I have been absent from 3Screens for a while. 

No excuses here – but some reasoning:

1.  Most of my focus has been on U-verse.  It was very compelling when it was first launched because AT&T was the first operator in the U.S. to do real IPTV.  

Without being a fan boy, I think they have done a great job in executing.  Sure, along the way there have been hick-ups, but anytime there was a problem, their customer support on the phone and when they showed up in person was first rate.  So way to go, AT&T.

I also thought it was interesting that AT&T was in the process of reinventing itself.

Other than making slight improvements there was not much more to write about, so I purposely scaled back coverage. 

2.  The other reason for not posting is that aside from my day job, I have also been populating another blog, Everywire, where I am writing about the vision of the wired home network – specifically, the new ITU standard, G.hn.

Moving forward, I am trying to look at what’s ahead, particularly for U-verse.  Here’s a preview from my Everywire blog.  Microsoft provides AT&T with the "middleware" the stuff that makes the interface pretty, let’s you go through the menu, etc.  Think of it as being the Operating System for your IPTV.  The "Contoso" name you see is a made up brand.  AT&T and other operators around the world can take all or just selected feature sets from Microsoft’s Media Room offering.  

Regional broadband provider, GVTC Communications has just announced that it will now be offering 40 Mbps Internet service,
the fastest broadband speed available in South Texas.

While they are not on the size or scale of AT&T, (they have about 31,000
residential and businesses lots connected to GVTC’s all-fiber network) it’s compelling to see and ask why AT&T did not step things up a bit when they just announced 24 MBPS service in my area. 

It’s pretty obvious that bandwidth hungry consumers use broadband connections for
high-bandwidth applications like accessing HD video, playing online games and
working remotely from home. Many connect multiple home computers and media
devices to a single network connection, sharing it between users.

With GVTC’s new 40 Mbps service, customers will be able to
download a standard-definition movie (2 GB) in less than a minute. The
service’s 10 Mbps upload speed will let users share large media files, from
digital photo albums to complex business presentations, in just seconds.

There is a consumer offering starting at $89.95 monthly as part of a bundled package and a business offering – $209.95 monthly as part of a bundle with
a term contract.  I suspect many home based businesses who are in GVTC’s service area will jump on this.  And for gamers and solo developers, this is a speed dream come true – and a sign of things to come.

In the company’s press release, they also take a swipe at AT&T –  by citing "rival communications providers utilize older copper wires
for the “last mile” of their networks, choking their ability to offer comparable
speeds. Many also have a shared network infrastructure, meaning users’ speeds
slow as additional people in their neighborhood log on."

This sounds good in PR speak but the realities are that not everyone is going to be able to have fiber to the home.  

Regardless, it’s good to see innovation continuing and not always coming from the original phone company.  Kudos to GVTC for stepping things up a bit.

I

Yes, you can get a discount from AT&T (and from other service providers) if you just ask, and manage your account by making sure that when your offers expire, you call them back to re-new or re-negotiate new offers.  

Doing this was documented last January when I was onGood Morning America demonstrating how this is done.

On December 8, one of my U-Verse discounts expired, so I called the phone company again to re-new.  So now I am good until June 13, 2010.  This will go in my calendar and I will call them yet again on the 14th of June, 2010 and do the same dance.

On January 6, 2010 another one of my discounts expires, so I will call them back on the 7th of January to see what they will do to work with me.

I really like AT&T as a company and I love U-verse.   

No, I don’t want to switch to cable or satellite, or for that matter to Hulu mostly because I really do like the experience of watching live TV and doing so in HD on a nice home theater system.

$10 x 2 = $20 = $260 per year in savings.  Add in another 33% to gross up for taxes and that’s another $85.  Add it all up and that comes to $350 just for picking up the phone, spending 5 minutes 4 times a year and doing this dance.

$10 per month may not be a big deal to one person, but if you had 2,000,000 customers (AT&T has more than 2,000,000 U-verse customers) that comes to a $700,000,000 savings in gross dollars.

Even if you don’t need or miss the $10 per month, do something good with the money. 

Manage this savings and give the $350.00 to someone in need – maybe a charity that was obliterated by Madoff.  Maybe someone less fortunate than you.  Maybe your local PBS station, your church, mosque, or synagogue.

Or, if you are not in the giving mood, take someone you love out for an amazing dinner, a night or two in a nice hotel. 

It’s the little things that add up, and just by calling the phone company, you can save like I do.

Yes, you can save money on your AT&T bill.  If you do what I do, you can do likewise and I believe the same principles apply for other service providers like Verizon, Comcast, DirectTV, TimeWarner, etc.

1.  Call AT&T and ask them to review your bill and tell them that you need to save money.  Depending on your service area and depending on the day you call, there will generally be some type of  special offering.  

2.  Ask for something for free to keep you as a customer.  Do your homework.  I just got 3 free months of HBO, just for asking.  Shop around with offers from competitors and tell the person at the other end that you have a competing offer.  Make sure it’s true and make sure it’s comparable and / or better than AT&T’s offering.

3.  Have a set goal of 20%.  Assume you are spending $100 per month on your service, a $20 savings may not seems like a lot, but when you add it up, it comes to $240 per year.  When you calculate what it takes you "earn" $240, based on your tax bracket, it could be a gross amount of $300 per year or more.

4.  As a rule, AT&T’s offerings expire – and expire automatically every six months.  AT&T is not going to call you to remind you to renew your offering.  Remember, they expire.  So, put your expiration date in your calendar and call them the day after your offer expires and tell them you want to renew, or get another savings offering that is equal to or better than your present offer.  

AT&T is a terrific company with a great service offering, but I think they are dumb for not reaching out to customers when service offerings expire.  It would be a real PR coup for them, but someone inside AT&T who makes the decisions to do otherwise.

Give it a try and remember that your milage may vary.  Be diligent and be prepared to cut them off and move elsewhere if they don’t save you money.  The cost of replacing you as a customer is high.  It’s called customer acquisition.  

If you get a call center agent who does not budge, ask for customer retention and try this approach.  Let me know how it goes with a comment on this blog or an email to:  alan at weinkrantz dot com.

Military families face dozens of challenges every day. The life of a military spouse and a military family is never easy. It’s a life of sacrifice and patience, but it’s also one of pride and patriotism.

To help families better stay in touch with their loved ones, this Veterans Day we’re partnering with Blue Star Families to give priority Google Voice invitations to the families of U.S. service members involved in the organization. Blue Star Families is a group of military spouses from all over the country who work hard to educate civilian communities and leaders about the hardships faced by military families.

Military families encounter unique challenges and frequent separations, so staying in touch is vitally important. With one Google Voice number, families won’t have to worry about missing calls from service members abroad.

Google Voice can make communication one less worry for these families, and hopefully bring them a little bit closer to their loved ones.

Posted by Jason Toff, Associate Product Marketing Manager