber network directly into consumer’s homes.)

In its initial stages, consumers will be able to download movies through Movielink for a fee and watch them on their television sets. Subscribers will also have access to Echostar Satellite TV. And this is just the beginning. AT&T plans to offer thousands of video, TV, and movie options to consumers in the future. Homezone subscribers will also be able to listen to music from Launchcast, Yahoo's Web music service, and view photos they have uploaded to Yahoo Photos on their TV sets. Through the broadband connection, users also will be able to access music and photos stored on their computers on TV.

Availability

Already in trials in certain states throughout the country, AT&T, which has 48.8 million phone lines in 13 states, will launch Homezone in selected areas beginning in July. The company plans to offer television service in 80 percent of the locations capable of receiving DSL by the end of the year. Consumers who want Homezone will also have to subscribe to AT&T’s high-speed Internet service, which will be connected to a TV set-top box and to an EchoStar satellite dish. Pricing for Homezone, while still unannounced, is believed to be competitive with cable offerings.

The Future

AT&T is working to deliver its next-generation service, Lightspeed. This service would deliver television using internet technology. However, it would not be available until the end of 2008, and only to 19 million homes in 13 states.

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