AT&T to Sell U-verse at Wal-Mart, Circuit City

AT&T (T) will begin selling its U-verse TV and high-speed Internet services at Wal-Mart (WMT) and Circuit City (CC) stores as part of the telcom giant's aggressive deployment and customer growth strategy.

The agreements are the first national retail deals for AT&T's U-verse and will bring the company's TV and Internet services to more than 600 retail locations beginning this month.

Shares of AT&T were surging higher by $1.84, or 8.2%, to $24.26, although many stocks were reallying as governments worldwide initiated massive emergency aid packages for struggling banks.

The U-verse services will be offered at Circuit City and Wal-Mart stores in areas where AT&T has made services are available, including neighborhoods in Arkansas, California, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas and Wisconsin. The company said additional locations will be added in the future.

"We've been expanding U-verse availability at a rapid pace, and now we're expanding the way millions of consumers can learn about the benefits of AT&T U-verse and order the service," said Glenn Lurie, president of national distribution for AT&T.

AT&T has seen steady growth in its U-verse subscriber count over the last year as the service has gained traction. At the end of the second quarter, the user total was 549,000. That compares with just 51,000 at the end of the second quarter in 2007.

Among other telco shops, Verizon (VZ) was higher by 2.3% at $27.38, and Sprint Nextel (S) jumped 16% to $4.14.

>To order reprints of this article, click here: Reprints