AT&T Offers Video Update on iPhone MMS and Cellular Network Issues

[MacRumors]

http://www.macrumors.com/images/macrumorsthreadlogo.gif (http://www.macrumors.com/2009/09/04/atandt-offers-video-update-on-iphone-mms-and-cellular-network-issues/)

Alongside yesterday's announcement (http://www.macrumors.com/2009/09/03/atandt-announces-iphone-mms-launch-date-september-25/) that it will be bringing MMS to the iPhone on September 25th, AT&T released a video clip featuring "Seth the Blogger Guy" explaining the explosion in data growth over the past several years and how AT&T has been working to expand its infrastructure to handle the demands on its network.

In particular, Seth briefly addresses the steps AT&T has undertaken to prepare for the launch of MMS on the iPhone, noting that the company wanted to ensure that the feature works properly from the start.We've been working for months to prepare the radio access controllers in our network to support this launch. That means calibrating base stations all over the country, and frankly that's a very time-consuming process. MMS for the iPhone will be coming on September 25th. We wanted to make sure that when MMS for the iPhone launches, the experience was great. We wanted to get it right.Seth then addresses the broader investments AT&T has made in its network, totaling $38 billion over the past two years, to increase capacity and deploy coverage based on the 850 MHz spectrum (http://www.macrumors.com/2009/09/02/atandt-announces-850-mhz-3g-coverage-improvements-in-new-york-city-and-other-markets/), which offers improved capacity and in-building coverage. Finally, Seth points to AT&T's ongoing work to deploy technology to improve data transfer speeds (http://www.macrumors.com/2009/05/27/atandt-announces-plans-for-7-2-mbps-3g-deployment/) and the expansion of 3G to additional markets.

AT&T Offers Video Update on iPhone MMS and Cellular Network Issues ("

Article Link: [url=http://www.macrumors.com/2009/09/04/atandt-offers-video-update-on-iphone-mms-and-cellular-network-issues/)

[thegoldenmackid]

This made me laugh, the second time...

[thevofl]

Can someone say "deer in headlights?"

[HiRez]

I'll believe it when I see it. AT&T was sketchy when I started using them about 10 years ago, but they've gotten absolutely horrendous over the last 6-12 months. So many dropped/inaudible calls and the data speeds and coverage is very pokey compared to Verizon. We'll see, but I don't have a lot of faith in them. The iPhone is the greatest mobile device ever, but it's ruined by the AT&T experience.

[racer1441]

His hair scares me...like it's looking at me funny or something.

[Grimace]

Spokesperson Fail...

[AlphaAnt]

Him talking for three minutes with his head slightly tilted is bugging the crap out of me.

[TitoC]

What a dweeb! Seriously, this is the best guy they can get to explain their screw ups? Somebody who looks like he has no idea what he has been spoon-fed to say. Looks like something you might see on the Daily Show as a skit more than something out of Corporate America.

My favorite part? "Hey, we see the discussion on the web . . . ." You do? Please read this one then. Please!

Way to stay classy AT&Dweeb!

[ux4all]

Spokesperson Fail...

Sometimes, personae IRL are scary looking.

[gugy]

Can someone say "deer in headlights?"

so true.
Boy what a horrible choice.

[ShaneMahsa]

Oh well, this kind of stuff happens. Get over it.

[dlewis23]

The iPhone is the greatest mobile device ever, but it's ruined by the AT&T experience.

Well it is and it isn't.

Here in south florida, we have the best Wireless cell network in the country. We were fully 850 MHz several months ago, and consistently have 1.5 Mbps + download speed. Calls don't get dropped on the iPhone, cell coverage is not spotty at all, and I have used it a lot from Port ST. Lucie down to south miami.

Now i'm not making any excuses for AT&T because there are still problems and some places are just really bad. But its not bad everywhere. And if AT&T would model the rest of the country on what they did in South Florida there would be 90% less problems then what people have now.

[ShiggyMiyamoto]

I'll believe it when I see it. AT&T was sketchy when I started using them about 10 years ago, but they've gotten absolutely horrendous over the last 6-12 months. So many dropped/inaudible calls and the data speeds and coverage is very pokey compared to Verizon. We'll see, but I don't have a lot of faith in them. The iPhone is the greatest mobile device ever, but it's ruined by the AT&T experience.

I agree with that full on. I love my iPhone, but I had to cancel my data plan (oddly you can only do that with the original iPhone 1st gen) for financial reasons, and that makes me sad because I can't use it to its fullest potential anymore. I'm forced to find a WiFi hotspot to use internet, unless I wanna be billed per KB should I use EDGE for anything. When my contract ends on Monday I'll be saving money and stuff for a new contract with Sprint and I'll be getting a Palm Pre. I hate to give up my iPhone, but AT&T's prices for what I like doing just don't kick it anymore. They've gotten way too expensive, and I'm not made of money. My mom is getting my iPhone, and I know she'll be happy with it. A much needed upgrade for her as she's on a 6 year old Moto Razr.

[jonnorwood]

Wait - he said it was a highway ...

It IS a big truck then.

[HiVolt]

LOL, what a bunch of hogwash...

Do they honestly expect people to believe that iPhone MMS would cripple their network? There are far more bandwidth intensive applications for the iPhone than the occasional MMS!!!

Also the vast majority of iPhones out there are the original iPhone, which will have no MMS capability at all and the iPhone 3G, with only picture MMS and not video... PICTURE ONLY, and I'd bet my left nut that the pictures sent over MMS will be reduced in resolution, just like they are when sent by E-Mail.

I'm glad I'm not an AT&T user, thankfully Rogers handles the iPhone in Canada and MMS/Tethering has been supported from day 1 of iPhone OS 3.0 release with at no extra cost.

[ob81]

I am glad that they are a lot more verbal with this MMS thing. Took them long enough, but at least they are getting the point. Maybe AT&T is turning a new leaf.

[Mackota]

If you can't support it don't sell it.

[BeyondtheTech]

Sorry if I repeated my text in the YouTube comments, but I stand by them firmly.

So, after more than two years, and with all the millions of first-gen iPhone users who paid $20 per month for an unlimited data plan, followed by the millions of iPhone 3G and 3GS users who pay $30 a month for the same unlimited data plan, plus up to another $30 per month for a separated, unlimited messaging plan, you finally get your fat asses off the crumpled piles of hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue, just to shell out a few bucks for some pseudo-blogging-wannabe geek in front of a Flash animation, basically saying you've just started fixing the problems we've been facing since the beginning? FAIL.

And AFAIK, AT&T has screwed both its customers and its own employees with the iPhone.

I spoke to many AT&T employees who were pissed off that their store only carried 20-80 iPhone 3G and 3GS at launch and were sold out for weeks at a time, while the Apple store on the other side of the mall had hundreds in stock daily.

Initially, I thought it was because Apple was holding back and wanted to sell on their own. But, upon further inspection, AT&T was the one who held back from getting any stock.

Why?

Commission.

For every iPhone sold at an AT&T store, as well as any accessories or add-ons sold, that AT&T rep would be receiving commission for that sale. There is no commission for any Apple employee for selling and activating an iPhone (or any product in their store for that matter).

AT&T knew they were going to get the customers with every activation anyway, so why give additional monies to their own employees when it can be done for them, essentially for free? I watched the AT&T reps literally lean in front of the store and their kiosks with nothing to do but watch the neverending line of iPhone buyers wrap around the Apple store just across the hall.

You just kept the money and wasted your exclusivity time, and you know it, AT&T. Watch yourself crumble when it's all over and the iPhone becomes officially available to other carriers.

[Illusion986]

Yeah yeah, they are full of it. But what can you do, get t-mobile LOL.

[azboricua]

Im AT&T and I want the iPhone to be all mine! Oh wait can I handle it?

:rolleyes:

[Icaras]

Nice haircut

and the head tilting needs to stop.

[Tampa Tom]

Seth forgot to add they they were expanding the network "while raping the consumer at every turn." I demand truth in advertising.

[Scooterman1]

I must commend AT&T on the events of the last 2 days.
One of my biggest complaints with AT&T is the same one I have with Apple.
They have both treated us like mushrooms and kept us in the dark as to what they have been doing. All the way until releasing a product/update. AT&T has even done this with Uverse.
Now, at least they're telling us what is going on. I have to compliment them on that. I hope they continue to do so.
Now Apple, whey can't you get a clue? Your customers would like Facts much more than Rumors!

[VenusianSky]

The fact of the matter is that no single carrier has complete, sufficient coverage. It doesn't take a genius to understand why that is. Cellular service is still somewhat young for being a large infrastructural development. It has only been a little more than a decade where cellular phones and plans have become affordable enough for nearly everyone to own one.

I hear the same explanation from many people. "I use fill in carrier name because they have the best coverage in my area". Makes sense to me. Maybe those who got blindly sucked into the iPhone should have done a little more research and reconsidered what is more important, cool phone or reliable service. The only person to blaim is Apple for making a cool phone and establishing an exclusive deal with AT&T.

For myself, it just so happens that AT&T's service has always been perfectly fine where I live. I don't recall ever having a dropped call. It was a no-brainer for me to get an iPhone.

[droz]

someone's starting to panic about losing their exclusivity contract. The time can't come soon enough if you ask me.

[dissdnt]

My question is why have they been working on the MMS issue for the last few months? Why wait for Apple to announce MMS then work on it. They are partners with Apple. I'm sure they were in on the conversation about releasing MMS, in fact that had to be because the 3Gs was being released and they had to be up on what it might be offering on there network.

Sorry but AT&T is just epic fail. Every other carrier in the world supported MMS right out of the box.

And thanks for showing us what a horrible burden it is being AT&T by showing us lame graphics on how cell phones work. We get it.

[BryanLyle]

This is a joke, right? Holy crap.

[JonB3Z]

Here's what I learned from that video: nothing. Seriously. I'm not an AT&T hater. The service is actually pretty good around here. But I still don't understand why MMS is a killer more so than, for example, downloading YouTube videos. I was hoping the video would actually be informative. (I know, naive on my part!)

I'd love to talk to some real AT&T engineers about this rather than watching a video that was obviously the brainchild of AT&T's marketing department.

[BeyondtheTech]

I just hope Seth comes out again with another video about all the bad press they're getting about the first video. This is gonna be fun.

[Adisah]

I don't really see how they are screwing any customers. They can charge whatever they want. As a company they are able to do that. At&t doesn't have to charge less if they don't want to. They came out with a video and said their network isn't able to handle it yet. It isn't, they are working on it. If they release MMS right now it would be stupid because people in metro areas aren't even able to make calls much less send a picture/video messages.

I believe At&t are doing all they can right now, it takes time to build a cellular network. It's also not cheap. I don't see why so many people are complaining right now. Just be patient. Everything can't happen at the speed of light.

[smegma11]

We are looking under the iPhone tab of Macrumors, you know we can't do flash video in our phones. Pretend like your here for US.

[illest813]

Guys, to be totally off-topic I was wondering if anyone knew who AT&T purchased their network infrastructure hardware from? Basically, who will be supplying them for their upgrades? I know they can buy out previous hardware put in place by other companies, but my question is as far as building new stuff.

Sorry, i've been wondering forever- hope somebody knows the answer.

[Yebot]

http://img513.imageshack.us/img513/9849/greenshot20090904155321.jpg


We ... uh ... sold more phones .... uh ... than we can service ... uh yea.

[intelliot]

Actually, despite all the negativity here, I rather liked the video.

He seemed honest. And what he was was pretty much true.

Are any of you engineers? Improving network bandwidth isn't an easy thing to do.

Ironically, Ted Stevens may not have been too far off when he stated that "the Internet is a series of tubes." Oversimplified? Absolutely. But wrong? Not really.

Thinking of it as a series of tubes is probably a better understanding of the Internet than most laypeople have. Usually technical folks would talk about the "pipes" that transport Internet data, but in English that word has virtually the same meaning as "tubes."

[oneteam]

cannot believe it, AT&T is a joke...

[BeyondtheTech]

It's hitting front page news now. Keep it snowballing, people!

From the CNN video: http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/tech/2009/09/04/carroll.dropping.call.cnn


"No one could have known in advance just how much the use our network would increase because of the iPhone and other smartphones. But we are working hard to stay ahead of customer demand..."
- Mark Siegel, AT&T spokesman

I have a few bones to pick with this quote. AT&T had a whole year before the iPhone 3G device came out. As it becomes the most popular mobile device, they didn't see this coming? Surely they should have listened in on those blindfolded-with-a-bow-and-arrow analysts from Gene Munster and Shaw Wu who pumped the iPhone rumors for all the stock is worth.

Apple isn't clear of this technical catastrophe, either. What happened to the "collaboration" between Apple and AT&T as Steve Jobs stated in the original Macworld keynote? And, how can you work hard to stay ahead of customer demand when you're actually behind? No MMS, no tethering, poor cell phone reception and wireless data service?

Oh, and thanks for the Visual Voicemail notification I just got for the voicemail someone left for me two days ago.

[jedijoe]

that actor invokes feelings of violence and rage with me!

[BeyondtheTech]

I don't really see how they are screwing any customers. They can charge whatever they want. As a company they are able to do that. At&t doesn't have to charge less if they don't want to. They came out with a video and said their network isn't able to handle it yet. It isn't, they are working on it. If they release MMS right now it would be stupid because people in metro areas aren't even able to make calls much less send a picture/video messages.

I believe At&t are doing all they can right now, it takes time to build a cellular network. It's also not cheap. I don't see why so many people are complaining right now. Just be patient. Everything can't happen at the speed of light.

But we went from spending $20 a month to up to $50 a month for the iPhone data plan + messaging. That's pretty significant, and it's basically the same thing, only faster. And personally, I think I've surfed LESS on Mobile Safari on my 3GS than I did with my original iPhone, now that I've got games to play and more capacity to store videos and movies.

So, multiply that by the tens of millions of subscribers and multiply that by the number of months they've had exclusivity and this video stating "we've just started to improve" is the best they have come up with?!

[xsecretfiles]

The fact of the matter is that no single carrier has complete, sufficient coverage. It doesn't take a genius to understand why that is. Cellular service is still somewhat young for being a large infrastructural development. It has only been a little more than a decade where cellular phones and plans have become affordable enough for nearly everyone to own one.

