AT&T launches U-verse in Columbus

Some Columbus-area residents now have access to AT&T’s U-verse television, phone and high-speed Internet service.

The company said the service was launched Monday in Columbus and in the Alabama cities of Auburn and Opelika.

AT&T media relations manager Ann Elsas said the rollout, which she called “an initial launch,” does not include Phenix City and Smiths Station in Alabama. But it does include Harris County to the north of Columbus, she said.

U-verse is an Internet protocol-based system that offers TV and phone service, along with the Internet service, using a digital network. The company touts customers’ ability to access programming “at home or on the go” using a mobile device app. A wireless receiver also lets them watch TV in nearly every room of a home.

A check of the company's website shows a bundle package for the services starting at $79 per month for one year, plus reward card incentives.

In Columbus, AT&T’s new service will compete against cable companies Charter Communications, Mediacom and WOW! Satellite TV also is available through Dish Network and DirecTV, the latter already having an agreement with AT&T in which various services can be bundled into one payment package.

“Local residents have asked for more TV service choices and today we’re delivering,” Terry Smith, AT&T regional director of external affairs for midwest Georgia, said in a statement.

Columbus Mayor Teresa Tomlinson welcomed the new service, saying the high-tech information and entertainment abilities it brings is “key to a vibrant” local community.

AT&T launched U-verse in 2006. In March, the company announced that its TV service had increased to 136 total live channels viewable inside customers’ homes, with 44 outside the home, using the U-verse app. The app was launched last October.

The U-verse rollout is the second major move for AT&T in the Columbus market this year. In April, it began offering LTE wireless service to local mobile phone customers, offering them faster and more reliable technology, particularly for heavy data users. The company said it plans to add more cell sites to fill out the local coverage area.

This story was originally published August 12, 2014 at 4:13 PM with the headline "AT&T launches U-verse in Columbus."