Uverse Take Rate Bargain Basement Deal

Implications: ATT is following VZ's lead by offering $200 cash back to existing ATT customers that take one of the three Uverse bundled deals, with or without internet access.  The current slowdown in ATT spending on Uverse and everything else, follows the negative economic climate and failing mortgages situation, which are customers lost.

Analysis: ATT probably should take out advertisements and TV slots as VZ did a year ago, when they were giving away HD TV sets if customers took FIOS.  I wonder how customers are going to find out about this deal.  Perhaps ATT is doing direct mailings to those customers who were passed with Uverse and that just need a little financial persuasion to take the new video service.  Not a bad idea, and it may gain some customers who will figure in the take rate as a positive lift, with ATT trying to make their proposed 1 million takers with 8 million passed by year end, 2008.  Apparently, the vendors are suffering some with a slowdown in RBOC spending that always occurs in the early fall of each year, as the RBOC tries to slow the spending train down and make constrained budget numbers by yearend.  This particular stinky economic year appears to have slowed the spending train almost to a halt, and this bargain basement deal from ATT is a good indication of that spending slowdown.  This writer applauds ATT for the idea and sincerely hopes that the word on this $200 cash deal gets to the right customers.  It is funny that I live in a fiber-rich  (FTTH) neighborhood in FT Lauderdale, and cannot even get DSL, opting to put a Wild Blue dish in my upscale backyard for 1.5mbs.  Uverse may never get to me at this rate.