New Haven Independent: U-Verse Boxes Rattle Neighbors

New Haven Independent: U-Verse Boxes Rattle Neighbors:

"With millions of dollars of equipment at stake, AT&T has vowed to wipe off any graffiti from new utility boxes like this one.

The pledge comes as the city works to combat a graffiti “epidemic” plaguing neighborhoods.
The city wants your help holding the company accountable by reporting any graffiti on the new AT&T equipment called V-rad, or U-verse boxes.

Neighbors across the city have objected to the new additions to their blocks. A woman on Howard Avenue in the Hill grumbled that the box blocked her window view and kept her up at night. An East Rock woman successfully lobbied to get the utility box moved further down Edwards Street so it wouldn’t sit right outside her studio."

"It's only a matter of time before someone gets hurt"

Derby getting a hang-up on AT&T boxes - The Connecticut Post Online: "DERBY — City officials are adding their voices to the chorus of protests against AT&T since the telecommunications giant started installing large boxes on telephone poles to accommodate one of its newest services.
The metal boxes — as high as 6 feet tall and almost 3 feet wide — are used to provide AT&T's 'U-verse' high-speed Internet and enhanced cable television service. The company began installing the 'V-rad' boxes several months ago at the base of telephone poles, where they can get in the way of pedestrians, city officials said.

'Some of them take up half of the sidewalk,' Mayor Anthony Staffieri said. 'We are asking them to take them down and relocate them somewhere else.' About a year and a half ago, AT&T introduced its 'U-verse' digital cable television, telephone and Internet service. The boxes bring together fiber optic and copper cables that deliver a signal into customers' homes; each provides service to between 250 and 400 customers. But soon after the boxes began appearing, many began complaining about both their appearance and potential safety hazard they create.

'It's only a matter of time before someone gets hurt,' Staffieri said, labeling the boxes a 'monstrosity' that he said force 'people to walk around them' into the street. There have been no reports of any safety problems with the boxes, AT&T spokesman David Mancuso said. If there were, the company would immediately take action to correct any problems, he said."