I hear the same explanation from many people. "I use fill in carrier name because they have the best coverage in my area". Makes sense to me. Maybe those who got blindly sucked into the iPhone should have done a little more research and reconsidered what is more important, cool phone or reliable service. The only person to blaim is Apple for making a cool phone and establishing an exclusive deal with AT&T.

For myself, it just so happens that AT&T's service has always been perfectly fine where I live. I don't recall ever having a dropped call. It was a no-brainer for me to get an iPhone.

The thing is though that the rest of the world are beating us to the wireless race; while our companies continue "raping" us as customers.

[jav6454]

But we went from spending $20 a month to up to $50 a month for the iPhone data plan + messaging. That's pretty significant, and it's basically the same thing, only faster. And personally, I think I've surfed LESS on Mobile Safari on my 3GS than I did with my original iPhone, now that I've got games to play and more capacity to store videos and movies.

So, multiply that by the tens of millions of subscribers and multiply that by the number of months they've had exclusivity and this video stating "we've just started to improve" is the best they have come up with?!

Ok, so you can run AT&T better. It's been said over and over again. Cell towers upgrades and network upgrades are done fast. The slow part? Trying to get regulators and do the right paper work. That can take up to months.

AT&T is already investing $17 Billion into its network. Come to think of it, it's half of what Apple has in its bank coffers.

AT&T has released statistics of mobile increase. A whopping 300% no one predicted. If you give me the how come no one saw this coming BS, just look back to reviews 2 years ago for the 1st Gen iPhone. People saw only a possible 160% increase at most. Guess what? It ended up being roughly double.

If you complain that Verizon could have handled it better. Breaking, they would have not. Their network would have crumbled as much as AT&T's had. So quit yapping and be happy that AT&T is actually working to better themselves so you can send cute pictures to your friends.

[otis123]

they just need to suck less, granted it has to be hard to provide service for all the iPhones in the US.

[BornAgainMac]

He can tilt his head both sides

[jav6454]

they just need to suck less, granted it has to be hard to provide service for all the iPhones in the US.

How is spending $17 Billion sucking? I want to see how much Verizon or T-Mobile has spent.

Sprint doesn't count on the fact that their network is near nada in many areas (you have to roam) and there network works because people are fleeing in an Exodus.

[VenusianSky]

Sorry but AT&T is just epic fail. Every other carrier in the world supported MMS right out of the box.


Every other carrier doesn't have as large of customer base than a carrier in the US. AT&T has admitted that they didn't have enough infrastructure in place to support nation-wide MMS due to the popularity of the iPhone. Remember, MMS is disabled only on the iPhone. There are plenty of other AT&T phones that do MMS.
I think AT&T could have enabled MMS on the iPhone in my area a year ago, and it would have probably been fine, but that wouldn't go over to well with users in other areas.

[BeyondtheTech]

If you complain that Verizon could have handled it better. Breaking, they would have not. Their network would have crumbled as much as AT&T's had. So quit yapping and be happy that AT&T is actually working to better themselves so you can send cute pictures to your friends.

All I'm saying is that it should never have been an exclusive agreement. Apple should break or finish their exclusivity with AT&T, then make a "world" iPhone with both CDMA/EvDO and GPRS/EDGE/HSDPA. BlackBerry has world phones, as well as other OEMs. It's OK, make it 0.5mm thicker than the iPhone 3G and 3GS - I'll forgive you for it.

[ShaneMahsa]

LOL, what a bunch of hogwash...

Do they honestly expect people to believe that iPhone MMS would cripple their network? There are far more bandwidth intensive applications for the iPhone than the occasional MMS!!!

Actually what the video said was that they needed to re-calibrate the towers to enable MMS. Then they started talking about the network and how it has been difficult keeping up with bandwidth demands.

You seem to be thinking that he said that the bandwidth demand of MMS is what is causing those problems, when he specifically said that smartphone usage is the cause. MMS is not a feature supported only by smartphones. Further, he said that internet use in particular is what has made the bandwidth issues especially difficult.

Which part of that explanation said that MMS is causing bandwidth issues?

Im not saying that they are right or that this isn't a load of BS, nor am I trying to attack you in any way, but next time you go to criticize something, try and make sure your argument is logically drawn from what you are criticizing.

[bucksaddle]

Actually, despite all the negativity here, I rather liked the video.

He seemed honest. And what he was was pretty much true.

Are any of you engineers? Improving network bandwidth isn't an easy thing to do.

Ironically, Ted Stevens may not have been too far off when he stated that "the Internet is a series of tubes." Oversimplified? Absolutely. But wrong? Not really.

Thinking of it as a series of tubes is probably a better understanding of the Internet than most laypeople have. Usually technical folks would talk about the "pipes" that transport Internet data, but in English that word has virtually the same meaning as "tubes."

Nice speech, but what has the internet got to do with MMS?
I really feel for you guys over the pond - MMS is something that has been running over all our UK cellular networks for nearly 10 years, without so much as a blink from any of the providers, or extra cost (on our iPhone plans). It was activated within 10 seconds of updating my iPhone to OS3.0. I really don't understand anything AT&T is saying.
However, as much as a fuss MMS is creating is it not just a gimmick now?Sure, it's fun to send a quick photo or video to somebody in a message, but after 3 or 4 messages the novelty wears off. With services such as YouTube, Facebook, Flickr, MobileMe, etc everybody is uploading content direct to here so, really, what's the fuss with MMS?

[pgolden]

Did you notice the calendar graphic they used showed Sept. 25 (MMS roll out day) as a Wednesday. It's actually Friday.

[scottness]

That dude is enough to scare anyone away from AT&T. :D

Seriously, though, AT&T is very good out here on Oahu. Beats Sprint and T-Mobile easily. I've been quite happy, because I can maintain a conversation while driving through the mountain tunnels (Pali Hwy), and my bandwidth here is way better than what many of you are reporting. Not something I could have said about the other guys.

We're ready for MMS over here. --I think.

[jav6454]

All I'm saying is that it should never have been an exclusive agreement. Apple should break or finish their exclusivity with AT&T, then make a "world" iPhone with both CDMA/EvDO and GPRS/EDGE/HSDPA. BlackBerry has world phones, as well as other OEMs. It's OK, make it 0.5mm thicker than the iPhone 3G and 3GS - I'll forgive you for it.

No and no. Apple should not make a phone with technology less than 20% of the world uses

As for AT&T's exclusive agreement. It's all about the money. If Apple feels like giving up that extra revenue they will, but I have a feeling they won't.

[chr1s60]

They forgot to explain the part where they are the only network that has needed 3 extra months to prepare for mms.

[NokX]

blink!!!!

[Sabenth]

I have said this a few times i dont have an iphone. I am not even in America but to send a picture it takes 2 years to get it ready. Lead the industry into the future i think by the looks and sounds of things some one else needs to lead at&t. I maybe using a nokia n95 but at least i can send mms use the net and make phone calls without the fear of blocking the freeway. Oh well iam sure you will get everything every other smart phone has in a few years i wish iphone users the best of luck

[twoodcc]

well i'm glad they are working on it, but i bet their network will still get hammered on the 25th

[Dainin]

I've been sending MMS messages from my other AT&T phones without problems... Why would they need to "calibrate base stations all over the country" in order to allow the iPhone to send MMS messages?

On top of that, since I can't MMS, I email. I think for the majority of iphone users the amount of bandwidth used will not change at all.

[zedsdead]

Great...where's my tethering!:mad:

This is the third year of the iPhone. AT&T should have been more prepared.

[jav6454]

I've been sending MMS messages from my other AT&T phones without problems... Why would they need to "calibrate base stations all over the country" in order to allow the iPhone to send MMS messages?

On top of that, since I can't MMS, I email. I think for the majority of iphone users the amount of bandwidth used will not change at all.

Obviously it works for you. Mainly because you are among a select few that has MMS enabled. However, take into consideration the fact that when MMS is enabled, that MMS traffic will increase.

That increase is what they are preparing for. If it takes time to prepare talk to your local county office that deals with communications as they make every carrier/cable company/electric company go through a hassle just to put an extra cable.

[mspman]

This is the best they can do with $38 BILLION? Are you serious?! 19 billion a year and they can't provide MMS and tethering? What a joke!!

[QCassidy352]

god, stop whining about the spokesman. Who cares. I see this story as positive for two reasons:
1) $38b is a lot of money to spend on network upgrades. Say what you want about how far they still have to go, but they are trying, and that's encouraging.
2) Transparency is good. I like it when companies that I give my money to explain what they are doing with that money and how they plan to improve their goods/services in the future. Obviously this only goes so far - at some point they have to deliver. But this is still good.

[ob81]

All I'm saying is that it should never have been an exclusive agreement. Apple should break or finish their exclusivity with AT&T, then make a "world" iPhone with both CDMA/EvDO and GPRS/EDGE/HSDPA. BlackBerry has world phones, as well as other OEMs. It's OK, make it 0.5mm thicker than the iPhone 3G and 3GS - I'll forgive you for it.

I would love for AT&T to lose their stronghold on the iPhone. If merely for competition purposes. They are slacking because they are going to ride the Apple train despite how slow they are with support.

[jav6454]

This is the best they can do with $38 BILLION? Are you serious?! 19 billion a year and they can't provide MMS and tethering? What a joke!!

Can you do better? If so, I'd like to see you try.

[aristotle]

Put caps on monthly bandwidth to a reasonable level like 6GB and people will start thinking about what they are doing rather than having the attitude that unlimited data means that you can get rid of your ISP at home and tether or stream Youtube all day. The caps are part of the reason why Rogers and Fido have a responsive network even with iPhones on the network.

If you need an ISP, get a wired one for your home and a wireless router.

There is only so much that they can do to increase capacity through additional towers and alternate frequency bands. There is a limit to the amount of data and users a single tower can support. This applies equally for both GSM and CDMA technologies.

Some of you might want to point out that Verizon is not having problems at the moment but that is because they have crappy phones that are locked down to use their own services and may have features disabled entirely. If they had a device like the iPhone, they would have similar issues in areas with a high concentration of users with that phone.

Blackberry phones are quite limited in what APIs they offer and are often locked down by the wireless providers. Most BB users just text and email because the browser on BBs has been atrocious in the past.

[Dainin]

Obviously it works for you. Mainly because you are among a select few that has MMS enabled. However, take into consideration the fact that when MMS is enabled, that MMS traffic will increase.

That increase is what they are preparing for. If it takes time to prepare talk to your local county office that deals with communications as they make every carrier/cable company/electric company go through a hassle just to put an extra cable.

But thats my point.. MMS traffic may increase, but email traffic will decrease. Its all data in the end, isn't it?

[53buick]

someone should do a "I'm a Mac, I'm a PC" spoof ad, but with "I'm AT&T".

[phinsup]

ATT is killing the iphone, also they need to have some other data options, like a 2gb plan or something. I would use a lot less data if they didn't charge me $30 per month, but I make a point out of using the crap out of my iphone because att charges me so much.

[MacFly123]

Him talking for three minutes with his head slightly tilted is bugging the crap out of me.

His hair scares me...like it's looking at me funny or something.

Double ditto lol! :p

Just shut up and give me my MMS AT&T! :mad:

P.S. AT&T has already said that MMS will not add any additional charges right?

[vivithemage]

Can someone say "deer in headlights?"

Yeah, he looks ... crazy.

I like what they are saying, whether they deliver or not is a different story.

[bacaramac]

From my point of view, I don't care what the guy looked like, but the fact is I felt they were being honest.

I can vouch that AT&T is working on towers for two reasons.

First, my brother lives in Iowa and got rid of his iPhone because it was crap in Nov 2008. Now he just picked up the 3gs and it works perfectly with 100% signal.

Second, I moved to an area that has maybe 1 bar of AT&T service and I knew this going into my new contract. Fact is I use the iPhone as a lounge chair internet, remote Sonos and Apple TV and several other things as well as a cell phone when I am not at home. I have received two emails from AT&T saying new towers were put in a in my area. Although they don't quite reach my house yet, when I drive a few miles up the road I now have 100% 3g, so they are working on new and apparently existing towers.

Would I switch from AT&T to a new provider if the iPhone was on say verizon (only carrier that works in my area), yes unless AT&T continues to expand and puts a tower up outside my house.

[rburly]

Is it just me, or does late summer end on September 22?

So, more like early Fall would have been a better choice of words when the 3G S was trotted out earlier this summer, or was that spring...

[Xenu007]

What AT&T is admitting is that they didn't have the capability to service the data demand when they entered into their contract with Apple. They failed to deliver the service levels they sold and marketed to customers because they knew or should have known that their network was incapable of delivering what they were promising customers. That's fraud on such a large scale that only a class action lawsuit can remedy all the plaintiffs.

AT&T might argue that the demand was too speculative for the initial release of the 1G iPhone, but by 2G and 3Gs version releases, they definitely knew or should have known they lacked the network capacity to deliver what they were advertising to customers.

AOL got sued in a class action for the very same thing in the 90s.

[QCassidy352]

This is the best they can do with $38 BILLION? Are you serious?! 19 billion a year and they can't provide MMS and tethering? What a joke!!

Did you see yesterday's NYT story about how an average iphone user uses ~10x the data as the average user of another smartphone? If that's right, it means that AT&T's ~9 million iphone customers is something like having 90 million blackberry (or whatever) users. Try putting 90 million new bb users on even verizon's almighty network and see what happens.

Don't get me wrong; I'm frustrated too. I get terrible 3G speeds (~400 kbps) in my office in downtown Boston and maybe 1 Mbps outside the building. But I think people need to realize the staggering and unprecedented magnitude of the challenge AT&T is facing.

For mostly better, but temporarily worse, the iphone has changed smartphone data use. And no, AT&T wasn't ready for it. (IMO, no other telecom would have been either.) But at least they acknowledge the problem and are throwing a big pile of money at it to start fixing it.

[dissdnt]

I would love for AT&T to lose their stronghold on the iPhone. If merely for competition purposes. They are slacking because they are going to ride the Apple train despite how slow they are with support.

Yep. They are lazy because they can ride this train. I can't wait until next year when it opens up to other carriers.

[cytoxyn]

Some things to consider here is the amount of users per square mile. In major metro areas I completely understand all this. Yes it does suck, but what is the alternative. Verizon? Sure ok, then try to take a Verizon phone across the world. doesn't work very well does it.

