Comcast Vs. U-verse

The emergence of new service providers, such as AT&T and Verizon, has added to the already intense competition prevailing in the American home entertainment industry. Even though these service providers are relatively new in the market, the high-end technology that they have to offer has made many people opt for a switch over from traditional cable operators to these new entrants. AT&T U-verse is one such name which is scaling the ladder of popularity in home entertainment circuit of the United States pretty fast. While the experts are of the opinion that U-verse will take on Comcast head-on in near future, people at Comcast seem to be least bothered about the competition. Does U-verse really stand a chance against Comcast? Before we move on to Comcast vs. U-verse comparison, let's have a look at each of these services individually.

Comcast Xfinity

Comcast is the largest cable TV operator in the United States. The Xfinity brand is a triple play bundle service offered by Comcast which brings television, Internet and phone on a common platform. It is also one of the oldest TV service provider in the country, and was started way back in 1963 as the American Cable Systems. Since then, it has made significant deal of progress in terms of services offered. Today, Comcast Corporation provides cable services in 39 of the 50 states in the country, and has 23.5 million cable TV customers, 15.9 high speed Internet customers and 6.4 telephone customers to its credit.

AT&T U-verse

The U-verse is an AT&T project, in which the telecommunication giant has resorted to Very-high-bitrate DSL (VDSL) to provide television services, Internet access and voice services in the United States. The VDSL technology facilitates faster data transmission over copper wires, thus making AT&T one of the most sought-after service provider in the country. This technology is also used to facilitate transmission of high-definition picture and Voice over IP (VOIP) service. As of today, AT&T U-verse is available in 22 states of the U.S., and has an existing customer base of 2 million which is a significant rise from the figures for the previous year.

Comcast Vs. U-verse

In terms of television services, Comcast has a definite advantage as it offers quite a few services which are yet to feature in the list of services provided by AT&T U-verse. Comcast Xfinity gives you more 'On Demand' choices, more HDTV channels, ability to record two television shows simultaneously, and so on. When it comes to Comcast vs. U-verse, Internet access is one attribute wherein AT&T U-verse scores over Comcast. In fact, U-verse has amazing Internet speeds to its credit, and these speeds are stable which is perhaps more important for many users.

That being said, the fact that AT&T has a tie-up with Yahoo may not go down well with all the customers. On the other hand, the restrictions on downloading at high speeds put by Comcast has also drawn flak in customer reviews. What you need to understand is that such restrictions are put in order to ensure that the overall system doesn't get affected by excessive downloading. Yet another factor is the contract which you need to sign when you subscribe to Comcast services. Once you sign the contract, you have to continue with the services for the stipulated period of time, even if you are not happy about the services offered. The only way out is to pay a stipulated amount and nullify the contract.

Going through the Comcast vs. U-verse comparison given above must have given you a rough idea as to which of the two is ideal for you. If you intend to go for Internet connection exclusively, AT&T is undoubtedly the best bet, but if you want to opt for the overall package you should go for Comcast. That, however, is a general opinion, and you need to see how these service providers fare in your region before coming to the final decision.