AT&T Says Costs Rise For TV System's Launch

AT&T SAYS COSTS RISE FOR TV SYSTEM'S LAUNCH
[SOURCE: Wall Street Journal, AUTHOR: Dionne Searcey dionne.searcey@wsj.com and Peter Grant peter.grant@wsj.com]
AT&T says it will spend as much as $1.4 billion more than anticipated on rolling out its new TV system, called U-verse. The San Antonio phone and Internet company plans to spend as much as $6.5 billion by 2008 on the Internet-based TV service that will help it compete with cable companies, which are rolling out phone service. Overall, AT&T's capital-spending budget won't change, the company said. A spokesman declined to specify how the new figures would affect other parts of the capital budget. The company lowered by one million the number of homes to which it will offer U-verse by the end of 2008 to 18 million in the 13 states that make up the former SBC Communications operating region. It plans to eventually exceed that number by adding customers in the Southeast region that makes up the old BellSouth Corp. territory.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB117856112849694724.html?mod=todays_us_marketplace
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* AT&T raises spending plan for U-verse
http://www.reuters.com/article/internetNews/idUSN0841259520070508