AT&T U-verse boxes may contain exploding batteries made by a company that doesn't exist anymore

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Guess what? There are 17,000 outdoor U-verse boxes containing backup batteries made by Quebecois company Avestor, a company that no longer exists due to bankruptcy.

Wait there’s more. These batteries are exploding and catching on fire. Nobody’s been injured yet but if you see one of those boxes on the side of the road, treat it as though it were a giant bear.

This setback might just, um, set back AT&T a little bit as it tries to catch up to Verizon’s FiOS service, which covers every area of Boston except mine (and a bunch of other cities, too). AT&T hopes to sign up a million customers by the end of the year. Verizon hit a million last June.

Exploding Batteries Plague AT&T’s U-verse [InformationWeek]