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Jul. 30, 2007

On July 26, a federal court ruled that AT&T must follow exactly the same rules as cable TV companies, overturning an earlier decision by the authorities in Connecticut that would have allowed AT&T to expand its U-Verse service faster than originally planned.

The courts had ruled initially that the telecoms' Internet-based TV services didn't fall within the definition of cable service, and that therefore was not subject to the sometimes lengthy process of gaining local video franchise approval.

However, the federal court's decision puts the telecom's TV services back in line with regulations cable operators must abide by, including requirements that prevent operators from offering services in only specific and selected markets.

However, it is possible that the federal court ruling will be overturned by a new state law in Connecticut set to establish rules to govern cable TV as well as telecom's new TV services.

AT&T's new U-Verse service delivers TV programming over telephone lines in more than 20 Connecticut towns and cities.

AT&T added that it had more than 51,000 subscribers at the end of the second quarter.

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Source: Wireless Week