WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif. -- AT&T U-verse ranks highest in customer satisfaction in three regions and Verizon FiOS ranks highest in one region among television service providers, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2008 Residential Television Service Satisfaction StudySM released today.

The study measures customer satisfaction with cable, satellite and Internet protocol (IPTV) television providers in four regional segments: North Central, East, West and South. Within each segment, five factors are measured to determine overall customer satisfaction: performance and reliability; customer service; cost of service; billing; and offerings and promotions. Customer satisfaction with video provider performance is reported as an index score based on a 1,000-point scale.

AT&T U-verse ranks highest in the North Central (with an index score of 730), West (697) and South (706) regions. In the East region, Verizon FiOS ranks highest with a score of 677. This is the first year both AT&T U-verse and Verizon FiOS are included in the study. AT&T U-verse and Verizon FiOS perform particularly well in the offerings and promotions factor, specifically with their bundled pricing options. Both providers also perform well in the performance and reliability factor, especially regarding reception clarity.

“With the addition of AT&T and Verizon to the residential television service market, competition has intensified among providers that bundle voice, television and data services on a single bill,” said Frank Perazzini, director of telecommunications at J.D. Power and Associates. “Ultimately, the consumer is going to be the big winner in this battle as cable, satellite and IPTV providers strive to offer the highest quality television experiences at competitive price points.”

AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T)