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AT&T U-verse expands in Ohio, but Dayton area sees little growth

Officials in Kettering, Centerville, Springboro say the company did not expand in their cities in 2010.

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By Lawrence Budd, Staff Writer Updated 1:58 AM Sunday, January 2, 2011

AT&T continued its expansion into the Ohio market for bundled cable, phone and Internet services in 2010, while slowing the expansion of its Dayton-area network.

AT&T began developing its U-verse network in Ohio three years ago, after passage of a state law designed to promote competition with cable companies and development of new video technologies.

U-verse — the company’s bundle of video, Internet and phone services — is available to more than 963,000 Ohio households, according to the latest filings with the Ohio Department of Commerce.

However, the former Ohio Bell installed few, if any, of the large boxes known as video-ready access devices, that convert the digital video service signal for customers, officials said.

“I know Oakwood was one of the communities they decided to venture into,” said Jay Weiskircher, Oakwood assistant city manager. “They originally had a much more aggressive schedule. To my knowledge, they didn’t put in any boxes in 2010.”

Officials in Centerville, Kettering and Springboro confirmed the absence of network expansion in 2010.

While declining to provide local customer figures or comment on expanding its network, AT&T said it added 236,000 customer households in its 22-state market area in the third quarter of 2010, bringing its share to 2.7 million.

In November, AT&T and state officials recognized the three-year anniversary of the passage of a law allowing Ohio Bell into the state’s video franchising system.

In 1997, Ohio Bell (now part of AT&T) agreed to spend $500 million and, along with eight other providers, stimulate competition in Ohio markets.

As of November, AT&T is available to 35.1 percent of the households in the company’s Ohio markets — about 200,000 more than a year ago.

In 2008, the Springboro City Council passed an ordinance designed to manage placement of the network boxes. Last week, officials said AT&T had yet to locate any inside city limits.

“I guess they’ve made a business decision not to locate here as of yet,” Springboro Planning Consultant Dan Boron said.

In neighboring Clearcreek Twp., officials received about $30 in franchise fee payments in 2010 compared with $85,000 from Time Warner, Administrator Dennis Pickett said.

Still, Time Warner, the country’s second-ranked provider, acknowledged its national market share had diminished, while AT&T’s was on the rise.

“Yes, the video service business is very competitive, which is good news for consumers,” Time Warner spokeswoman Mary Jo Green said in an e-mail, noting AT&T was only one of the telephone companies and satellite operators in competition with Time Warner, which reports 14.7 million customers of one or more services.

While still unavailable in some parts of the Centerville, U-verse is gaining popularity in neighborhoods near Centerville High School.

“I really like it,” resident Patti Kemper said. “I know there’s quite a few in my neighborhood.”

While U-verse promotes added DVR utility and video services, Kemper said she switched after Time Warner failed to answer her service call for 10 days in 2008 and has stayed as a result of the channels offered by U-verse.

Ultimately, price was not a big factor, Kemper said.

“I got a deal, of course, the first year. After that, it’s probably about the same thing,” she said.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2261 or lbudd@Dayton DailyNews.com.

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