What brand is the modem? What brand is the router?
Turn the wireless on your laptop on, search for local wireless networks, and see if there are any at full strength that could be your network. Most of the AT&T wireless networks have similar default names, but I don't remember what they are right now. If your modem is already wireless, then there may be a "key" (long number) on a label on the bottom for you to enter to connect to the wireless network.
I'm not sure if there's any difference with the U-Verse internet, but at least with AT&T's old DSL you usually needed to configure your wireless router to supply the modem with the username and password for your DSL. See, when it's hooked directly to your computer you do that through the AT&T DSL connection utility, but when it's hooked to the router, you have to configure the router to do it so that the modem will "deliver the internet" to the router, which the router then distributes. Your router instructions should include a section on how to configure it for this...you'll have to get into your router's config program over the wireless network to do that.
One of the reasons I like cable internet better...internet is always being piped in w/o username or password, so you just hook up your wireless router and you're ready to go.