AT&T is dealing with the issue the best that they can. Though to their fault they could have started building out there network sooner, but like any business owner they were evaluating the cost and elected not to expand and now they pay.

[ski1ski1]

Obviously it works for you. Mainly because you are among a select few that has MMS enabled. However, take into consideration the fact that when MMS is enabled, that MMS traffic will increase.

That increase is what they are preparing for. If it takes time to prepare talk to your local county office that deals with communications as they make every carrier/cable company/electric company go through a hassle just to put an extra cable.

He said from his other AT&T phones....ie not iPhones. The point is that almost all phones are capable of sending MMS. What does MMS traffic have to do with iPhone? I would think people with non-iPhones are currently sending just as much MMS as the iPhone people will start sending. I don't understand how iPhone MMS traffic would be any greater. The customer would probably be sending just as many MMS if they didn't have an iPhone.

[aristotle]

What AT&T is admitting is that they didn't have the capability to service the data demand when they entered into their contract with Apple. They failed to deliver the service levels they sold and marketed to customers because they knew or should have known that their network was incapable of delivering what they were promising customers. That's fraud on such a large scale that only a class action lawsuit can remedy all the plaintiffs.

AT&T might argue that the demand was too speculative for the initial release of the 1G iPhone, but by 2G and 3Gs version releases, they definitely knew or should have known they lacked the network capacity to deliver what they were advertising to customers.

AOL got sued in a class action for the very same thing in the 90s.
Right, because they will fix everything. /sarcasm

All that will do is make some lawyers rich and potentially increase your monthly bill.

If you want to improve the situation, lobby for cheaper capped data plans and for them to either get rid of the unlimited option or to charge double for it.

[Scottsdale]

I am laughing at the thought of all those billions wasted. When Verizon gets the iPhone next year I expect the vast majority of AT&T iPhone users to switch.

Wasn't AT&T's original excuse that they had to manually turn on MMS for all the iPhone customers? So now it was because of its ****** network that couldn't handle MMS? And they make a video to save face.

How far off is tethering if this required so much? Years? I will be off AT&T's network long before tethering if Verizon gets the iPhone too. Maybe AT&T is planning on allowing tethering the day Verizon gets the iPhone too. Surely AT&T realizes how poorly it has treated its iPhone customers? Surely AT&T is calculating what percentage will leave when the iPhone is available elsewhere? I guess they're probably looking forward to the cancellation fees?

[MDMac]

BLAH BLAH BLAH BULL*HIT!

I want to spank AT$T like a disobedient child!

WHAP! WHAP! WHAP! WahhHhhhh!

[Jawsome]

its amazing to me how many people are saying things like 'well at least they are communicating with us and telling us what they are doing'

first of all the average consumer doesnt care about how it works...or what they are doing. we dont want to hear excuses. we buy apple products because we just want them to work. i just want mms to work. saying 'hey were working on it' is as useful to me as a jar of sand in the desert.

secondly, to everyone saying that its a good sign that att is telling the public they are working on it, i have no clue what planet you are on. this hardware is 2 years old. we have 24/7 access to full internet, and we are supposed to UNDERSTAND when we're told txt msging pictures is a hyge data hog and takes time to get up and running?

what if a computer came out that couldnt send images via email or IM but had full internet, video recording, sound recording, 3rd party aps etc etc.

that would be a sham.

guess what

its ur iphone

[NoExpectations]

His hair scares me...like it's looking at me funny or something.

Yeah....and you look just like Brad Pitt (assuming you are a male.....I can't tell...although you are poking fun at someone else's appearance, maybe you are a female).


AT&T has enough blame, but what about Apple? It takes years to expand a Wireless Network. Given that.......

1. What forecast did Apple give AT&T as far as projected US sales of iPhones and estimated average bandwidth per user? I bet it was far lower than anyone had ever expected. Without accurate projections, how could any wireless carrier build out a capable network ahead of the demand? Remember, too, that when the iPhone first came out, the APP Store was not even on anyone's radar. Apple kept adding features without first checking for network capacity.

2. Why did Apple choose just one US Wireless Carrier? Remember, this was Apple's decision, not AT&T's. We all know the reason why....higher subsidies from a single carrier (versus multiple carriers). So all that money that could have been used by AT&T to expand the network is sitting in Apple's bank accounts.

[HiVolt]

Actually what the video said was that they needed to re-calibrate the towers to enable MMS. Then they started talking about the network and how it has been difficult keeping up with bandwidth demands.

Heh, Re-calibrate the towers? Please tell me you don't actually believe that marketing fluff... They simply did not pro-actively plan for the data usage when they started selling smartphones even before the first iPhone came out... They thought they could just siphon money from the user and not upgrade the network. Re-Calibrating towers? That just means they're catching up because service quality has declined badly. The blogger dude mentions they are just NOW adding 850MHz sites to the major cities. Holy batman, is that ever late or what?

Rogers Wireless, which is my GSM provider here in Canada, has had 850MHz enabled towers in 2003, I remember getting a new phone just for that very feature so I could do dual 850/1900MHz and the improvement was very big. Granted I know that AT&T has a lot more cities and coverage to work with, but they could have started doing this long ago, not just now...

[CFreymarc]

Ok how about this instead of the tweaker and the fancy graphics.

"We here at AT&T is doing out best to fight the corporate inertial from the past century where we were the only phone company. Not to mention the unions who just sit on their butts overcharging us to pull cables, we have to deal with competition and somehow manage to still fill the coffers of these executive bonuses. From that, we are doing a very difficult balancing act of keeping quality to a minimal tolerable level where we don't loose customers but also don't burn our cash flow with too many expenses.

"It took a while to educate our PDP-era network directors on what a smartphone is let alone MMS. Now that we have them on board and phased out rotary phones from their homes, everyone finally gets it that we need to finally budget to move to new switches that we have been putting off for about ten years now.

"In the past, we built our own switches at cost but now we need to buy them at a higher cost since the breakup. Some long lines guys still don't get this.

"Fortunately, this problem is behind us and the network is finally ready after all the dealing with all the special orders we have had from various national security concerns that burned most of our technical resources for the past four years.

"MMS is ready to roll out September 25th. We should be ready but who knows, maybe someone forgot to upgrade software in some of our switches. That will all come into place soon enough. Thank you for using AT&T."

[creon]

AT&T has been sticking their heads in the sand long enough. I applaud them for actively acknowledging that they have been idle. Sitting on your hands and your eyes blind folded doesn't make the problem go away.

All I know is that AT&T better find a damn good reason for Apple to keep the iPhone contracted with them; and this seems to be one of the head-points. 38 billion in investment does say that they intended to keep the contract.

The service near me has been excellent. I am lucky to live near two major cities and the 3g & cell service has been perfect so far.

Lastly, can't wait when I can send a picture on my iPhone. Such a great device yet it still can't send a pic...yet.

[jblakeh1]

And yet at&t's other response to all these issues is more fees... Loopt is moving to a monthly fee that will be included in your at&t bill. Doesn't really reflect the sincere, apologetic tone in this video.

[NoExpectations]

And yet at&t's other response to all these issues is more fees... Loopt is moving to a monthly fee that will be included in your at&t bill. Doesn't really reflect the sincere, apologetic tone in this video.

Would you rather have Loopt bill you directly?

[Jawsome]

AT&T has been sticking their heads in the sand long enough. I applaud them for actively acknowledging that they have been idle. Sitting on your hands and your eyes blind folded doesn't make the problem go away.

All I know is that AT&T better find a damn good reason for Apple to keep the iPhone contracted with them; and this seems to be one of the head-points. 38 billion in investment does say that they intended to keep the contract.

The service near me has been excellent. I am lucky to live near two major cities and the 3g & cell service has been perfect so far.

Lastly, can't wait when I can send a picture on my iPhone. Such a great device yet it still can't send a pic...yet.



this conglomerate puts out one little video telling the world they know they suck, not really saying sorry, and we got folks applauding over here. talk about not holding the company responsible.

P.S. they said it'd be ready in LATE SUMMER. The 25th is early fall. This sad excuse for a 'sorry guys' is actually worse off than total silence in my book.

[nehunte]

Did you see yesterday's NYT story about how an average iphone user uses ~10x the data as the average user of another smartphone? If that's right, it means that AT&T's ~9 million iphone customers is something like having 90 million blackberry (or whatever) users. Try putting 90 million new bb users on even verizon's almighty network and see what happens.

Don't get me wrong; I'm frustrated too. I get terrible 3G speeds (~400 kbps) in my office in downtown Boston and maybe 1 Mbps outside the building. But I think people need to realize the staggering and unprecedented magnitude of the challenge AT&T is facing.

For mostly better, but temporarily worse, the iphone has changed smartphone data use. And no, AT&T wasn't ready for it. (IMO, no other telecom would have been either.) But at least they acknowledge the problem and are throwing a big pile of money at it to start fixing it.

THANK YOU! Someone finally gets it. Do you think Sprint could have ever handled the iPhone? Haha, yeah right! Verizon would have most likely been able to throw money at it and make the situation work like AT&T has, but everybody likes to complain about the 3G data speeds on AT&T. Those speeds you complain about (400-800kbps) are the speeds that Verizon offers on their 3G network on an everyday basis.

So, if another carrier does get the iPhone, I hope you complainers leave AT&T and go wreck that carrier's network and the rest of us will be happy on AT&T.;)

[jav6454]

He said from his other AT&T phones....ie not iPhones. The point is that almost all phones are capable of sending MMS. What does MMS traffic have to do with iPhone? I would think people with non-iPhones are currently sending just as much MMS as the iPhone people will start sending. I don't understand how iPhone MMS traffic would be any greater. The customer would probably be sending just as many MMS with his/her non-iPhone.

Not all cellphones will increase traffic of MMS as the iPhone will. Take into account the iPhone will also send, vcards, events, voice memos, video (big ones I might add), pictures in high res, and contacts....

Thats a huge amount of data that can come from one mini-computer device. The iPhone is a mini-computer that people will use as if it were there computer.

Now, taking that into consideration. Traffic will be higher than any other phone out there, you just can't compare.

[jelwell]

I live in San Diego, CA; and I haven't noticed any of the problems that have been in the news lately about 3G bandwidth issues.
Joseph Elwell.

[JGowan]

38 Billion?! I called the local AT&T store 10 minutes down the road (in the town that just got 3G a month ago) and when I asked when my town was going to get it -- he suddenly was like -- "oh woww... not good news... I'd say at least a year and a half to two years"... those F'ers....

We're still on EDGE and they're pumping billions into everywhere else to get them even better 3G. Screw them... as soon as the iPhone gets to ANYONE else with 3G, I'm so gone from SH&T.

[nehunte]

Heh, Re-calibrate the towers? Please tell me you don't actually believe that marketing fluff... They simply did not pro-actively plan for the data usage when they started selling smartphones even before the first iPhone came out... They thought they could just siphon money from the user and not upgrade the network. Re-Calibrating towers? That just means they're catching up because service quality has declined badly. The blogger dude mentions they are just NOW adding 850MHz sites to the major cities. Holy batman, is that ever late or what?

Rogers Wireless, which is my GSM provider here in Canada, has had 850MHz enabled towers in 2003, I remember getting a new phone just for that very feature so I could do dual 850/1900MHz and the improvement was very big. Granted I know that AT&T has a lot more cities and coverage to work with, but they could have started doing this long ago, not just now...

Well, if you're so smart and you know what you're talking about and they don't, give them a call and get a job there. They could use your "expertise and know-how." We all look forward to you turning the company around.

[NoExpectations]

THANK YOU! Someone finally gets it. Do you think Sprint could have ever handled the iPhone? Haha, yeah right! Verizon would have most likely been able to throw money at it and make the situation work like AT&T has, but everybody likes to complain about the 3G data speeds on AT&T. Those speeds you complain about (400-800kbps) are the speeds that Verizon offers on their 3G network on an everyday basis.

So, if another carrier does get the iPhone, I hope you complainers leave AT&T and go wreck that carrier's network and the rest of us will be happy on AT&T.;)

EXACTLY! Stop complaining......leave! Go get a Blackberry and get over to Verizon if you think it is SO SUPERIOR. I bet if you stood at the same spot with an iPhone (ATT) and Blackberry (Verizon), your would have the same signal problems.

Here in Chicago, the service has been great. I can drive all over he Midwest with no problems.

All of you MMS and Tethering complainers....a few words: EMAIL the picture and get a free 3G WIFI card from your provider....you will be paying the same amount for tethering no matter what phone you are using or what 3G card you have. Unless you are with Verizon...where they put a cap on usage.

[jav6454]

THANK YOU! Someone finally gets it. Do you think Sprint could have ever handled the iPhone? Haha, yeah right! Verizon would have most likely been able to throw money at it and make the situation work like AT&T has, but everybody likes to complain about the 3G data speeds on AT&T. Those speeds you complain about (400-800kbps) are the speeds that Verizon offers on their 3G network on an everyday basis.

So, if another carrier does get the iPhone, I hope you complainers leave AT&T and go wreck that carrier's network and the rest of us will be happy on AT&T.;)

Did you see yesterday's NYT story about how an average iphone user uses ~10x the data as the average user of another smartphone? If that's right, it means that AT&T's ~9 million iphone customers is something like having 90 million blackberry (or whatever) users. Try putting 90 million new bb users on even verizon's almighty network and see what happens.

Don't get me wrong; I'm frustrated too. I get terrible 3G speeds (~400 kbps) in my office in downtown Boston and maybe 1 Mbps outside the building. But I think people need to realize the staggering and unprecedented magnitude of the challenge AT&T is facing.

For mostly better, but temporarily worse, the iphone has changed smartphone data use. And no, AT&T wasn't ready for it. (IMO, no other telecom would have been either.) But at least they acknowledge the problem and are throwing a big pile of money at it to start fixing it.

I love you in so many ways for this argument....

[Lotus11]

When you market, what is basically an apology that you suck, that can't be good. Sorry, not good enough. You provide a service, it better deliver or else you're done. AT&T has consistently proven to me through HORRIBLE signal experience that they don't know whats going on. To pander to their customers with a 'poor us, but we'll do better next time' attitude is just not good enough.

Analogy A: Ford sells you a car, but the brakes don't work. They promise to fix them in the near future. Does the 'poor us' marketing attempt justify this?

