Apple and AT&T Have Reportedly Worked Closely on 3G Network Performance Issues

[MacRumors]

The Wall Street Journal reports (subscription required) on AT&T's recent efforts to beef up its cellular network in the face of criticism from customers over performance. As part of the report, the Journal notes that Apple and AT&T have worked closely on addressing the issues, with Apple even going so far as to tweak how the iPhone connects to the network in order to reduce load.

Apple rejiggered how its phones communicate with AT&T's towers. As a result, the phones now put less of a load on the network for such simple tasks as finding the closest tower or checking for available text messages.

"They're well past networking 101, 201 or 301," said Mr. Donovan. Apple, he said, is now "in a Master's class."

AT&T also reportedly sent high-ranking company executives to Cupertino to personally meet with Apple CEO Steve Jobs to assure him that network issues were being addressed. According to the report, AT&T rolled out a "100-day plan" in mid-December to rapidly improve service in high-density markets such as Manhattan and San Francisco that have been the focus of customer complaints. The carrier's efforts may be paying off, as its network showed marked improvement in a recent study of 3G wireless performance, although there is certainly still work to be done.

AT&T's race to improve its network comes as rumors of a Verizon iPhone continue to circulate and the iPad nears its launch, providing additional incentives for the carrier to invest in its infrastructure.

Article Link: Apple and AT&T Have Reportedly Worked Closely on 3G Network Performance Issues

 

[pvmacguy]

Good job at&t and apple. I now get 3 mbps download consistently at my house.

 

[jmcguckin]

I'm really starting to think that there is something to these Verizon iPhone rumors, mostly because there's little chance that AT&T would be scrambling to improve their network based on a whim or from hearing a rumor that one of their competitors would begin carrying the iPhone and had a reputation for having the best network/coverage... my Razr is about dead at this point, but I think I can hold out until early/mid-summer to see how the Verizon + iPhone situation pans out.

 

[Grimace]

Good for Apple for trying to help AT&T! Now that praise is done - bring the iPhone to TMobile and Verizon!

 

[alphaod]

Good to know they are collaborating. Now how about I can actually make calls when my bars show 5 and full, and actually not have my bars go down over time at home?

 

[Outsider]

I've noticed better performance since Feb. I haven't had a dropped call in 2 months. When I first got the iPhone, I would have a dropped call at least once a week. I haven't had one as far as I can remember. Good job guys.

 

[dwd3885]

i'm using the nexus one att 3g and it's blazing fast. i find it to be the same performance as the iphone, so that is good.

 

[Amadeo]

I don't doubt they've been working together more closely, but I'm in New York, and I still get a lot of dropped calls. I don't know how much of a difference has been made since December...

 

[jayducharme]

I too have found that my iPhone reception has improved considerably over the past few months. There are still the odd areas where 3G reception disappears and is replaced by Edge, only to revert back to 3G hours later. But that's less frequent than it was.

 

[The Monkey]

AT&T is as bad in Manhattan as it has ever been. No improvement.

 

[Sinoman]

Why Is AT&T So Smug

AT&T comes off arrogant and smug in the article. If they are so freakin' smart, why didn't they jump in and help their partner 2 years ago?

 

[satcomer]

At&T in DC has improved considerably!

 

[appleseed76]

Go Apple and AT&T!

I've noticed improvements in the north of PA, but not so much in the mid-Atlantic state I live in. I-79 is especially spotty. I lose my Pandora signal all the time when driving. Glad to see AT&T getting off their butts and making a serious attempt at improving their services, instead of making excuses.

 

[ineedamac]

At&T in DC has improved considerably!

I second this comment. Now I just wish I could get service in the metro tunnels. I can get service on the platforms but sometimes I am in the middle of typing an email and want to send while in the tunnel. This is not a deal breaker for me and I would hope that AT&T would eventually address.

 

[iDisk]

Apple is a team sport, and the company works with their partners to insure excellent customer satisfaction.

AT&T was a LAZY company in regards to beefing up there network, but with the help of Apple there laziness is becoming less and less.

Maybe Adobe should take a page from AT&T.

