AT&T Takes On Cox in Oklahoma City

AT&T started marketing U-verse TV in parts of Oklahoma City and surrounding communities, going head-to-head in the market with Cox Communications.

In the Oklahoma City market, the telco is claiming that it offers more HD programming than Cox. AT&T said U-verse TV provides more than 26 HD channels there, while Cox lists 19 on its Web site.

Cox, perhaps preparing for AT&T’s entrée, in May began offering Pivot mobile-phone service in Oklahoma City and Tulsa via the joint venture with Sprint Nextel.

AT&T said it launched U-verse TV service Monday in Oklahoma City, as well as parts of Edmond, Moore and Norman. The marketing messaging continues to emphasize that U-verse TV is “the only national provider to offer a 100% Internet-protocol-based television service” -- which makes it, according to AT&T’s spin, "Cooler than Cable."

At the end of June, AT&T counted 51,000 U-verse TV subscribers, while 1.8 million customers have signed up for direct-broadcast satellite service from partners DirecTV or EchoStar Communications.