Analogy B: You go out to a fancy restaurant. You order the best thing on the menu. Instead of filet, you get hamburger, but charged the same. They say 'oops, sorry, but we don't have any way to cut the filet's properly, so we're giving you this instead.' Does the 'poor us' marketing attempt justify this?

If you can't stand the heat then get out of the kitchen AT&T. If I didn't love the iPhone so much, I would have dropped you a long time ago.

[ski1ski1]

Not all cellphones will increase traffic of MMS as the iPhone will. Take into account the iPhone will also send, vcards, events, voice memos, video (big ones I might add), pictures in high res, and contacts....

Thats a huge amount of data that can come from one mini-computer device. The iPhone is a mini-computer that people will use as if it were there computer.

Now, taking that into consideration. Traffic will be higher than any other phone out there, you just can't compare.

Most all the items that you mentioned are currently available in current non-iphones. Why would iPhone customers send more of these MMS then non-iphone customers ?

Btw, most of these current iphone customers are sending this traffic via email.

[jigo]

Yes it does suck, but what is the alternative. Verizon? Sure ok, then try to take a Verizon phone across the world. doesn't work very well does it.
It works well on Verizon's world phones. For example the Storm is capable of GSM. It's possible to get the Storm working on AT&T. I don't think 3G works though. You do realize that other cell phone manufacturers are capable of making CDMA/GSM phones.

[jav6454]

Most all the items that you mentioned are currently available in current non-iphones. Why would iPhone customers send more of these MMS then non-iphone customers ?

Read this:

Did you see yesterday's NYT story about how an average iphone user uses ~10x the data as the average user of another smartphone? If that's right, it means that AT&T's ~9 million iphone customers is something like having 90 million blackberry (or whatever) users. Try putting 90 million new bb users on even verizon's almighty network and see what happens.

Don't get me wrong; I'm frustrated too. I get terrible 3G speeds (~400 kbps) in my office in downtown Boston and maybe 1 Mbps outside the building. But I think people need to realize the staggering and unprecedented magnitude of the challenge AT&T is facing.

For mostly better, but temporarily worse, the iphone has changed smartphone data use. And no, AT&T wasn't ready for it. (IMO, no other telecom would have been either.) But at least they acknowledge the problem and are throwing a big pile of money at it to start fixing it.

[Snick2040]

Ive had AT&T for a while now. Its worked well enough, although I live in NYC where everything should work perfectly given the numbers of people. But recently i dont know whats happening with ATT. I loved when apple made fun of AT&T at the 3GS keynote announcement in June. I think that demonstrates the severity of AT&Ts short comings. Honestly MMS is nothing in terms of bandwidth while tethering i could see wanting a stronger network to support that. I dont know what AT&T is doing, I just hope it will be able to handle things because i have definitely noticed a degradation in cell service over the past few months. Although i not big on Verizon, Apple opening up to other carriers will balance out the loads.

[NoExpectations]

MMS can be a TON of bandwidth....especially if we are going to be MMSing Videos. I few seconds of video (multi-megabits) can equal several thousands of texts (prob less than 250 bytes each).

[wlh99]

The fact of the matter is that no single carrier has complete, sufficient coverage. It doesn't take a genius to understand why that is. Cellular service is still somewhat young for being a large infrastructural development. It has only been a little more than a decade where cellular phones and plans have become affordable enough for nearly everyone to own one.

I hear the same explanation from many people. "I use fill in carrier name because they have the best coverage in my area". Makes sense to me. Maybe those who got blindly sucked into the iPhone should have done a little more research and reconsidered what is more important, cool phone or reliable service. The only person to blaim is Apple for making a cool phone and establishing an exclusive deal with AT&T.

For myself, it just so happens that AT&T's service has always been perfectly fine where I live. I don't recall ever having a dropped call. It was a no-brainer for me to get an iPhone.

I was able to afford a cell phone as a high school student in 1992. That was 18 years ago. Nearly 2 decades is a lifetime in technology speak.

GTE provided better coverage than AT&T does, and the analog sound quality was better too. AT&T uses horrible compression to fit more callers in the same bandwidth. They do this because they have to, there are many more callers now.

Coverage is often not the choice of the carrier, but the city it is in. Cities and Counties issue permits to carriers to build towers. Thus, cities have the ultimate in control even if a carrier wants to deploy there (sometimes they don't want to).

I don't blame AT&T for my dropped calls and poor coverage. I blame them for poor customer service, frequent billing errors, and using contrats and other anti-competitive practices to keep me from switching to Verizon.

This video is just a PR move to subdue the groing number of people putting pressure on the FCC, SEC, and other governing agencys to stop AT&T from those practices.

[ski1ski1]

Read this:

The data traffic the article is referring to comes from Internet traffic. That is the main difference between iPhone customers and non-iPhone customers. iPhone customers surf the Internet a great deal more then non-Iphone customers. Where does it say iPhone customers send more SMS or MMS ? This is the issue.

[FoxyKaye]

I'll believe it when I see it. AT&T was sketchy when I started using them about 10 years ago, but they've gotten absolutely horrendous over the last 6-12 months. So many dropped/inaudible calls and the data speeds and coverage is very pokey compared to Verizon. We'll see, but I don't have a lot of faith in them. The iPhone is the greatest mobile device ever, but it's ruined by the AT&T experience.
Blackberry on Verizon - I got tired of asking everyone to repeat themselves, apologizing for dropped calls, getting network busy errors, and AT&T's sluggish network. Now that RIM is launching Desktop Manager for Mac, life only gets better.

Not that Verizon isn't a huge money-sucking monster of its own accord, but at least my damn phone works, which is the point of a cell phone.

[jigo]

Those speeds you complain about (400-800kbps) are the speeds that Verizon offers on their 3G network on an everyday basis.

So, if another carrier does get the iPhone, I hope you complainers leave AT&T and go wreck that carrier's network and the rest of us will be happy on AT&T.;)
My Verizon 3G speed is not too bad.

http://www.speedtest.net/result/556882412.png (http://www.speedtest.net)

[skellener]

All the other carriers with the iPhone around the globe had support when it was announced. They didn't need a video like this.

[darksamus]

No one will pay for this service

[brywalker]

I love how nobody can give AT&T a break her at all.

1) Why didn't they support MMS from day 1? Apple didn't. How about when 3.0 dropped? Think about the millions of iPhone users that get MMS and just pounding on the network. Think you have problems now? It would cripple it. So they spent tons of dough working on the back end so that doesn't happen.

2) You think that it would be any better on any other carrier? Wait. When the iPhone goes to VZ and watch their network buckle under the strain. I guess spending the amount that AT&T has on their network over the past few years wasn't enough.

I have an idea, lets raise the price of the plans so they can get more money to spend on the network. OH NO! They are too expensive as it is. CHEAPER RATES BETTER NETWORK.

Guess what? You can't have both.

This sense of entitlement that Americans have these days sickens me sometimes.

Lets see how T-Mobile's 3G network holds up to adding 9M+ smartphone users in 2 years. OH YEAH.....

[FoxyKaye]

EXACTLY! Stop complaining......leave! Go get a Blackberry and get over to Verizon if you think it is SO SUPERIOR. I bet if you stood at the same spot with an iPhone (ATT) and Blackberry (Verizon), your would have the same signal problems.

Actually, I did just that. And at least where I use my phone (SF Bay Area and NYC) I can use Verizon in the exact same spots I've lost calls on AT&T (Bay Bridge, downtown SF, mid-town Manhattan, in my freaking apartment) without issues. Verizon's network and AT&T's network are not the same.

[NoExpectations]

All the other carriers with the iPhone around the globe had support when it was announced. They didn't need a video like this.

Not true....several could not support it right away as well. Also, AT&T has, by far, more iPhone users than anyone other carrier.....9 million in all (almost half). Also, AT&T (and Verizon and Sprint) have to support much larger areas (more sites, more cell towers, more equipment) than the rest of world carriers.

Yes, AT&T dropped the ball. But I suppose they could have taken the easy way out and just supported MMS right away even though the network was not ready for it. I think that they concluded that they would have received even more complaints from dropped connections, bad thruput.

[Ieo]

Too little too late IMO. I'm jumping ship ASAP, I've had enough screwing over for one contract thank you very much.

[trssho]

What a joke. How dumb does he think ATT users are.....don't answer that! Gee whiz, I guess the LG's, Blackberry's etc don't use much bandwidth when they transmit MMS.

Just be honest....We take profit, and don't upgrade our infrastructure. That is called a cash cow!

[jigo]

You think that it would be any better on any other carrier? Wait. When the iPhone goes to VZ and watch their network buckle under the strain. I guess spending the amount that AT&T has on their network over the past few years wasn't enough.
Well if there wasn't an exclusivity agreement the network load would be spread out among the carriers, and Apple would sell more iPhones too. Win, Win.

[NoExpectations]

Actually, I did just that. And at least where I use my phone (SF Bay Area and NYC) I can use Verizon in the exact same spots I've lost calls on AT&T (Bay Bridge, downtown SF, mid-town Manhattan, in my freaking apartment) without issues. Verizon's network and AT&T's network are not the same.

Well, OK.....I guess it all comes down to where we live. :)

[Big Jelly]

AT&T Bid on the iPhone and assured Apple that the infrastructure was in place for their device. if they couldn't handle it they should have opted out of the deal.

So all other phones models are able to do tethering, and MMS but iPHone users are being segmented out of this because the phone is popular.

[ski1ski1]

I love how nobody can give AT&T a break her at all.

1) Why didn't they support MMS from day 1? Apple didn't. How about when 3.0 dropped? Think about the millions of iPhone users that get MMS and just pounding on the network. Think you have problems now? It would cripple it. So they spent tons of dough working on the back end so that doesn't happen.

The issue is that AT&T failed to prepare and upgrade their network sooner. Also, most people who will be sending MMS are currently sending this same data via email. Also, how is MMS demand on a iPhone any different then MMS traffic on a non-iphone ? I don't think iPhone users will be sending much more MMS then if they had a non-iPhone.

[spillproof]

No one will pay for this service

MMS is at no-charge to persons with a iPhone texting plan.

[Morky]

Now Apple, whey can't you get a clue? Your customers would like Facts much more than Rumors!

Speak for yourself; why do think we love this site? ;)

[NoExpectations]

Apple is notorious for keeping secrets as long as they can. How much lead time did they give AT&T to upgrade their network to support Video Over MMS?

Also, given the horrendous subsidy that AT&T pays Apple (which by the way comes from you and me), that leaves less money for AT&T to support their network.

Each iPhone requires an additional $30 per month data plan. Each iPhone subsidy is around $400. Do the math.....$400 / 24 months = $16 per month. So, we give AT&T $30 each month, they give Apple $16 and are left with $14 to share with the investors (shareholders) and network upgrades. No wonder they fell behind....Apple has the loot.

[ravensfan55]

If it takes time to prepare talk to your local county office that deals with communications as they make every carrier/cable company/electric company go through a hassle just to put an extra cable.

AT&T was running a new fiber backhaul from the tower across the street of my office. They came out and marked the ground, but for about 2 months nothing happened. Once they started burying the cable, they got a portion of it done, then stopped for about 10 days. I asked one of the contractors there and he said it was all county/state government delays being put in because the line was never officially approved. It's in now.

[NoExpectations]

AT&T Bid on the iPhone and assured Apple that the infrastructure was in place for their device. if they couldn't handle it they should have opted out of the deal.

So all other phones models are able to do tethering, and MMS but iPHone users are being segmented out of this because the phone is popular.

Not entirely true...Apple was the one who dictated exclusivity. AT&T agreed to sell it.

[VenusianSky]

I was able to afford a cell phone as a high school student in 1992. That was 18 years ago. Nearly 2 decades is a lifetime in technology speak.


You could afford a cell phone. Not the majority of the population like it is today. The cell phone business boomed at the same time as the dotcom bubble (a little more than a decade). Cell technology was one of the contributors to the bubble. An yes, two decades is a lifetime in technology, but not building infrastructure (which consists of much manual labor). Two decades is more like two years.

Most of the people I hear complaining about AT&T is not about customer service and billing error, rather cellular services, including lack of MMS on the iPhone and dropped calls.

[brywalker]

The issue is that AT&T failed to prepare and upgrade their network sooner. Also, most people who will be sending MMS are currently sending this same data via email. Also, how is MMS demand on a iPhone any different then MMS traffic on a non-iphone ? I don't think iPhone users will be sending much more MMS then if they had a non-iPhone.

Sooner? It's not like they can just take a truckload of money and drop it in a magic machine and service is upgraded. Think. Every tower. Running fiber to them. Upgrading them for different frequencies. Upgrading the switching stations. The engineers work every day. They aren't magicians.

Also, how many users do you think knows how to send an email to a standard phone so they get an MMS. I can assure you, not very many. The first few days of MMS are going to be a *****torm.

[Morky]

The test will be when Verizon gets the iPhone with significant subscription numbers. If it doesn't create problems for them, then we'll know AT&T's planning was deficient. My bet is Verizon will have some growing pains. The investment numbers AT&T is putting up are not insignificant. That was a lot of zeros the Edgar Allan Poe lookalike was talking about.

[ski1ski1]

Sooner? It's not like they can just take a truckload of money and drop it in a magic machine and service is upgraded. Think. Every tower. Running fiber to them. Upgrading them for different frequencies. Upgrading the switching stations. The engineers work every day. They aren't magicians.

Also, how many users do you think knows how to send an email to a standard phone so they get an MMS. I can assure you, not very many. The first few days of MMS are going to be a *****torm.

You failed to address my point. How will iPhone users be more demanding MMS users then non-Iphone users ?

Second. When I mentioned iPhone customers are currently sending MMS type traffic via email, I meant they are sending it to actual email addresses. Not the sudo email address of a cell phone.

Third. I'm not saying it takes time to upgrade towers. But I think they failed to do it sooner. And because they failed to do it sooner (whatever the excuse), they will lose customers next year if the iPhone is offered on another carrier.

[jav6454]

The data traffic the article is referring to comes from Internet traffic. That is the main difference between iPhone customers and non-iPhone customers. iPhone customers surf the Internet a great deal more then non-Iphone customers. Where does it say iPhone customers send more SMS or MMS ? This is the issue.

MMS is data. You fail horribly at communications. Go read up, then come back and brag.

[thecypher]

LOL, what a bunch of hogwash...

