24 September 2009
By Charlie Pyles
After decades of dominating the cable television market in Baton Rouge, Cox Communications now faces new competition from corporate giant AT&T.
AT&T began launching its new digital TV service, “U-verse,” in the Baton Rouge area Sept. 8. “U-verse is revolutionary because it delivers TV in a completely new way,” AT&T representative Sue Sperry said.
The difference between U-verse and other digital television is the new technology of Internet-Protocol television (IPTV). The service is carried on fiber optic cables. Since it is IP-based, each subscriber has a dedicated line from AT&T that is not affected by how many neighbors are also using the service at the same time.
Because the service is Internet-based, the interactivity options surpass that of other services. Users can access local traffic and weather on-demand, and surf channels using the Picture-in-Picture display. Because it is fiber, the bandwidth is much less limited than conventional co-axial cable.
“It’s just a different delivery system,” said Ann Ruble, Cox Public Affairs Manager. “Ours is over fiber co-ax. Theirs is Internet Protocol. So it’s just a different delivery service. But it’s the same basic product—once it comes into your house, once you get into the TV–it’s cable.”
