AT&T’s U-Verse connects wirelessly to TVs
By The Associated Press
AT&T Inc.’s U-Verse TV service is going wireless — inside the home. Its new set-top boxes will use the home’s Wi-Fi to get their TV programming, with no need for a coaxial cable.
That means TV sets can be moved from room to room and still work.
“You could move your U-Verse to the patio for the football game if the weather’s nice or to the guest room if you have guests coming in,” said David Christopher, chief marketing officer.
That’s not really why AT&T developed it, though. The company was looking for a way to cut installation time and cost, Christopher said. With wireless boxes, installers won’t need to run cable or drill through walls.
U-Verse is delivered with Internet technology rather than standard cable technology. That makes it easier for AT&T to send the signal wirelessly. Other, smaller phone companies have used wireless set-top boxes for a few years.
The service uses standard Wi-Fi and has about the same range. The boxes will be available starting next week for a one-time fee of $49, plus the standard monthly $7 box rental fee. They’re made by Cisco Systems Inc.
A Wi-Fi hotspot can serve up to two set-top boxes wirelessly. A home can have two more set-top boxes, but they would have to be wired up, since the hotspot has limited capacity. All four could show high-definition programming simultaneously.
AT&T Inc. sells U-Verse in areas where it’s the local-phone company. It has 3.6 million TV subscribers, making it the eighth-largest pay-TV provider in the U.S.
SF WiFi has installed WiFi TV at a few properties. On a recent SF project we saw several streaming devices running from one access point:
(2) TV’s, (1) laptop, (2) iPhones, (1) iPad
Tag Archives: wireless tv
Home Wireless Solutions
SF WiFi serves customers in the hospitality, SMB, and hotspot markets. But what about home office wireless solutions? SF WiFi is pleased to officially announce we now support the home wireless market. We have found many commonalities among the demands of our industrial, hospitality, and residential clients. Therefore it only stands to reason that we expand our support to include homeowners.
Common Client Specifics:
- Wireless signal drops out at various rooms in the house.
- Client works from home and needs wireless signal delivered throughout the property versus having it delivered to only one or two rooms.
- Limited access to run new Cat 5 cables.
- Residents use three or more wireless devices, laptops, printers, PDA’s, iDevice docking station concurrently.
- Multiple complications arise in interior coverage issues artificially created by the residences’ interior walls, tiles, mirrors, granite, multiple floors, etc.
- A friend is a wiz with computers and has rigged a not so inexpensive network solution which only works like my brother in law – sporadically. (Okay, I threw that one in. But does it sound sadly familiar?)
Monster Home to Happy Home:
SF WiFi has serviced homes in San Francisco and the Peninsula that did not receive quality signal coverage. The owners had spent time and hundreds of dollars outfitting their homes with inefficient wireless equipment. We’ve heard it all from trying numerous repeaters, running bits of cable, and moving access points. They’ve basically have tried everything short of wiring up the kitchen sink. Needless to say, none of these methods provided a reliable solution. We admit, clients always seem skeptical when they first meet us. Their usual cry for help is, “We’ve tried everything.” But after working with us we usually hear “Why didn’t I call you sooner!”
Process:
As a special service SF WiFi provides a free site survey to all our customers. We have found this survey helps us determine signal coverage, design access point placement, and client application needs while at the same time saves the client money. We then submit a proposal outlining our design, equipment, and installation costs.
Final Note:
What are you really looking for in a wireless network? If it’s great coverage, reliability, stable throughput, no dropouts, and ease of use then join the long list of customers SF WiFi has satisfied over the years. Our success rate is 100%–just ask us for our referrals. We can provide your happy home a reliable wireless network so you can get the work done while listening to Pandora by the patio pool.