AT&T (News - Alert) received good news from the East Baton Rouge Parish Metro Council last night and as a result, will be able to enjoy expansion and increased revenue opportunities. AT&T Louisiana will provide benefits to the city thanks to an approved agreement between council members.

These benefits will be provided in conjunction with the provision of new video services to local consumers. This successful vote makes Baton Rouge the first city in Louisiana to approve such an agreement, while also opening the door for AT&T to pursue additional expansions within the state.

"AT&T is pleased that the Mayor-President and the council believe consumers deserve a choice in video service providers, and we are eager to deliver the benefits of real competition to Baton Rouge consumers," said William A. Oliver, president of AT&T Louisiana, in a Thursday statement.

 

"As we all know, competition brings improved services, competitive prices and more choices for consumers."

Competition from such a formidable player however, may not be considered a good thing for local providers, especially if services are better and prices more competitive. Local residents will certainly benefit as customers, but will this agreement have a negative impact on the local economy?

AT&T has sought to provide advanced video services, such as AT&T U-verse TV, a 100 percent Internet Protocol (IP) based video service. AT&T relies on IP technology to provide rich content and innovative functionality.

 

Some of the capabilities that AT&T can provide include the ability to record up to four programs at once using a digital video recorder (DVR); Web and Mobile Remote Access to DVR; access to customized weather, sports, traffic and stock information; and built-in picture-in-picture browsing.

"We look forward to working with Baton Rouge officials to bring consumers the most advanced technology available in video and Internet services," Oliver said. "It is great to see a city such as Baton Rouge take the initiative to open the door to competition."

Oliver also added that AT&T wants to provide consumers in other parts of the state a choice in video providers as well and the company is supporting legislation – specifically House Bill 1009 and Senate Bill 422 – which were filed late last week and will enable the company to obtain a statewide franchise to provide competitive video services.

It is too soon to tell if this agreement is really good news for the consumers in this area. Often, large telecom companies can offer services and features that smaller competitors cannot match, but the overall impact can be felt by more than just the competition.