 

[talkingfuture]

Must be good for customers whose service is improving. I'm sure Apple will put the iPhone on other carriers in the US soon though. If they really want to compete with Android it needs to be available on all the networks so there are as few barriers to ownership as possible.

 

[ghostface147]

High data speeds are much more consistent here in Houston for me, although every now and then I get garbage speeds. Voice has also improved. I am sure Houston being flat with no major terrain elevations also helps in some way.

 

[Small White Car]

At&T in DC has improved considerably!

Agreed. I used to get 2 dropped calls a day, now it happens about once a month.

The download speeds are a bit faster too, but that's a minor concern compared to the phone actually working as a phone.

 

[Nem Wan]

AT&T comes off arrogant and smug in the article. If they are so freakin' smart, why didn't they jump in and help their partner 2 years ago?

AT&T choosing to disclose this is very self-serving and intended to make everyone think network problems were always Apple's fault.

 

[Moomba]

It's great that they are improving the quality of their service in large cities, but a huge percentage of people live just outside AT&T's 3G zones. That is the biggest problem for me. I live less than 10 miles from a major 3G city and I can barely get highly erratic EDGE coverage. Sure the signal is great when I go into the center of the city, but on the North side of town there's nothing, and when I'm home just outside the city there's nothing. Frankly, I'm sick and tired of waiting around for them to expand coverage. I understand it is important to be able to adequately cover the customers you already have on 3G, but what about the vast majority of people living outside or just barely outside 3G coverage. They/we've been waiting literally for years to have reliable connections let alone anything that is viably quick. I'm sorry but EDGE is not acceptable quality/speed especially when it's spotty at best.

 

[millertime021]

Good job at&t and apple. I now get 3 mbps download consistently at my house.

I've been getting that as well now too.

 

[je_wallace]

too bad

It's too bad AT&T hadn't bother to improve their network or provide these 'master classes' to Apple's engineers/designers before the real possibility of iPhone on another carrier/network emerged.

But AT&T didn't need to, and that's the failings of a monopolistic market position.

Competition is good.

The rise of Google's Android is great for Apple, it'll require Apple to step-up it's game and make the improvements which end-users have been asking for....easy battery swaps, multiple apps running in the background, etc.

 

[blubyu]

Must be good for customers whose service is improving. I'm sure Apple will put the iPhone on other carriers in the US soon though. If they really want to compete with Android it needs to be available on all the networks so there are as few barriers to ownership as possible.

What makes you think Apple wants to compete with Android? Apple has never competed against anybody for anything. They have always done what they want to do when they want to do it. Comments like yours are pretty funny sometimes.

 

[Small White Car]

AT&T choosing to disclose this is very self-serving and intended to make everyone think network problems were always Apple's fault.

They're good at that.

One of the video sharing services (Sling Player, maybe? I'm not sure) was originally allowed on Wifi only. Eventually AT&T let them on to the 3G network but said something about "working with them" to "improve" the data rate...in other words, making it look like the product was the problem and AT&T helped them "fix" it.

The owner of that company came out and said that, no, not only did they not work with AT&T at all, they DIDN'T change anything in the program at all!

So, business as usual over there, I guess.

 

[smithrh]

I've noticed a very nice bump in download speeds here in Chicago around the same time they announced the initial 7.2 rollout.

I consistently get around 3+ mbps downloads now and have for a few months.

Actually, it's gotten so good, I've turned off my WiFi (the WiFi at work is flakey). I can't remember the last time I've seen the Edge indicator pop up on my phone.

Plus, in-building coverage is much better as well.

I still get voice drops in some bad areas, but I also have VzW service on a Droid and it drops there as well, so I tend to chalk that up to RF conditions being poor.

When I traveled to SoCal back in January, the story wasn't as good, so I expect stories will be all over the map here in the comments.

Oh, and I wouldn't entirely discount Apple being at least a partial source of some of the issues. I work in the industry and I've seen buggy mobiles from just about every manufacturer, even those like Nokia - companies with years and years of experience with wireless. The idea that Apple came in and did everything 100% correct is fairly silly. Not saying they made huge mistakes, but even some small and supposedly trivial settings can really hammer a network.