NASHVILLE — AT&T Tennessee officials this morning filed an official application with the state that will let it offer cable-like television services in communities across the state within two years.

Acting under a new law passed by the General Assembly this spring, AT&T officials filed an application with the Tennessee Regulatory Authority.

The list of communities AT&T Tennessee is targeting for competition with cable providers such as Comcast include 56 cities. Among them are Chattanooga, Soddy-Daisy, East Ridge and Red Bank. The filing also lists Hamilton County among unincorporated areas.

Company officials said they plan to invest some $400 million in new technology and bring a “new world of communications and entertainment” to Tennesseans through AT&T U-verse services. The system uses an Internet Protocol-based television service that AT&T says makes U-verse TV “one of the most robust and feature-rich services available today.”

“The Legislature and the governor have created a competitive environment for video services, and consumers are the real winners,” said Gregg Morton, president, AT&T Tennessee, in a news release.

AT&T spokesman Bob Corney said the company has two years to provide service. He declined to say how quickly Hamilton Countians will see competition.

Other areas targeted for service initially include Cleveland and unincorporated areas of Bradley County. Besides Chattanooga, other major cities AT&T Tennessee intends to service include Knoxville, Nashville and Memphis.

The legislation allows AT&T and other companies to bypass traditional local cable franchise agreements and apply for a state licenses. Comcast and the cable industry bottled the bill up in committee last year. But under pressure from House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh, D-Covington, a compromise was reached in this year’s General Assembly.

The law allows AT&T or other companies seeking state franchises to later amend where it intends to offer services if it decides it needs to change direction. Under the law’s provisions, AT&T would be required to offer roughly 600,00 of its customers the services within 3 1/2 years. Twenty-five percent of households being offered AT&T Tennessee’s video services must be low income.

See tomorrow’s Chattanooga Times Free Press for complete coverage.