U-verse -- offered by AT&T;, the country's largest purveyor of landline telephone service -- is a fiber-optic network that connects your digital television, landline telephone and Internet service through a central "brain" called the Wireless Gateway. Bright House provides high-speed Internet, digital cable and landline telephone services to customers in select cities across California, Michigan, Indiana, Florida and Alabama.
Television Services
AT&T; U-verse offers several digital cable service packages, which range from basic local cable channels only to premium packages that include 410 channels or more. DVR service, high definition (HD) and 3-D access, as well as sports, international or movie channels are available as add-ons. Additionally, U-verse's central "brain" makes it possible to watch digitally recorded shows on any television in the house. Bright House offers two basic television plans -- a standard cable package and a digital television package, which includes On Demand and DVR service as well as sports, Spanish-language and movie channels. All the extra features that come with the digital package are available as add-ons to the standard package, making plans extremely customizable.
Internet Services
U-verse's central "brain" also connects your Internet service to your cable service and allows you to control your DVR as well as Wi-Fi-enabled devices such as networked printers. Plans are available with download speeds that range from 3 Mbps to 24 Mbps, and all of them come with email accounts and an Internet security suite that protects you from viruses, spyware and identity thieves. Bright House offers Road Runner high-speed Internet services. Plans are available in three download speeds: The Standard plan offers 7 Mbps (good for emailing and downloading), the Turbo plan offers 20 Mbps (suitable for online gaming and streaming video), and the Lightning plan offers a whopping 40 Mbps (suitable for streaming HD movies on multiple computers at the same time).
Phone Services
U-verse allows you to see your voice mail entries remotely from your smartphone or computer, and it allows you to choose which one to listen to first. Plans range from 250 minutes to unlimited, from local calls only to long distance, and all of them include standard features such as caller ID and call waiting. Additionally, U-verse's "brain" includes an emergency battery backup. Bright House offers a choice of three basic plans. The Unlimited Statewide plan allows you to talk as much as you want within the state, the Unlimited Nationwide plan delivers unlimited anytime calling across the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico, and the International Long Distance plan offers low talk rates to 52 countries.
Availability
AT Birmingham, Elmore and Eufaula, Ala.; Bradenton, Clearwater, Daytona Beach, Melbourne, Orlando, Panhandle, St. Petersburg and Tampa, Fla; Indianapolis, Ind., and Livonia, Mich.
References
- Bright House: Home
- AT&T;: U-Verse