AT&T U-verse expands in Ohio, but Dayton area sees little growth ; Officials in Kettering, Centerville, Springboro say the company did not expand in their cities in 2010.

AT&T continued its expansion into the Ohio market for bundledcable, phone and Internet services in 2010, while slowing theexpansion of its Dayton-area network.

AT&T began developing its U-verse network in Ohio three yearsago, after passage of a state law designed to promote competitionwith cable companies and development of new video technologies.

U-verse -- the company's bundle of video, Internet and phoneservices -- is available to more than 963,000 Ohio households,according to the latest filings with the Ohio Department ofCommerce.

However, the former Ohio Bell installed few, if any, of the largeboxes known as video-ready access devices, that convert the digitalvideo service signal for customers, officials said.

"I know Oakwood was one of the communities they decided toventure into," said Jay Weiskircher, Oakwood assistant city manager."They originally had a much more aggressive schedule. To myknowledge, they didn't put in any boxes in 2010."

Officials in Centerville, Kettering and Springboro confirmed theabsence of network expansion in 2010.

While declining to provide local customer figures or comment onexpanding its network, AT&T said it added 236,000 customerhouseholds in its 22-state market area in the third quarter of 2010,bringing its share to 2.7 million.

In November, AT&T and state officials recognized the three-yearanniversary of the passage of a law allowing Ohio Bell into thestate's video franchising system.

In 1997, Ohio Bell (now part of AT&T) agreed to spend $500million and, along with eight other providers, stimulate competitionin Ohio markets.

As of November, AT&T is available to 35.1 percent of thehouseholds in the company's Ohio markets -- about 200,000 more thana year ago.

In 2008, the Springboro City Council passed an ordinance designedto manage placement of the network boxes. Last week, officials saidAT&T had yet to locate any inside city limits.

"I guess they've made a business decision not to locate here asof yet," Springboro Planning Consultant Dan Boron said.

In neighboring Clearcreek Twp., officials received about $30 infranchise fee payments in 2010 compared with $85,000 from TimeWarner, Administrator Dennis Pickett said.

Still, Time Warner, the country's second-ranked provider,acknowledged its national market share had diminished, while AT&T'swas on the rise.

"Yes, the video service business is very competitive, which isgood news for consumers," Time Warner spokeswoman Mary Jo Green saidin an e-mail, noting AT&T was only one of the telephone companiesand satellite operators in competition with Time Warner, whichreports 14.7 million customers of one or more services.

While still unavailable in some parts of the Centerville, U-verse is gaining popularity in neighborhoods near Centerville HighSchool.

"I really like it," resident Patti Kemper said. "I know there'squite a few in my neighborhood."

While U-verse promotes added DVR utility and video services,Kemper said she switched after Time Warner failed to answer herservice call for 10 days in 2008 and has stayed as a result of thechannels offered by U-verse.

Ultimately, price was not a big factor, Kemper said.

"I got a deal, of course, the first year. After that, it'sprobably about the same thing," she said.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2261 or lbudd@DaytonDailyNews.com.