The 726 AT&T utility boxes planned to be installed on sidewalks around the city and necessary to expand the telecom company's home TV and Internet service in San Francisco, were blocked by a Superior Court Judge this week. Judge Harold Kahn ruled that a lawsuit brought by a slew of San Francisco Neighborhood groups had a "fair argument" for demanding an environmental impact review. more ›

After taking years to approve an alternative to Comcast's monopoly on crap cable TV and Internet service, the Board of Supervisors finally approved AT&T's Lightspeed network expansion yesterday. Meaning we'll soon have a new choice when selecting which provider to lease a DVRs from. It also means the clunky utility boxes that have been such a sticking point for Supervisors and neighborhood groups will start popping up on sidewalks as early as today. more ›

One of the few (and perhaps only) remaining voices of untarnished activism in San Francisco, Michael Petrelis, interviewed LGBT Community Center executive director Rebecca Rolfe about the Center's unyielding support of AT&T and its pending merger with T-Mobile. Last week, if you recall, six GLAAD board members, as well as President Jarrett Barrios, were forced to resign due to the organization’s involvement in the proposed merger. (What with a Democrat sitting n the Oval Office, AT&T looks to left-learning organizations to help bend Obama's ear for merger approval. If this were the Bush era of a few years ago, AT&T would probably be hitting up the other end of the spectrum, the NRA, etc.) more ›

• "Why should a small group of residents (the appellants) determine the fate of technology for the entire city? I want faster broadband and I want a choice in video." more ›

Oh snap. This morning at AT&T's 739 Folsom office, Phonebook Free SF delivered thousands of unwanted phonebooks to the company's doorstep. See, San Francisco Supervisors and environmental groups are trying to make San Francisco "the first city in the nation to stop unwanted phone book distribution." Even though legislation says that anyone who wants a phonebook can still get one, "corporate interests are mounting a fear campaign and spending big money to kill this legislation." more ›

The Business Times reports today that AT&T is pleased with themselves and "proud of the network [they] have built", as they continue to beef up their data network in San Francisco -- which is ground zero for network failures, dropped calls, and dead zones in the world of the iPhone. This follows on an earlier report about all the money AT&T says they're investing to upgrade their local networks, but still doesn't clarify where, exactly, the money's being spent, or how much improvement iPhone users can expect by "the end of the year," when said upgrades are supposed to be complete. more ›

Today's Business Journal notes that AT&T has already invested $1.1 billion this year to upgrade wireless (and wired) networks across California, which has included 100 new cell sites, 25 antennas in "high-traffic areas," and 35 separate 3G upgrades. So how come we couldn't get the internet to work on our iPhone all Labor Day weekend long? [SFBJ] more ›

And again with the phone news, but this is kind of big: The Library of Congress ruled today that iPhone users should be allowed to "jailbreak" their phone and download unauthorized applications, revising an earlier rule from 1998 that permitted companies to impose such restrictions. The new rules are part of a group announced today -- something that Library of Congress' Copyright Office does every three years or so. more ›

by Rachel Brodsky more ›

AT&T announced they will improve iPhone and other smart phone coverage in New York and San Francisco's financial district. Those areas "are performing at levels below our standards,” according to Ralph de la Vega (no kidding!), chief executive of AT&T Mobility at an investors conference, as reported by the Wall Street Journal. So there you have it: ducking out of phone calls because "I can't hear you" is still totally legit. (Amy Crocker) more ›

Many AT&T customers, including the legion of iPhone users out there, may be aware of some wonkiness with their wonder devices of late. Dropped calls, delayed voicemails, inability to access voicemail, inability to tweet their Muni woes, etc. It's been a shitty month or two, and it all comes down to the fact that Apple and AT&T struck that single-carrier deal a couple years back, and AT&T can't handle the data traffic anymore. As the NYT reports today (complete with slide show), AT&T is scrambling to expand their network. more ›

Did you try accessing 4chan's /b/ boards this weekend? And couldn't? Well, we tried. And couldn't. That's because AT&T "blocked user access to portions of 4chan," a move that could result in sheer chaos and certain doom for the telecommunications giant. Seriously, this could be the single dumbest move by AT&T, a company noted for implementing none-too-swift ideas. 4chan, for those of you who don't know, is an image board. Sort of. It's also a place where some of the world's most evil and amusing online trolls converge. It's where people and companies are eviscerated. Also, its /b/ board, for lack of a better term, is the sphincter of the interwebs. more ›

Greg Dewar of N Judah Chronicles posted this image of an angry sign presumably posted up by an even angrier customer. The shit was snapped up yesterday afternoon at Broadway and Van Ness. more ›

Current San Francisco Mayor, possible future Governor of California, and still-lost-inside-Siebel's-sugar-walls honeymooner Gavin Newsom is throwing some sort of party at the Denver Democratic National Convention. It's cloyingly called Unconventional 08, molded for "generation Obama" (good grief), and rumor is there will be enough hookers and blow for everyone. (We expect a full report on the shwag grab from Paul Hogarth the moment it ends!) more ›

Today, Hate Hurts America (chortle) and the Interfaith Coalition announced that WalMart and AT&T either stopped advertising or now refuse to place ads on Michael Savage's "Savage Nation" program, joining a list of advertisers that have shunned the talk show host. (AutoZone, Citrix, TrustedID, JC Penney, and OfficeMax have also pulled their advertising.) Why? Because Michael Savage is a big ol;' meanie , crusher of warm fuzzies, and wisher of AIDS upon you sodomites.... more ›