Creve Coeur deal puts AT&T's foot in Missouri TV door
By Jerri Stroud
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
Friday, Nov. 17 2006
AT&T's video franchise agreement with Creve Coeur puts the company in position
to deliver a bundle of telephone, television and high-speed Internet services
over its own network for the first time in Missouri.
The company won't say whether Creve Coeur would be the first city in Missouri
to get the fiber-based service, which currently is available only in San
Antonio, AT&T's headquarters city.
The company says it will offer the service, called Uverse, in 15 cities by the
end of the year and more broadly early next year. Houston is the only city
among the 15 where AT&T has confirmed plans to offer Uverse.
AT&T spokesman Kerry Hibbs said the company is negotiating with more than 100
cities in Missouri, including St. Louis and Kansas City, to obtain franchises
for video service, which would make its television offering more comparable to
cable services.
But what AT&T really would like to see is a state law that would allow it to
get a statewide video franchise. A bill allowing a statewide franchise stalled
earlier this year in the Legislalture. AT&T has obtained statewide franchises
in Texas, California, Indiana and Kansas.
Cindy Brinkley, AT&T's Missouri president, said, "We expect another bill will
be introduced for the 2007 session, and Congress is looking at national video
legislation as well. In the meantime, it's great to see cities such as Creve
Coeur take the initiative to open the door to competition."
Sen. John Griesheimer, R-Washington, is planning to pre-file a statewide
franchise bill next month in Jefferson City. Greisheimer, who sponsored the
bill that died earlier this year, said he is trying to get cable and telephone
companies to agree on language for the new bill.
Telephone and cable companies are battling for dominance in providing bundles
of service to homes and small businesses. The bundles usually combine
telephone, high-speed Internet and subscription television services in a
discounted package. In some cases, cell phone service is included in the bundle.
AT&T's Uverse delivers high-speed Internet service and television over
fiber-optic lines, which provide higher speed and reliability than its copper
network.
In San Antonio, Uverse packages range from $74 to $119 a month, including
high-speed Internet service. The packages have 190 to more than 300 channels,
movies and other programs available on-demand, digital music and other options
including movie and sports packages. Customers who get AT&T telephone service
and Cingular Wireless cell phones can qualify for additional discounts.
In Creve Coeur, Charter Communications Inc. objected to the AT&T franchise
because it doesn't regulate AT&T as a cable company, said Sharifah Williams, a
spokeswoman for Charter. "We don't have a problem with competition," Williams
said. But the AT&T franchise "gives them an upper hand."
Hibbs said AT&T's service wouldn't be regulated as cable service because it
works differently. The company will provide government and public-access
channels under the Creve Coeur agreement Charter said they are
not playing on a level playing field since they are not regulated the same as
the cable operators.