Do they honestly expect people to believe that iPhone MMS would cripple their network? There are far more bandwidth intensive applications for the iPhone than the occasional MMS!!!



Dude read the industry news on growth in wireless data usage since the introduction of iPhone. Look at current iphone market share in flickr photos being uploaded and YouTube video access. There was a recent article on this right here on MacRumors. It is mind boggling. No wonder the network is overloaded in the big metros. Before the iPhone people barely bothered to access the internet on their crappy handsets with crappy browsers. I have owned all kinds of handsets in the last several years both on Verizon and AT&T and even though I paid for the data plan I barely ever used it because it was just unusable. The iPhone is a whole different story. My personal PC usage has dropped by at least 90% (for browsing and e-mail) ever since I got the iPhone. I have instant access to my e-mail and I can browse any site on the net with ease. Why bother sitting in front of my PC? And I am not alone in this. You can look at polls of iPhone users. Carrying data is not cheap for AT&T or Verizon or any carrier. Would customers have been happy if they had MMS a year ago but it didn't work right and it messed up the data experience altogether? People here bitch and moan no matter what. People want absolutely flawless 5Mpbs up/down service on their phone for FREE! They will probably still bitch and moan about something if they get that.

I live in the suburbs of NYC and I am extremely happy with my iPhone and the service. I have never used a phone before like I use my iPhone. Steve Jobs was right when he pointed out at the WWDC that people had all sorts of features on their handsets before but never used it. I have no complaints. It is a fact that AT&T has spent nearly $40 Billion on their network. Nothing is free in this world. Everything costs money. Things should only get better. AT&T is smart enough to know that they can't keep customers happy unless service is improved in certain areas.

[ShaneMahsa]

Heh, Re-calibrate the towers? Please tell me you don't actually believe that marketing fluff...

As I said earlier:

Im not saying that they are right or that this isn't a load of BS...

So no I don't believe marketing fluff and concede that AT&T made mistakes in estimating demand. And I completely agree that the lack of 850 is stupid. I was just pointing out a flaw in your otherwise valid argument. Sorry, wasn't trying to be a smartass, just couldn't resist.

[jav6454]

As I said earlier:



So no I don't believe marketing fluff and concede that AT&T made mistakes in estimating demand. And I completely agree that the lack of 850 is stupid. I was just pointing out a flaw in your otherwise valid argument. Sorry, wasn't trying to be a smartass, just couldn't resist.

Don't worry, he is ignorant for not researching before he makes a comment or simply fails at reading comprehension.

[thecypher]

My Verizon 3G speed is not too bad.

http://www.speedtest.net/result/556882412.png (http://www.speedtest.net)

That's because nobody is using it :D

Wait till they have a few million iPhone users on there. No other handset out there today comes even close to the data traffic that iPhone generates.

[sparkomatic]

Seth scares me. :eek:

[joueboy]

If you can't support it don't sell it.

I second that! You nailed it, right in the middle!

[joueboy]

This guy is scary! Scary as the AT&T!

[paulyras]

I hereby rename 'Seth the Blogger guy' D-bag...

[thecypher]

Well if there wasn't an exclusivity agreement the network load would be spread out among the carriers, and Apple would sell more iPhones too. Win, Win.

Not exactly. Which carriers? T-Mobile?? Their network sucks. They sublease from AT&T in all the metros. They dont have a network. And Verizon btw uses CDMA which is dinosaur technology that nobody else in the world uses. So what carrier are you talking about?? The iPhone doesn't have a CDMA version for good reason. Nobody except Verizon on the whole planet uses CDMA. The entire planet is on GSM.

[ski1ski1]

MMS is data. You fail horribly at communications. Go read up, then come back and brag.

You fail...LOL. The iPhone does not currently support MMS. So that article that talks about how iPhone uses 10x more data then other smartphone customers, is NOT from MMS. So where is from ? From Internet browsing !!! That is the difference between data usage of other smartphone customers and iPhone customers. iPhone customers surf the Internet a great deal more then non-iPhone customers. Why ? Because the Internet experience is so much better then other smartphones. Go back and try to understand your own article you want to quote. LOL. I doubt MMS traffic on a iPhone will be any greater then other smartphones. The MMS experience on a iPhone is the same MMS experience as other smartphones. Unlike the Web experience.

[Compile 'em all]

"Get it right"

The technology is years old. Sheesh.

Good thing I don't live in the states otherwise my head would have imploded!

[thecypher]

http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/08/iphone-flickr/

http://www.marketingmag.com.au/news/view/data-usage-title-taken-by-iphone-until-the-bills-arrive-654

http://www.cellular-news.com/story/33854.php

[jav6454]

You fail...LOL. The iPhone does not currently support MMS. So that article that talks about how iPhone uses 10x more data then other smartphone customers, is NOT from MMS. So where is from ? From Internet browsing !!! That is the difference between data usage of other smartphone customers and iPhone customers. iPhone customers surf the Internet a great deal more then non-iPhone customers. Why ? Because the Internet experience is so much better then other smartphones. Go back and try to understand your own article you want to quote. LOL. I doubt MMS traffic on a iPhone will be any greater then other smartphones. The MMS experience on a iPhone is the same MMS experience as other smartphones. Unlike the Web experience.

Internet usage and MMS usage is data. The network can handle the current data load, but will not if they hadn't doesn't the upgrades. So yeah, you fail.

Think video, is it made out of air? Data, more likely? If you MMS it to a friend? Thats traffic....

[illest813]

so noone knows who supplies at&t's network hardware?

where is this 18 billion going to? besides buyouts. i know PWAV supplies sprint & vzw..

[jigo]

Not exactly. Which carriers? T-Mobile?? Their network sucks. They sublease from AT&T in all the metros. They dont have a network. And Verizon btw uses CDMA which is dinosaur technology that nobody else in the world uses. So what carrier are you talking about?? The iPhone doesn't have a CDMA version for good reason. Nobody except Verizon on the whole planet uses CDMA. The entire planet is on GSM.

Right... no one in the whole world except Verizon uses CDMA. OK. Certainly not as many as GSM, but Apple should be interested in the 130 million CDMA users in this country.

I am aware that Verizon uses CDMA, are you aware that it is possible to put GSM & CDMA in the same phone? Or make one of each. If RIM is capable of this certainly Apple is.

[ski1ski1]

Internet usage and MMS usage is data. The network can handle the current data load, but will not if they hadn't doesn't the upgrades. So yeah, you fail.

Think video, is it made out of air? Data, more likely? If you MMS it to a friend? Thats traffic....

You still fail to understand my point. How will iPhone users be more demanding MMS customers then non-iPhone customers ?

[rdowns]

You still fail to understand my point. How will iPhone users be more demanding MMS customers then non-iPhone customers ?


Link (http://business.theatlantic.com/2009/09/the_iphones_bandwidth_problem.php)


It's a data guzzler. Owners use them like minicomputers, which they are, and use them a lot. Not only do iPhone owners download applications, stream music and videos and browse the Web at higher rates than the average smartphone user, but the average iPhone owner can also use 10 times the network capacity used by the average smartphone user.


A recent Wall Street Journal article also reported that iPhone users download web data at a rate of two to four times that of other smartphone users

[adwolfe12]

Hopefully the 17 billion dollars in network upgrades will allow me to have service at my house.

[ski1ski1]

Link (http://business.theatlantic.com/2009/09/the_iphones_bandwidth_problem.php)

You still fail to understand my point. We all know iPhone customers use more data (non MMS data) then other smart phone customers. The main reason being because the internet experience is so much better then other smartphones. But I doubt iPhone customers will use more MMS data then other smartphones customers. Because the MMS experience is the same as other smartphones.

[jav6454]

You still fail to understand my point. How will iPhone users be more demanding MMS customers then non-iPhone customers ?

How will its not the question here. rdowns has neatly sumed up what I was about to say. iPhone users are more demanding.

You still fail to understand my point. We all know iPhone customers use more data (non MMS data) then other smart phone customers. The main reason being because the internet experience is so much better then other smartphones. But I doubt iPhone customers will use more MMS data. Because the MMS experience is the same as other smartphones.

Simple, beautiful interface everyone wants to use. Just like data before the iPhone. No one used it. Today, not many people with iPhones can go a day or two without having to use the web or check email.

You have to remember Apple gets part of the contract other providers may not be so willing to sign up for that (verizon). I'm sure apple knows what they need to get from ATT and as long as its not 1 trillion dollars ATT will give them whatever they want to stay exclusive.

Apple will be fine as long as the iPhone sells (which will always) and as long as they make money. They currently are. So.... i don't see this changing.

[cleric]

As for AT&T's exclusive agreement. It's all about the money. If Apple feels like giving up that extra revenue they will, but I have a feeling they won't.

You have to remember Apple gets part of the contract other providers may not be so willing to sign up for that (verizon). I'm sure apple knows what they need to get from ATT and as long as its not 1 trillion dollars ATT will give them whatever they want to stay exclusive.

[maproduction]

Is that Bob Saget having a bad hair-day giving that talk.

[mymac69]

is 850mhz coming to miami?

[jtrenda33]

All I could hear were his excuses. When is Verizon going to release a similar video? Oh, that's right; they don't need to.

Well it is and it isn't.

Here in south florida, we have the best Wireless cell network in the country. We were fully 850 MHz several months ago, and consistently have 1.5 Mbps + download speed. Calls don't get dropped on the iPhone, cell coverage is not spotty at all, and I have used it a lot from Port ST. Lucie down to south miami.

Now i'm not making any excuses for AT&T because there are still problems and some places are just really bad. But its not bad everywhere. And if AT&T would model the rest of the country on what they did in South Florida there would be 90% less problems then what people have now.

90%? lol is that a fact?

[jav6454]

is 850mhz coming to miami?

I think Florida is already on 850Mhz.... there is a poster here that said his speeds are solid 2Mb/s and not experiencing dropped calls or poor reception in buildings.

All I could hear were his excuses. When is Verizon going to release a similar video? Oh, that's right; they don't need to.



90%? lol is that a fact?

Care to do a better job? Go ahead...

[Drag'nGT]

While I have no issues with AT&T (except when I was in LA) I think that it's great to see them taking the time to explain to customers what it's like to have the iPhone literally blow up your network usage.

NO other cell company, even crapy VZW, can claim they have a phone like the iPhone that draws so much data usage from so many people. The argument could be made that the iPhone could have been just a phone and iPod if AT&T and Apple hadn't required data plans. This makes customers think "I'm paying for it, I'm gonna use it." Which put more strain on the network. The first year not so much... but after the drop to $199 and now $99... yeah that's a lot.

Verizon is able to learn from AT&T's misfortune. That is what *may* keep them from having issues if they get the iPhone which I hope they don't. They said no the first time.

I HATE Verizon. Locked up the ass firmware with the same damn menu on every phone they sell. No sim support and I can't have multiple phones BS. Dammit I hate them. :mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:

[illest813]

so noone knows who supplies at&t's network hardware?

where is this 18 billion going to? besides buyouts. i know PWAV supplies sprint & vzw..

[jav6454]

so noone knows who supplies at&t's network hardware?

where is this 18 billion going to? besides buyouts. i know PWAV supplies sprint & vzw..

Qualcomm

[sandiegobrian]

Tethering?

Come on AT&T?!?!?! What's the problem!!!!

[ski1ski1]

How will its not the question here. rdowns has neatly sumed up what I was about to say. iPhone users are more demanding.



Simple, beautiful interface everyone wants to use. Just like data before the iPhone. No one used it. Today, not many people with iPhones can go a day or two without having to use the web or check email.

You still fail to prove your point. The MMS experience will not be any better on the iPhone then other smartphones. I still highly doubt the MMS traffic will much greater then other smartphones. Only time will prove who is right. And quoting articles about how iPhone customers use 10x more data (which is currently mostly internet data) is not proving they will use 10x more MMS data. Do iPhone customers SMS more then other smartphone users ? I highly doubt it.

[Full of Win]

Is this an important message form ATT? I really don't know, I'm waiting to eat diner in a city with a population of 50,000+, that is yet to get 3G service, hence I'm without a reliable connection to YouTube on my iPhone to watch this.

[mymac69]

i know

[jigo]

I HATE Verizon. Locked up the ass firmware with the same damn menu on every phone they sell. No sim support and I can't have multiple phones BS. Dammit I hate them. :mad::mad::mad::mad::mad:

So Apple and AT&T have nothing "locked up the ass" on the iPhone?

[andy721]

Don't feed us this BS just put on MMS Sept 25th

Also the guy looks really pissed off, look how wide his eyes are. Unless he goes skiing in the alps or drinks a lot of dunkin doughnuts coffee. :eek:

[jav6454]

You still fail to prove your point. The MMS experience will not be any better on the iPhone then other smartphones. I still highly doubt the MMS traffic will be greater then other smartphones. Only time will prove who is right. And quoting articles about how iPhone customers use 10x more data (which is currently mostly internet data) is not proving they will use 10x more MMS traffic.

What you are saying is what everyone said about the mobile internet on the iPhone. No one will use it. And yet 2 years later we have a 300% traffic increase. AT&T is preparing for that. If that doesn't happen, then AT&T has solified its network. If it does happen, then AT&T can handle it without a problem because they prepared.

Now, if problems do arise, then I plan to complain because AT&T gave the "we are preparing excuse".

[scottness]

You fail...LOL.

So yeah, you fail.


You still fail to understand my point.

You still fail to understand my point.

I fail, you fail... How come everybody failing?!

[ckinyc]

Bullxxxxing their customers with more bullxxxx is simply no longer acceptable on my book. I've been using the original iPhone since day one and now the 3GS. AT&T keeps wanting more money from their customers but not giving them anything in return. At least they could just let us have unlimited TXT! I am waiting for them to come up with a video respond...the TXT messages are like having millions of bicycles on the highway...

May be someone should start a class action lawsuit against AT&T to get some of our hard earned cash back.

BTW, why are they making this fading piece of technology MMS sounds like the next BIG thing? Who cares about MMS anyway??!!

[ski1ski1]

What you are saying is what everyone said about the mobile internet on the iPhone. No one will use it. And yet 2 years later we have a 300% traffic increase. AT&T is preparing for that. If that doesn't happen, then AT&T has solified its network. If it does happen, then AT&T can handle it without a problem because they prepared.

Now, if problems do arise, then I plan to complain because AT&T gave the "we are preparing excuse".

