What are the concerns with AT&T's U-Verse treatment of PEG channels?
Note that ACTV Channel 180, UGA Channel 15, and Clarke County School District Channel 16 are not currently on AT&T's U-Verse system. AT&T's U-Verse service has caused some concern around the country with how it deals with local public, educational, and government Access (PEG) channels, such as ACTV Channel 180, UGA Channel 15, and Clarke County School District Channel 16 for example. Some of those concerns include:
  • The grouping of all community PEG channels on channel 99; individual PEG channels cannot be accessed directly

  • Users must navigate to channel 99, wait for software to load, then select the community and then the channel; the process can take from 20 seconds to over one minute, compared to near instantaneous viewing of all other channels

  • PEG channels cannot be recorded through U-Verse's recording system (either by scheduling or watching live)

  • Going from channel 99 to another channel requires 'backing out' instead of simply typing in a channel number directly

  • Content quality is not delivered at the same quality as other channels

On January 30, 2009, a number of organizations and communities filed with the Federal Communications Commission a "Petition for Declaratory Ruling that AT&T’s Method of Delivering Public, Educational and Government Access Channels Over Its U-verse System is Contrary to the Communications Act of 1934, as amended, and Applicable Commission Rules."

The California Division of Ratepayer Advocates has posted a YouTube video showing the U-Verse PEG Viewing Experience.

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5. What happens if I have a complaint about a video company?
6. How does the move to statewide franchise for Charter change the complaint procedure?
7. How does the move to statewide franchise affect AT&T's video offerings?
8. What are the concerns with AT&T's U-Verse treatment of PEG channels?