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Bugged about the AT&T boxes? Submitted by Bill Smith on Sat, 06/28/2008 - 9:06am.
AT&T has been installing big boxes on Evanston parkways for several months now.
Junad Rizki sent along this picture of boxes installed just north of the main entrance to Haven Middle School on Prairie Avenue (that's his pet stuffed pig sitting on top of the box in the foreground) and he suggested an informal contest to identify the most obnoxiously-placed boxes in town. The boxes are designed to make it possible for the phone company to offer video service in competition with Comcast cable and beef up its high-speed internet and voice-over internet offerings. When we checked the AT&T U-verse site, it appeared the service has not been turned on yet for Evanston, although the company announced its roll-out for northestern Illinois in late January. The city published a list of box locations a few months back.
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I absolutely despise Comcast
I absolutely despise Comcast (in a huge way), but it's worth noting that even AT&T's highest advertised internet service, MAX, is slower (10Mbps down/1.5 Mbps up) than what I've had for some time on a normal Comcast connection in south evanston (12-14Mbps down/2Mbps up). So, basically, all these boxes are just to get them a step below where Comcast has already been able to be without littering our public space.
Still, Comcast is more than bad enough to make switching to AT&T still a strong consideration, although going with AT&T is somewhat of an endorsement of these boxes and wiretapping.
AT&T boxes update
John Burke, head of the city's public works department, gave a presentation updating the AT&T box situation at Monday's City Council Administration and Public Works Committee meeting.
You can see the slide show yourself (in .pdf format) here.
Rumors abound re: fiber optic installation
You are going to laugh as soon as I tell you this but this rumor does exist. The purpose of the fiber optic installation is to spy on us. And lets face it, 30 years ago to suggest that we would have cameras monitoring everything that moves would be laughable. Traffic yes, but to the point that cameras can issue tickets? And now that we have become comfortable with cameras watching our every move that old bugaboo from childhood days "Big Brother" has arrived, or to some he has been here awhile.
How were we supposed to know?
In Bill's 6/28 article about these new boxes, there is a link to the City for a pdf map with a location for all of these boxes. Does anyone know whether there was an attempt on anyone's part to make this infornation available when it was initially published? Or did someone have to be watching this site for the information? My guess is that there might have been a number of neighborhoods that would have expressed some concern about their boxes.
So going back to an earlier post, how do we make the case for AT&T to put in greenery or something attractive adjacent to our most recent public utility that is sitting on what I think is the City's easement?
KPT02 you should ask Steve Berstein
KPTO2 - several council meeting along - during the call of the wards - several of the alderperson claimed how helpless they where in the entire issue of the installation of these boxes ( it appears people are complaining ) I can not recall if you alderman was one of them who spoke to the issue- and that the state granted AT&T the right - interesting enough I see it as their usual not dealing with the problem - in any engineering solution it should be reviewed for the objectives - the first past should have been to review box location and then rework them to better locations. I am not certain this happen - council members personnel should have looked at this - by the way - not many boxes are still approved - for placement - why were the ones at Haven installed? Because no one cares what mess they cause in front of the school.
The impact on South Evanston will be large since the number of these boxes is higher in areas with higher population density.
AT&T Boxes and Cable Commission
In most communities (such as Skokie) the subject of the boxes would probably have come up before a Cable Commission, made up of full time staff and citizens. Evanston does not have a Cable Commission. There is some staff who deal with cable issues. There are no citizen participants.
There was at one time, quite a number of years ago, only an ad hoc cable commission when the transfer of a cable franchise was made between service providers. I was on that ad hoc group, my qualifications being that I was a consultant in the cable industry. Once the franchise transfer was made, the ad hoc group was disbanded. Besides myself and two other citizens, Bernstein, Hill and Rubin were there from the city side. My presence and questions were not received with enthusiasm.
The AT&T end-around
As the boxes were springing up in the Main / Forest area, I had conversation with someone at the Civic Center who filled me in on the fast shuffle that was done by AT&T. Seems they went to the state legislature and got permission to put boxes here, there and everywhere. The City has limited power over the placement - they can ask for decorative plants to screen them and other then insuring they are not blocking a road etc. that is about it.
AT&T seems to be everywhere
I don't know where AT&T has all their boxes. But recently they seem to have been all around town digging up lines to their current boxes and upgrading their fiber-optic service. Can we assume that this means we will soon have them as an alternative to Comcast? Does anyone know? The services seems to be okay, but it sure seems pricey. I am hoping that this introduces some competition that will bring Comcast's prices down.
AT&T Boxes
AT&T is installing their Uverse fiber optic system throughout Evanston. It is already operative in parts of Evanston. It will provide broadband, TV and phone service. The broadband cost is about half of Comcast and the TV service is comparable if not less. I doubt that Comcast will lower their prices unless they lose significant subscribers.
Annoying visually, but decent product
A) it doesn't provide phone service. You don't even get a discount for having their home phone service, which was annoying.
B) the internet price is fairly similar for the speeds cable is supposed to provide. The real savings are in the television part of the bill. They do offer cheap, slower internet options though, which is nice.
C) it's not exactly fiber optic. From those boxes to your house, it will (for the large majority of people at this point) be on your old copper lines. While this saves them (and their customers) money, it has negative effects on the quality of the television picture (compression artifacts, etc).
After having it for a couple of weeks, my wife wants to keep it and cancel cable. I'm less enthusiastic (missing half the Cubs games in HD will be annoying, but they seem to be adding HD channels day by day), but I think that's the way we'll go.
AT&T Boxes
They are truly ugly. But my main question is: Does the City receives revenue for use of this "public owned property"? Parkways are not technically public ways but they are property of the City not the adjacent building owner--City pays for parkway tree planting and maintenance through the grass maintenance is the responsibility of the adjacent property owner/renter.
If AT &T is not paying for the privilege of installing these ugly utilitiy boxes in the parkways something is wrong, worng , wrong. Can someone answer this?
The A T& T boxes marked again at Haven more tax dollars spent
The other day when I drove by Haven the old graffeti was removed and new graffeti was on the boxes - interesting how much will the city now spend to clean these 150 or more boxes in town - let say 1/3 are tagged a year - 50 boxes - I would not be surprised if we will spend several thousand dollars if not more to clean the boxes clearly this was something the city did not dealt with when AT &T proposed these boxes.
Thanks Bill - for the posting of the photo
Bill - thanks for the posting - these boxes could have been placed down the street south of the front of the building between the small wing and elementary school with little effect on the look of the buildings. ( the council statements about engineering are alot of nonsense in my opinion )
By the way you should post the other photo - with the gang marking on it! We should ask who will be responsible to clean up all the spray paint on these boxes - the marking on the boxes at Haven are terms for the police - no doubt placed by our junior criminal element.
That's what those are for?
That's what those are for? Yeah, mark me down a vote for in the "hate them" column.
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