What ? Why are you trying to compare it to what people said about mobile internet. Mobile Internet was a very poor experience a few years ago. That is why people didn't use it. Almost all phones MMS...and do it well. MMS is already very popular. Unlike what mobile internet was a few years ago. I'm not saying MMS will not be popular on the iPhone too. But the iPhone does not MMS any better then other phones. Unlike the Internet experience. And I'm saying MMS will not be anymore popular then other phones.

[howyoudoin]

All the issues seem to occur mainly in SF and New York/Boston areas. I'm here in st louis and speeds are always above 1mbps and i rarely have a dropped call. Although ATT has a strong presence due to the fact SBC headquarters was here for a bit.

[noodle654]

I really don't have a problem with any of this, and I certainly believe that ATT is working hard to improve their network. There are many iPhone users on ATT, and ATT's network is not ready for widespread MMS usage. People here are saying "If Apple used Verizon or Sprint none of this would happen." Guess what, it would. The amount of iPhone users on ATT is huge, and NO CARRIER is ready for that. But, I will agree that ATT's 3G performance is poor IN CERTAIN AREAS. Out here on the North Fork of Long Island, there is just about no 3G coverage. But, the problem isn't ATT. I know a lot of people here complain of issues, but sometimes it isn't always ATT's fault. The reason for the poor service out here is simple, and it's with all carriers...the environmental people out here will not allow any carrier to install another cell tower...so there is one tower for a 30+ mile stretch of land.

So just to tell you all, don't blame ATT for all the problems all the time, sometimes it is somebody else, even Apple. I can't tell you how many times I have no service, but my brother on his iPhone does. That isn't ATT, its Apple.

[Drag'nGT]

So Apple and AT&T have nothing "locked up the ass" on the iPhone?

By comparison, less so than Verizon. All phone company's suck, finding the one that sucks the least is the trick. For me that has been GSM based companies. Apple's app approval is not perfect but not a lock up either. I see no reason they shouldn't limit apps that are attempted work arounds. They let up a little and a baby shaker app gets let through and then they tighten down and everyone gets mad that Google's app gets rejected. No body's happy. :rolleyes:

[NoExpectations]

Tethering?

Come on AT&T?!?!?! What's the problem!!!!

What is your problem? You want tethering to connect your PC on the road? Go get a free 3G Wireless card....yes free. Then sign up for a data plan for that card......it will cost no more than a tethering service on any cell phone.....on any network.

Then, get a life.

[Rot'nApple]

When you market, what is basically an apology that you suck, that can't be good. Sorry, not good enough. You provide a service, it better deliver or else you're done. AT&T has consistently proven to me through HORRIBLE signal experience that they don't know whats going on. To pander to their customers with a 'poor us, but we'll do better next time' attitude is just not good enough..

Hhmmm... Didn't Apple kind of do the same thing with their computer chips? :confused:

First they touted the Mhz Myth when their computer processing speeds lagged behind PC's... :(

Then Steve Jobs promised us a 3Ghz processor for the PowerMac G5, as well as, a G5 laptop... that never came! :mad:

Then Steve Jobs had to do a meaculpa for not keeping his word... :eek:

Finally, Apple gives up the PowerPC architecture for something that has a future and switches to Intel. Like Intel's CEO said to Steve Jobs, "What took you so long?" I wonder where Apple would be today, had they had Intel inside since 1984?

Anyway, all those *****-ups on Apple's part didn't keep me or thousands of others from not going with an Apple product or staying with Apple.

Apple said AT&T was the best... we all kinda know that was BS. AT&T was willing to bend over to Apple demands for a product sight unseen and whose popularity could be questioned. I mean, AT&T could of thought, iPhone... big as the iPod??? or a dismal failure as The Cube??? Verizon didn't take the chance then but I bet wishes they did now, but they didn't know.

Also, I remember all the talk about whether Apple would get into the cell phone carrier market themselves with their own product(s). Had they done that, and if the problems persisted what would the AT&T haters and whiners in general be saying? Would they be ragging on Apple, "Apple kills the Apple iPhone experience because the Apple network SUCKS"??? Ponder that for awhile... :apple:

In the meantime, there are no qualms about the AT&T network here when it comes to using the iPhone. :cool:

[Freis968]

Seth then addresses the broader investments AT&T has made in its network, totaling $38 billion over the past two years

Excuse me, am I reading that correctly? $38 billion?

DAMN! Are they making a ******* full of money!!!:eek:

[Drag'nGT]

What ? Why are you trying to compare it to what people said about mobile internet. Mobile Internet was a very poor experience a few years ago. That is why people didn't use it. Almost all phones MMS. MMS is already very popular. Unlike what mobile internet was a few years ago. I'm not saying MMS will not be popular on the iPhone too. But the iPhone does not MMS any better then other phones. Unlike the Internet experience. And I'm saying MMS will not be anymore popular then other phones.

I'm even tired of reading this. It's not better. No one is saying the iPhone has better MMS. They're saying that once the iPhone can MMS the *****'s gonna hit the roof with THAT MUCH MORE DATA. Some 18 million people will be able to send pics.

[Rocketman]

You know what amazes me? AT&T just said they are listening. I never thought I would ever hear that.

I have said from the beginning AT&T is the best network hope in the USA. They need to improve it by two orders of magnitude, but after the year-long 3G ramp, I hope they have been installing backhaul to support 4G-LTE.

I hope the Apple Tablet secretly supports LTE for later activation.

AT&T, I have publicly supported you through these growing pains, so ramp it. We need the bandwidth. Soon. It's time to rock. ;)

Rocketman

[ski1ski1]

I'm even tired of reading this. It's not better. No one is saying the iPhone has better MMS. They're saying that once the iPhone can MMS the *****'s gonna hit the roof with THAT MUCH MORE DATA. Some 18 million people will be able to send pics.

But my point is that the MMS traffic will not be any greater then if those customers had non-iPhones. And current iPhone customers are already sending MMS type data (pics, video, etc) via email instead.

[jigo]

By comparison, less so than Verizon. All phone company's suck, finding the one that sucks the least is the trick.
Nothing is blocked on my Verizon Windows phone. So I guess Verizon Smartphones, the current ones anyway, are more open than the iPhone. People seem to have a hard time believing that.
I'd much rather have an iPhone, but until it's on Verizon it's not an option for me.

[BeyondtheTech]

So I guess the iPhone 3GSV with Video iChat and videoconferencing will be out of the question on AT&T's network, come Summer 2010?

Imagine the 3GS had a front-facing camera. Oh, we'd be in a much deeper hole right now...

[rdowns]

You still fail to prove your point. The MMS experience will not be any better on the iPhone then other smartphones. I still highly doubt the MMS traffic will much greater then other smartphones. Only time will prove who is right. And quoting articles about how iPhone customers use 10x more data (which is currently mostly internet data) is not proving they will use 10x more MMS data. Do iPhone customers SMS more then other smartphone users ? I highly doubt it.


MMS is not just pictures. Aside of the fact that millions will begin sending pics on 9/25, 3GS users can send video clips too. I can't imagine the bandwidth that will require.

[cvaldes]

This smacks of desperation.

Sad.

[MacAgent84]

Why do people in these kinds of videos insist on talking to us like we are five years old? What is the point?

[ski1ski1]

MMS is not just pictures. Aside of the fact that millions will begin sending pics on 9/25, 3GS users can send video clips too. I can't imagine the bandwidth that will require.

I never said MMS is just pics. And how is that different then a lot of other non-iphones ? iPhones are far from the only phone that can send video MMS. And current iPhone customers are already sending pics & video via email instead.

[riverfreak]

Look.

I'm no AT&T apologist. Check my other posts if you don't believe that.

First, for people who think the iPhone plans are excessive, you should shop around for smart phones on the other carriers. ALL the plans are lame and expensive. Take Verizon BlackBerry plans, for instance, where they nickle and dime you for every single feature. And the draconian lock downs also exists with other carriers (like the old GPS chip lock down with Verizon GPS phones).

Second, I welcome this open-ness from AT&T. It's an interesting approach to address the most vocal consumers. The infantile attacks against how the spokesperson looks are just that. Grow up.

Finally, is anyone here actually qualified to address the technical challenges of running a global telecommunications network? I'm certainly not, but I'm sure it's not as easy as just adding more capacity.

Like I said, I'm no AT&T fanboy but the level of vitriole on this thread is absurd.

[aristotle]

I never said MMS is just pics. And how is that different then most other non-iphones ? iPhones are far from the only phone that can send videos. And current iPhone customers are already sending MMS data (pics & video) via email instead.
It is different in that with most phones, it is a pain the arse to use that feature so very few people end up actually using it "often" if at all.

[jayducharme]

The heck with MMS. I'd be glad if I actually could receive phone calls again. Lately calls have been jumping directly to voice mail without even ringing first. Then when I try to access the voice mail, it just sits there forever with that spinning icon.

Congratulations, AT&T, on finally figuring out how to deal with MMS. Now could I please receive calls?

[ski1ski1]

It is different in that with most phones, it is a pain the arse to use that feature so very few people end up actually using it "often" if at all.

Then how come MMS is so popular if nobody currently uses it ?

[rdowns]

Look.

I'm no AT&T apologist. Check my other posts if you don't believe that.

First, for people who think the iPhone plans are excessive, you should shop around for smart phones on the other carriers. ALL the plans are lame and expensive. Take Verizon BlackBerry plans, for instance, where they nickle and dime you for every single feature. And the draconian lock downs also exists with other carriers (like the old GPS chip lock down with Verizon GPS phones).

Second, I welcome this open-ness from AT&T. It's an interesting approach to address the most vocal consumers. The infantile attacks against how the spokesperson looks are just that. Grow up.

Finally, is anyone here actually qualified to address the technical challenges of running a global telecommunications network? I'm certainly not, but I'm sure it's not as easy as just adding more capacity.

Like I said, I'm no AT&T fanboy but the level of vitriole on this thread is absurd.


Thread should have ended with this post.

[cvaldes]

MMS is not just pictures. Aside of the fact that millions will begin sending pics on 9/25, 3GS users can send video clips too. I can't imagine the bandwidth that will require. The same bandwidth that other iPhone carriers around the world have been handling with since June.

Note that the iPhone's upload speed is tops out at a relatively pokey 384Kbps because Apple did not implement the faster HSPA technology. The iPhone 3GS supports 7.2Mbps HSDPA download speeds.

[ozarkchoir]

Small change of subject...

I know that people have said: "who uses MMS?", "it's old technology", "seriously how many stupid pictures of your cat are you going to send to your wife", blah blah blah...

I know for one with my old razor I sent maybe just a handful of mms messages but I wonder how much that will change with the "Apple Factor". Obviously it will be a better experience. I know I have found myself wanting to share a contact with someone via mms instead of email. So all this to say do you think we as a text messaging society are going to use significantly more mms than we ever did in the past with our old phones?

Anyone from the other countries who are using MMS now on the iPhone notice an increase in your MMS usage compared to what you did before with your old phone?

I know for one I text a lot more now with the iPhone than I ever did with my RAZR.

[aristotle]

Seth then addresses the broader investments AT&T has made in its network, totaling $38 billion over the past two years

Excuse me, am I reading that correctly? $38 billion?

DAMN! Are they making a ******* full of money!!!:eek:
No, you are not reading that correct. Yes they do make a lot of money but to put things in perspective, they are SPENDING 38 billion to fix their network.

[Nudist]

Im AT&T and I want the iPhone to be all mine! Oh wait can I handle it?

:rolleyes:

You're being a bit hash people. If you can draw your minds back to the 2007 when Apple was hunting around for a carrier for the Iphone, AT&T was one of the few if not the only one prepared to take the risk. And it was a risky proposition. Telcos are not renown for innovation and the user experience when it comes to client service. What AT&T failed to do however and they were not alone was anticipating the overwhelming demand for the iphone. Now they are trying to play catchup and fix the problem. Are they at fault sure. But being the only IPhone carrier in the US means they are carrying the entire load. So if they had decided not to carry the iphone all of you complainers would be stuck with using your previous non apple mobile. I am sure that Verizon is bringing forward their network upgrade plans in light of AT&T's experience to take advantage of the iphone when the AT&T exclusive deal ends :):)

[rdowns]

The same bandwidth that other iPhone carriers around the world have been handling with since June.

Note that the iPhone's upload speed is tops out at a relatively pokey 384Kbps because Apple did not implement the faster HSPA technology. The iPhone 3GS supports 7.2Mbps HSDPA download speeds.

It's common knowledge that American cell networks are not nearly as capable as those in other parts of the world.

[cvaldes]

It's common knowledge that American cell networks are not nearly as capable as those in other parts of the world. Yes, I know. We're about three years behind Europe and five years behind Southeast Asia.

Utterly shameful and unlikely we'll ever catch up.

[Jawsome]

But being the only IPhone carrier in the US means they are carrying the entire load. So if they had decided not to carry the iphone all of you complainers would be stuck with using your previous non apple mobile.

not bloody likely IMHO.

You're basically implying that if AT&T hadn't taken this 'huge risk' than Apple would have said 'aww darnnit' and abandoned the iPhone.

And you sound as if we're supposed to feel bad, or at least be 'understanding' because they are the only carrier. Well guess what - they are the only carrier because of their own greed. They dug this whole themselves.

Simple case of the company not being up front with their customers because, frankly, they don't have to. Apple has done such a good job that people will deal with crappy customer service for amazing apple hardware.

Phone companies don't care about the end user experience the way apple does, and now it's all out in the open for everyone to see.

I tend to think it would have made it to market somehow. And BTW AT&T said MMS would be ready to go by late summer. The 25 is not late summer. It's Fall.

[Jawsome]

[QUOTE=Nudist;8421999]You're being a bit hash people. If you can draw your minds back to the 2007 when Apple was hunting around for a carrier for the Iphone, AT&T was one of the few if not the only one prepared to take the risk. And it was a risky proposition. But being the only IPhone carrier in the US means they are carrying the entire load. So if they had decided not to carry the iphone all of you complainers would be stuck with using your previous non apple mobile.

not bloody likely IMHO.

You're basically implying that if AT&T hadn't taken this 'huge risk' than Apple would have said 'aww darnnit' and abandoned the iPhone.

And you sound as if we're supposed to feel bad, or at least be 'understanding' because they are the only carrier. Well guess what - they are the only carrier because of their own greed. They dug this whole themselves.

