In a lengthy BusinessWeek article, AT&T Mobility CEO Ralph de la Vega again attempts to clarify the company's plans for dealing with high-usage iPhone data customers by emphasizing incentives for shifting traffic off of its network rather than implementing tiered pricing as had been suggested earlier this month. The comments mark the second time a major media outlet has gone public with de la Vega's efforts to clarify his earlier comments.
De la Vega's comments to BusinessWeek were made in a December 16th interview, which appears to coincide with the interview cited in the earlier Wall Street Journal report, although the latest report provides additional perspective on the misinterpretation of de la Vega's original comments that sparked the controversy.
As noted in the earlier report, AT&T is looking to such solutions as free Wi-Fi hotspots and 3G MicroCell network extenders to shift data traffic to the Internet. The strategy sees Wi-Fi as a "lifeline" for overloaded cellular networks, whereas it had previously been seen as a threat to cellular companies.
AT&T has taken heat for apparent cuts in infrastructure spending, even as the iPhone has continued to drive increasing demand. Network performance monitoring companies, as well as more informal testing, have shown, however, increased performance for AT&T's 3G network, putting it on par with or better than its competitors.
Article Link: AT&T Again Moves to Downplay Reports of Imminent Tiered Data Pricing for iPhone
