U-Verse is coming to Dunwoody, Georgia

AT&T has recently put up signs in a neighborhood in Dunwoody near my home announcing that they are "upgrading the network". Could this be one of the promised U-Verse deployments in Georgia?

Talking with contacts inside the old BellSouth, they would only admit that there are trial U-Verse deployments going on in a few places around Atlanta (Alpharetta and Kennesaw were mentioned). Those places are where some of the relevant executives live and are "very friendly". Plans to expand into Dunwoody are on the books, but no details have been announced.

I apologize for the poor quality of the photo. It was taken with my phone from inside my car. I'll try to get back around soon with a better image capture device.

Pretty huge sign, no? They're obviously making sure that everyone understands that it is a good thing that their lawns are about to be torn up.

What you can't read in the text is the standard marketing buzz about how great this upgrade will be, followed by an admission that some yards are going to be torn apart and a plea not to call and complain until they have had time to clean up the mess - up to a week after the network is complete.

I have friends who live in the area and will be sure to ask them if they've received any information in the mail or on the door yet.

While AT&T's FTTN strategy is pretty poor compared to Verizon's FTTH network, I am still very excited to see a competing triple-play company come into the neighborhood. On-line reviews of U-Verse have been generally good, within the limits of the technology chosen (only one HD channel at a time, for example). Anything that keeps Comcast honest is ok in my book.

Some people in the area may not realize that there was an earlier FTTH trial in the Dunwoody area. A subdivision in Dunwoody that was under construction at the time was chosen as the site of a FTTH trial. At the time I lived in Dunwoody and even I couldn't figure out where the trial was supposed to be happening. Apparently the trial didn't go very well, and no other announcements were made. According to my sources, the network is still in place and still working, but is stranded and not expected to be modernized any time soon.

For those unfamiliar with the area, the map below shows the location of the sign (green) as well as the other locations referenced.


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