Simple case of the company not being up front with their customers because, frankly, they don't have to. Apple has done such a good job that people will deal with crappy customer service for amazing apple hardware.

Phone companies don't care about the end user experience the way apple does, and now it's all out in the open for everyone to see.

I tend to think it would have made it to market somehow. And BTW AT&T said MMS would be ready to go by late summer. The 25 is not late summer. It's Fall.

[cvaldes]

Apple has done such a good job that people will deal with crappy customer service for amazing apple hardware. This is incorrect.

Apple customer service has been ranked number one in pretty much every single survey on consumer technology.

Despite the alleged "Apple tax", Apple customers are also happier in pretty much all consumer electronics surveys as well. Can money buy happiness? In the case of consumer electronics and computing, maybe it can.

[ski1ski1]

Why back in June 2009 did AT&T give a different excuse for the MMS delay:
"The why on MMS is absolutely unrelated our 3G network," Siegel said in a telephone interview. "It has to do with internal systems upgrades and we want to have those ready before we offer MMS. We want to let customers know that the delay is unrelated to our network."

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9134154/Analysis_Why_is_AT_T_late_on_MMS_tethering_for_iPhone_3G_S_




.

[cvaldes]

Then why don't you move there? Please. The attractiveness of any given place to live is not solely dictated by its mobile telecommunications infrastructure.

Please. (Your juvenile commentary just makes you look bad.)

P.S., I've lived abroad in a variety of places.

[skinnylegs]

Look.

I'm no AT&T apologist. Check my other posts if you don't believe that.

First, for people who think the iPhone plans are excessive, you should shop around for smart phones on the other carriers. ALL the plans are lame and expensive. Take Verizon BlackBerry plans, for instance, where they nickle and dime you for every single feature. And the draconian lock downs also exists with other carriers (like the old GPS chip lock down with Verizon GPS phones).

Second, I welcome this open-ness from AT&T. It's an interesting approach to address the most vocal consumers. The infantile attacks against how the spokesperson looks are just that. Grow up.

Finally, is anyone here actually qualified to address the technical challenges of running a global telecommunications network? I'm certainly not, but I'm sure it's not as easy as just adding more capacity.

Like I said, I'm no AT&T fanboy but the level of vitriole on this thread is absurd.Props to you. Great post.

[Lershac]

For a hellacious black eye if there are ANY problems with this service rollout.

"Hey we took so long to make sure we get it right"

OOPS!

"There were problems we did not forsee"

[MacGuffin]

"Hey, it's Seth the Blogger Guy -- the fakezoid hipster designed by a cynical corporation to slip in past your feeble cultural barriers against being deceived.

Now that we've established I'm a cool Blogger Guy, let me blow some smoke up your nethernets..."

[MikePA]

Why do people in these kinds of videos insist on talking to us like we are five years old?

Because they've read the plethora of MMS threads on this site started by people who are yelling, screaming and stamping their feet because they can't send message with pictures, saying they've been lied to and releasing MMS on 9/25 is a slap in the face. They've done everything children do except pee in their beds at night.

[Lershac]

Do iPhone customers SMS more then other smartphone users ? I highly doubt it.


And you would be wrong.

As someone who regularly prepares reports on phone usage for a 220 phone strong account... Iphone users use damn near everything more. in my case the 75 or so iphones on this account regularly DOUBLE the SMS trafffic per user than other phones including blackberry and other smartphones. Data Usage too.

[MikePA]

Why back in June 2009 did AT&T give a different excuse for the MMS delay:

Because they're an evil, money grubbing capitalistic mega corporation whose only goal is to take money out of the crippled, gnarled fists of widows who only want a cell phone to call their worthless children because they never call their mother. Plus a general desire to pi$$ off their customers.

[MikePA]

Yes, I know. We're about three years behind Europe and five years behind Southeast Asia. Utterly shameful and unlikely we'll ever catch up.

Stating this is the responsibility of our president. Please do not steal something else he must apologize for.

[Millah]

Look.

I'm no AT&T apologist. Check my other posts if you don't believe that.

First, for people who think the iPhone plans are excessive, you should shop around for smart phones on the other carriers. ALL the plans are lame and expensive. Take Verizon BlackBerry plans, for instance, where they nickle and dime you for every single feature. And the draconian lock downs also exists with other carriers (like the old GPS chip lock down with Verizon GPS phones).

Second, I welcome this open-ness from AT&T. It's an interesting approach to address the most vocal consumers. The infantile attacks against how the spokesperson looks are just that. Grow up.

Finally, is anyone here actually qualified to address the technical challenges of running a global telecommunications network? I'm certainly not, but I'm sure it's not as easy as just adding more capacity.

Like I said, I'm no AT&T fanboy but the level of vitriole on this thread is absurd.

Bravo. Theres actually a reasonable person somewhere on the internet, who doesn't have an delusional sense of entitlement and bratty-ness.

[slapguts]

Just whipped this up....

[cvaldes]

Stating this is the responsibility of our president. Please do not steal something else he must apologize for. Don't turn this into an issue of partisan politics, especially for the current administration which has been in power for less than eight months.

The American mobile telecommunications industry started to fall behind many, many years ago.

[sellitom]

Someone needs to remind Seth that if AT&T keeps suckin, iPhone users are jumping ship and he will likely be unemployed, asking the Messiah for a handout.

[Ultimatetone]

-

Still no word on a legit TETHERING option?

Wasn't that supposed to arrive in 'late Summer' as well?


Marc

[iMaggot]

AT&T is going to hate life when Verizon gets the iPhone lol

[byulasfjazz]

LOL, what a bunch of hogwash...

Do they honestly expect people to believe that iPhone MMS would cripple their network? There are far more bandwidth intensive applications for the iPhone than the occasional MMS!!!

Also the vast majority of iPhones out there are the original iPhone, which will have no MMS capability at all and the iPhone 3G, with only picture MMS and not video... PICTURE ONLY, and I'd bet my left nut that the pictures sent over MMS will be reduced in resolution, just like they are when sent by E-Mail.

I'm glad I'm not an AT&T user, thankfully Rogers handles the iPhone in Canada and MMS/Tethering has been supported from day 1 of iPhone OS 3.0 release with at no extra cost.

ummm yeah... have you ever sent a video.. it takes up more bandwidth than you would believe... no one is gunna send a 5 second video.. and they are preparing for streaming video too not just mms smarty

[ghostface147]

AT&T is going to hate life when Verizon gets the iPhone lol

I am happy with AT&T and once all the people who want to jump ship to Verizon leave, it will only mean better connectivity due to less congestion. AT&T's rates are pretty much the same as a smartphone plan from Verizon, but they charge extra for VVM, where AT&T doesn't.

[designgeek]

Oh NOes there watching our intranetz!!!!!!



Is it just me or is AT$T on the edge of tears?

[Shinrah]

Why is it that all the people yapping about things being so much better if this was on verizon conveniently forget that IT WAS PITCHED TO VERIZON AND THEY REJECTED IT! And besides verizon would not have been able at the time do some of the basic foundations of the iphone because of the network, an example being being able to be on a phone call and access the web at the same time VERIZON'S CDMA NETWORK CANT DO THAT. As others have stated here before, if this was say exclusive to verizon they would have had a crap load of problems too and hey dont forget that verizon is the carrier that spends more time locking out features from their phones as well such as blue profiles, wifi and 3rd party GPS software. The grass isnt always greener on the otherside people, take a chill pill...eventually it will be available on Verizon too (LTE?) and we can all enjoy/suffer together :)

[compuguy1088]

It's common knowledge that American cell networks are not nearly as capable as those in other parts of the world.

That is true based on the shear amount of area cell providers have to cover, compared to other countries.........

[charlituna]

LOL, what a bunch of hogwash...

Do they honestly expect people to believe that iPhone MMS would cripple their network? There are far more bandwidth intensive applications for the iPhone than the occasional MMS!!!


yes but they are assuming it won't be 'the occasional MMS'.

I for one am glad that they made that assumption because I would rather they expect the worst than assume folks won't use the function and when they do they crash something.

I just wish they had made the assumption and done the prep so that they were ready if not on the day of the software release, within the next week. not weeks later.

[Drag'nGT]

Nothing is blocked on my Verizon Windows phone. So I guess Verizon Smartphones, the current ones anyway, are more open than the iPhone. People seem to have a hard time believing that.
I'd much rather have an iPhone, but until it's on Verizon it's not an option for me.

Have you went through the menu of a non branded version of the same phone? When you do you'll see what I mean.

[wkw]

phooey

[WickedRabbit]

In all honesty, I'm going to actually side with AT&T here because if you've noticed, a lot of carriers are having problems supporting the iPhone around the world - it's not just AT&T. The problem is that no one has ever had "that many" smartphone users (with a mandatory data plan mind you) on their network at one time. So, everyone took a hit to their network.

As someone who works in this industry (the cellular industry that is) I can honestly tell you that the situation wouldn't be much different on Verizon either. For starters, Verizon's data speeds are actually quite lower than AT&T's despite widespread "theory". AT&T is significantly faster. Verizon is definitely a bit more consistent, but at the same time, they aren't dealing with the traffic that AT&T deals with for the iPhone. So, realistically, Verizon's network would suffer just the same.

Second, there are some significant downfalls to a Verizon iPhone (at least currently) that many people don't consider. For starters, CDMA doesn't all multiple data streams. So, that ability to be on a phone call, receive/send emails, browse the web or use instant messaging clients is gone on Verizon since you can only do one thing at a time. So, the very limited iPhone's multitasking is cut even more short on Verizon if you're on a phone call. LTE will rectify this, but keep in mind that their LTE won't be widespread at least until 2011 despite their launching in "various markets" (it won't be in any major market next year except New York and Chicago).

Verizon sells a ton of BlackBerry's and has arguably an equal amount of BlackBerry users when compared against AT&T's iPhone users (and the plans are mandatory as well), but BlackBerry is incredibly light on network load because majority of the work goes through RIM's BIS and BES and NOT Verizon's end. BIS/BES also compresses data by 70% so that takes strain even further off their network. Verizon has commented that BlackBerry arguably takes the least amount of bandwidth of any device on their network. Whereas, all the work for an iPhone goes through the network. App downloads, music downloads, browsing full HTML, streaming YouTube. Can you imagine how much network strain having 1/3 of your customer base (one-third of AT&T's customer base is iPhone users) doing all of those things does to a network?

In the end, I hate to say this, but all you I-Want-a-Verizon-iPhone-people are pretty ignorant to real situation and the story would be the same on Verizon simply because of what the iPhone (and the amount of users) does to anyone's network.

Keep dreaming people.

[hindmost]

This fellows performance jolted me back to childhood. I remember watching the news announcement of the launch of Sputnik. The networks were flabbergasted and were hard pressed to have an announcer tell the masses what had occurred. One guy was put on camera to explain it all and he had not a single clue what space or spacecraft was about. It was like watching a deer in the headlights as he fumbled about like a total buffoon.

That announcer has been born again as the AT&T guy on this clip. Hair askew, a dark stubble, a side-cocked head..... Wow! He's like that mad scientist who handled the alien bodies at Area 51 in the movie 'Independence Day'. Where did they find him? His calling is certainly NOT calming customers. (Except maybe as comic relief).

[ghostface147]

I know that Verizon rejected the iPhone, but that's more than likely because they wanted control of it like they have over every other phone on their network. I can pretty much assure that every major carrier would struggle with the iPhone. We are unique in that we actually use our device more than the average smartphone users. Granted I am sure there are competing smartphone users who are heavy users, but I don't think they have the percentage of heavy users the iPhone has.

Now that Verizon has it's own App Store portal, I wonder how Apple would feel about having to go through Verizon's store to sell from their own store? That's essentially what Verizon's portal is. You have to go through my store to sell from your store. Two hard headed companies going at it........I'll get my popcorn.

[Love]

My head is now permanently tilted 40 degrees to the right and I've lost the ability to blink. Thank you very ****ing much, AT&T.

[Rocketman]

And you would be wrong.

As someone who regularly prepares reports on phone usage for a 220 phone strong account... Iphone users use damn near everything more. in my case the 75 or so iphones on this account regularly DOUBLE the SMS trafffic per user than other phones including blackberry and other smartphones. Data Usage too.

Knowledegable folks with facts are not allowed in this thread. Go elsewhere. :D

Rocketman

[CompanionCube]

Why so much hate for AT&T? They had to upgrade their network to compensate for the MILLIONS of iPhone users that came to the network. Things take time so have a little patience.

I for one applaud AT&T for making the video to explain things, and I'm happy that MMS is finally here. BTW I've had an iPhone since launch day so yes, I too have had to wait.

Most macrumors users here are not very intelligent (as I can see by the comments) so I'm not surprised by the amount of "negatives" this article has.

[macmadandproud]

LOL, what a bunch of hogwash...

Do they honestly expect people to believe that iPhone MMS would cripple their network? There are far more bandwidth intensive applications for the iPhone than the occasional MMS!!!

Also the vast majority of iPhones out there are the original iPhone, which will have no MMS capability at all and the iPhone 3G, with only picture MMS and not video... PICTURE ONLY, and I'd bet my left nut that the pictures sent over MMS will be reduced in resolution, just like they are when sent by E-Mail.

I'm glad I'm not an AT&T user, thankfully Rogers handles the iPhone in Canada and MMS/Tethering has been supported from day 1 of iPhone OS 3.0 release with at no extra cost.

No offense mate... but you are simply wrong here.

The vast majority of iPhones out there are 3g and 3gs; the 3g outsold the original by a massive amount.

The thing is, they know that as soon as it released, everyone that has an iPhone with mms will be using the hell out of it like a new toy. They'll flood the network with images, and potentially bring it down.

Look, I'm no massive fan of AT&T, but the reality is that no existing cellular network in the US (including Verizon's) is equipped to handle the sudden massive data burden that the iPhone has created. Now, should they have anticipated this, accounted for this, of course they should have... no question.

But, don't delude yourselves.... about 5% of Verizon's users use any sort of data at all... leaving their [largely unused] EVDO network feeling snappy, and you feeling happy. However, they would be in the exact same position, were they to suddenly acquire 10,000,000 + data crazy iPhone users.

So chill a little, and cut them some slack.

As for your personal attacks on the guy himself... leave him alone. I hate that the web makes it so easy for people to launch tirades and personal attacks on people based solely on their own perceptions, prejudices, and meanness.

