Several reports say AT&T will announce it is rolling out its TV offering, U-verse, in seven more markets. U-verse, AT&T’s answer to Verizon’s FiOS, had originally planned to be in 15 cities by January 1, 2007. But it is scaling back the next step a bit, according to MediaPost, to “ensure that all the kinks are worked out.” U-verse is currently available in parts of San Antonio, San Francisco, San Jose and Houston. AT&T hasn’t yet announced what the next seven cities will be, but it is establishing some serious goals: the company is projecting having its service available in 19 million homes by the end of 2008. Verizon is shooting for FiOS availability in 18 million homes by 2010. While the big cable operators are downplaying the importance of the telcos moving into the TV biz, the long term threat to their businesses is real.
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