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Ordinary telephone wires will soon have a new capability in Portola Valley: as conduits for video-on-demand and up to 300 television channels, with features that include picture-in-picture, high-definition video, and a Web site to set up program recording from anywhere.
The technology is a consequence of California legislation in 2006 that revised TV franchising rules to promote competition in video services. Ten other states have adopted similar legislation, according to AT&T.
AT&T is making a $1 billion investment in California to bring high-speed fiber-optic cables within reach of homes where the video service is to be offered, according to a company statement.
Portola Valley was chosen as one of the first California sites for the video service known as AT&T’s “Lightspeed” initiative, or U-verse, said Planning Manager Leslie Lambert in an Aug. 8 staff report to the Planning Commission.
Portola Valley residents will have a choice of five TV packages and three Internet packages that run from $44 to $129 monthly, the company statement said.
AT&T has encroachment permits in Portola Valley to install seven graffiti-resistant equipment cabinets at intersections in town where similar hardware is located, Ms. Lambert said.
Two more cabinets in unincorporated San Mateo County may be serving the area near Skyline Drive and the Vista Verde/Los Trancos Woods neighborhoods, Ms. Lambert said.
The above-ground cabinets will be light green or beige and will likely measure 4-feet high by 5-feet across by 2-feet deep, Ms. Lambert said. A somewhat taller and narrower cabinet may also be used.
AT&T, in its statement, says that it will work with town staff in planting vegetation to screen the traffic side of the cabinets from view when property owners request it.
For more information, type “u-verse” into a Web search engine.