It's a bloody phone, if you aren't happy, cancel, buy a RAZR, and carry on with your lives.

:rolleyes:

[andy721]

Look.

I'm no AT&T apologist. Check my other posts if you don't believe that.

First, for people who think the iPhone plans are excessive, you should shop around for smart phones on the other carriers. ALL the plans are lame and expensive. Take Verizon BlackBerry plans, for instance, where they nickle and dime you for every single feature. And the draconian lock downs also exists with other carriers (like the old GPS chip lock down with Verizon GPS phones).

Second, I welcome this open-ness from AT&T. It's an interesting approach to address the most vocal consumers. The infantile attacks against how the spokesperson looks are just that. Grow up.

Finally, is anyone here actually qualified to address the technical challenges of running a global telecommunications network? I'm certainly not, but I'm sure it's not as easy as just adding more capacity.

Like I said, I'm no AT&T fanboy but the level of vitriole on this thread is absurd.

People can have opinions what the guy looks like and what the video is about.

People who want iPhones made a good a$$ decision. I on the other hand have to have best of the best and I think the iPhone is qualified. I think I did my review shopped around and saw nothing compare to it.

I been with AT&T for many years yet to see a phone without MMS till now. Talk about absurd. It is simple as that by adding this n that with $$$ which they have plenty of.

It's a typical cellular carrier just wants one thing "$"

[macaco74]

My head is now permanently tilted 40 degrees to the right and I've lost the ability to blink. Thank you very ****ing much, AT&T.

Ha!

[gibbz]

Can you imagine how much network strain having 1/3 of your customer base (one-third of AT&T's customer base is iPhone users) doing all of those things does to a network?


It's actually worse than that. According to AT&T (here (http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2009/07/att-activated-24-million-iphone-users-in-2q-09.ars)), they have activated 10.4 million iPhones since 2007. According to a press release (here (http://www.att.com/gen/press-room?pid=4800&cdvn=news&newsarticleid=26752)) their customer base is 78.2 million.

So this means that iPhone customers comprise only ~13% of users, not 1/3 as you stated. So only ~13% have cause the network problems.

[inkswamp]

I live in a region where AT&T's coverage is pretty consistent and reliable so I have no gripes, but I understand that's not the case everywhere. However, I have to give them points for acknowledging the gripes directly like this. Seems like a sincere gesture. Let's hope it's not all talk though.

[alphaod]

I love the Blackberry like phone they use as a smartphone. Looks like a Curve 8300.

[Analog Kid]

Don't have an iPhone, so I probably don't have the bottled rage that a lot of folks seem to, but if it's come to this then things must be bad...

First: "Seth the Blogger Guy"? Seriously? How about "Steven the Network Architect Guy"? I'd much rather hear what that guy has to say.

Maybe I'm just getting old... Do the kids on this forum feel the blogger guy speaks to them in a way that a square professional with expertise can't?

Second: Maybe the professional with expertise could explain why doubling the data rate of a phone squares the network load? I can't figure out where the "geometric pressure" comes from. Point to point devices growing in capacity sounds like arithmetic pressure to me, but I'm not a network analyst...

Third: it's just sad to see one of the worlds largest corporations posting a You-Tube invite to their pity party. There's no reason paying customers should feel sorry that you're drowning in your own success. Each node on that network, or car on that highway, is paying an exorbitant toll and they expect traffic to flow smoothly.

Fourth: don't act like this was all a surprise. Yes, the iPhone was a run away success (see point 3), but there are plenty of worked examples of high capacity networks throughout the civilized world. Yes every market is unique, and the US poses special challenges, but you're freaking AT&T-- the mother of the telephone, one of the First Ones.

[TuckBodi]

""We've been working for months to prepare the radio access controllers in our network to support this launch. That means calibrating base stations all over the country, and frankly, that's a very time-consuming process," he says."

Now I know why my coverage has gone from 3 bars to 1/0 bars in my house. AT$T has been out calibratin' in my neighborhood!

[macharborguy]

I'll believe it when I see it. AT&T was sketchy when I started using them about 10 years ago, but they've gotten absolutely horrendous over the last 6-12 months. So many dropped/inaudible calls and the data speeds and coverage is very pokey compared to Verizon. We'll see, but I don't have a lot of faith in them. The iPhone is the greatest mobile device ever, but it's ruined by the AT&T experience.


The AT&T you started with 10 years ago isn't the same AT&T. They are basically just SBC with a new name.

[t-rev]

I'm so sick of reading these threads. You are a bunch of whiny babies. Who gives a ***** if it's a few days late? Is it the end of the world? To those of you who bitch and complain about AT&T and the fact they are so late with MMS, take your iPhone somewhere else. Would you rather have them get it right the first time or roll it out with issues? Come on people, grow up.

[Love]

I'm so sick of reading these threads. You are a bunch of whiney babies. Who gives a ***** if it's a few months late?

Fixed that for you.

I bet Seth-The-Blogger-Dude-Guy has to go to the chiropractor a lot.

[jableskg]

One way AT&T could make me happy is drop the monthly rate for the iPhone. Its way overpriced.

Yeah i'm asking for way too much

[mikecap]

Most cell users in Europe enjoy near cable Internet level speeds on their cell networks. How about that, AT&T? Care to comment?

[ski1ski1]

It's actually worse than that. According to AT&T (here (http://arstechnica.com/apple/news/2009/07/att-activated-24-million-iphone-users-in-2q-09.ars)), they have activated 10.4 million iPhones since 2007. According to a press release (here (http://www.att.com/gen/press-room?pid=4800&cdvn=news&newsarticleid=26752)) their customer base is 78.2 million.

So this means that iPhone customers comprise only ~13% of users, not 1/3 as you stated. So only ~13% have cause the network problems.

And it's even less then 13% because those 10.4 million activations include people who upgraded from a previous iPhone. So that activation number includes a lot of duplicate iPhone customers.

[macmadandproud]

Most cell users in Europe enjoy near cable Internet level speeds on their cell networks. How about that, AT&T? Care to comment?

That's true, but those networks were paid for using billions of Euros in public taxpayer's money... as in, massively subsidized, just like GSM was before it.

Do you really think that would be the case if Orange, Vodaphone and others had to pay for it with billions of their own money??

So if you're pi$$ed, write to your senator and ask him for a tax increase to cover the AT&T buildout!

:rolleyes:

[ski1ski1]

The AT&T you started with 10 years ago isn't the same AT&T. They are basically just SBC with a new name.

Not entirely true. A lot of the networks that SBC/Cingular took over around the country were part of the original AT&T network.

[Thunder82]

Most cell users in Europe enjoy near cable Internet level speeds on their cell networks. How about that, AT&T? Care to comment?

Most cellular companies in Europe also
cover a MUCH smaller footprint than US carriers do. The united states is.. Uhh.. rather large.

[gflogic]

Dear People.
I think when AT&T says more bars in more places, I think they mean that the executives and people who work on their network are going to more bars in more places!
AT&T sucks. Not the guys telling us about it. There is no need to pick on him. Name calling should be reserved for AT&T and maybe even Apple for making us use AT&T. So, this guy is not the most impressive and the message is a bit hilarious, that shouldn't surprise anyone. I'm actually surprised it does.
The iPhone is the best device ever made and maybe one day, the network it's on may not suck. (When they're smart enough to move to Verizon).
Till then, let's just keep our fingers crossed.

[teknishn]

Its sure great to see the continued bickering. Fact is after the 25th everybody can **** and enjoy their MMS. Thats me included.... been dying for it. But I have to have a pinch of sympathy.... note I said a pinch.... for the assraping we iphone users have dropped on them. Granted we pay good money to bend their network over so in the end its all about making sure the reach around is on par with the bending over.

Put Verizon or any other network in the same boat and their network would be on its knees as well. Ultimately what we need is the iphone available on all carriers to spread the load.

Just my .02

[Sean4123]

Well it is and it isn't.

Here in south florida, we have the best Wireless cell network in the country. We were fully 850 MHz several months ago, and consistently have 1.5 Mbps + download speed. Calls don't get dropped on the iPhone, cell coverage is not spotty at all, and I have used it a lot from Port ST. Lucie down to south miami.

Now i'm not making any excuses for AT&T because there are still problems and some places are just really bad. But its not bad everywhere. And if AT&T would model the rest of the country on what they did in South Florida there would be 90% less problems then what people have now.

Wow I am so glad someone posted exactly what I was thinking. Ha. I just moved to South Florida (Naples) from Utah, and I haven't dropped one call or suffered from ANY internet slowdown at all. I honest to god don't understand the hate for the iPhone when it comes to service. Sure AT&T sucks as far as price, but as far as coverage goes, it is 2nd to none in my opinion. Even in Utah I had amazing signal strength and 3g coverage.

I'm using my iPhone for internet tethering right now (it can be done just look around) and thought I was going to get Comcast. Whats funny is my iPhone is giving me an AMAZING connection. I swear to god, its almost as fast as a Cable connection. I've downloaded tv show torrents in 15 minutes!!

So for those that have a crappy connection with their iPhone, i'm sorry because its not like that everywhere. Trust me, I wouldn't wanna go with anyone else.

Oh and BTW, if you go with T-Mobile and unlock your iPhone, you won't be able to use 3G and won't be able to receive any updates unless you wanna unlock your phone again after every single one.

[Sean4123]

Dear People.
I think when AT&T says more bars in more places, I think they mean that the executives and people who work on their network are going to more bars in more places!
AT&T sucks. Not the guys telling us about it. There is no need to pick on him. Name calling should be reserved for AT&T and maybe even Apple for making us use AT&T. So, this guy is not the most impressive and the message is a bit hilarious, that shouldn't surprise anyone. I'm actually surprised it does.
The iPhone is the best device ever made and maybe one day, the network it's on may not suck. (When they're smart enough to move to Verizon).
Till then, let's just keep our fingers crossed.

This is exactly what i'm talking about... So you think ATT sucks because of the price of service or the quality of service? Because i'm telling you right now, if its the signal strength, then its probably because you live in an area where the signal strength would suck with ANY carrier. Trust me, Verizon isn't any better.

Look at the Blackberry Storm, that thing is god awful, and slow as well.

[aristotle]

Then how come MMS is so popular if nobody currently uses it ?
Hmm. Maybe because it up until now has been popular with users of phones with a 1.3 - 2.0 Mpixels cameras which often reduce it the resolution to 1.3 Mpixels for sending via email/MMS?

My last phone before my first iPhone (3G) was a Motorola KRZR
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorola_KRZR

It was a GSM phone but the camera was so crappy that it might as well have been 1.3 Mpixels.

I keep on hearing about MMS being so damn popular but I have to wonder if it is actually true or an urban legend on the internet. I would not be surprise if most MMS users use the default lower res setting even on their 2Mpixel phones because of how hard it is to navigate through the settings.

[NAG]

I really only care about how they're going to handle tethering. I probably wouldn't use the feature much myself so it is unlikely i'd ever buy it. But I am still curious to see if they gouge people.

[aristotle]

Europe keeps on being brought up. Guess what? They do have a better infrastructure but they also have a lower customer density as well on average and most of their nokia phones are either dumb phones or smart phones that are too damn hard to use and have crippled browsers.

There are also cultural differences. Most Europeans are probably not streaming cat videos from Youtube or twittering about the minutia of their boring little lives like Americans seem to do.

[EarthDawn]

All I can say is you would think when they make a public statement about where they spent 38 BILLION dollars in the last 2 years it would come from someone who has at least had a shave in the last day or so and some kind of hair cut !!!... and the Sears shirt needs to be burned...

[BeyondtheTech]

All this wouldn't be so much of an issue if they blanketed the country (or at least my usual areas I travel) with some free or included Wi-Fi. I'd be using Skype, SlingPlayer, and YouTube, and all the other heavy data apps over Wi-Fi and only touch their 3G when I'm in the boonies.

Trying to find a decent Wi-Fi hotspot than isn't a separate pay service is such a pain. I'm glad my Optimum Wi-Fi is available in some places, but it's still too sparse for me to be appreciated.

Whatever happened to the idea of Wi-Fi blimps over major cities?

[djchuckc27]

I LOVE my iPhone; it's the most amazing device ever. AT&T hasn't given me any problems in Las Vegas. Having a cool device cost money. If you can't afford it, don't buy it. Prices will drop eventually, even when other carriers get the phone. No matter where it goes, or how much it cost, I will pay for it...

All because I LOVE my iPhone. (And Apple, of course)

[LagunaSol]

Do they honestly expect people to believe that iPhone MMS would cripple their network? There are far more bandwidth intensive applications for the iPhone than the occasional MMS!!!

My favorite part is their ridiculous SMS pricing, making it cheaper for me to use some of my 8 billion rollover minutes and make a call than to send a text once I go over my paltry 200 message limit.

So instead of a miniscule bit of data flying through the air, I have to do it via voice. Now, which puts more burden on the system, a 2 minute voice call or a 3-word text message???

[angemon89]

Haha I love how like half the comments are about the guy in the video. No but seriously at least higher a hot dude or a cute girl for this.... or at least someone who doesn't look creepy.

All they're doing is reading off of a cue card anyway.

[casik]

Man these threads make Americans look whiney.

The video guy is just being honest.

[ski1ski1]

Hmm. Maybe because it up until now has been popular with users of phones with a 1.3 - 2.0 Mpixels cameras which often reduce it the resolution to 1.3 Mpixels for sending via email/MMS?

My last phone before my first iPhone (3G) was a Motorola KRZR
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motorola_KRZR

It was a GSM phone but the camera was so crappy that it might as well have been 1.3 Mpixels.

I keep on hearing about MMS being so damn popular but I have to wonder if it is actually true or an urban legend on the internet. I would not be surprise if most MMS users use the default lower res setting even on their 2Mpixel phones because of how hard it is to navigate through the settings.

Do you realize the iPhone defaults to a resolution of only .5 Mpixel when you email pictures ? That's only 800x600 !! And I'm sure it will be the same way or worse with it's MMS. And what is your point behind your post ? How many iPhone users know how to send the full 2.0 or 3.1 Mpixel resolution...or even care ? I bet a very low percentage.

http://justanotheriphoneblog.com/wordpress/iphone-tips/iphone-tip-how-to-send-full-resolution-photos-by-email



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