“The Cellular Network you are Using….”

Wednesday, December 30, 2009

Upon the release of the 3GS iPhone this summer many felt a bit envious, that envy has turned into downright hatred over the last few months as many with earlier models have struggled with an overburdened network based on the introduction of the 3GS. Users, especially in Chicago, San Francisco, and New York are experiencing not only lagging data speeds but also: dropped calls, poor reception and often the inability to make a simple phone call.

I, for one, can live with slower data transfers. My first mobile phone weighed in at just over ten pounds and this before I even had an email address. Though over the years I’ve come to expect the ability to access the Internet from my pocket, I also remember the connecting whine of a dial-up modem. I recently sat next to someone on a flight from Atlanta to New York who would not stop complaining about the slow speed of his in-flight Internet. The idea that you could complain about something that did not exist a mere six months ago in my opinion is the acme of folly. That said, dropped calls, or the inability to make, god forbid, an emergency call is unacceptable. There is no question that AT&T scored a major coup with the exclusive contract with Apple to provide service for the iPhone but they need to get there act together. In two years time no one will care about this exclusive, but rather the poor job AT&T has done servicing this agreement.

In AT&T’s defense it seems they are not the only carrier experiencing these difficulties. Officials with O2 across the pond have acknowledged similar issues with their network, not unlike AT&T, since the 3GS hit the shelves. The primary difference between these two companies is that AT&T’s issues are widespread while O2’s issues seem largely confined to the Greater London area. Moreover, O2 is waiting for final governmental approval for the installation of an additional 200 cell towers and has publicly apologized. AT&T needs to take a page out of O2’s playbook and bite the bullet, apologize, and remedy this untenable situation.

This is an AT&T on iPhone failure article by brokencord The Apps Machine