AT&T 3G Network Coverage Map is NOT Up-to-date!

[maddan]

I thought I would let people know that I discovered that the 3G Coverage Viewer on AT&T's site is not very reliable. For example, one of the areas that is not shown to have 3G coverage is the Sarasota area in Florida.
Even though on the map it shows it does not have 3G, I called to see whether or not the area had coverage anyway, as that was a relevant factor for me in getting an iPhone 3G. They told me that it indeed had 3G coverage.
So if you are worried that your area might not have 3G, and refer to the 3G Coverage Viewer on the site, double-check with an AT&T representative. It definitely payed off for me, and it might just pay off for you, too.

 

[btnnaz]

It works the other way around too it says i have 3g at my house but i barely get 3 bars of edge some rooms i get no service

 

[scaredpoet]

3G deployment has really ramped up, especially now that AT&T and the alrger carriers are allowed to turn off the old analog service (and with it, D-AMPS). Those old standards took up a lot of spectrum, and the equipment to run it took huge amounts of floor space, preventing the deployment of 3G in a lot of locations.

Now that this old stuff is gone, 3G is going to spread faster than the map tool can keep up.

 

[DiamondMac]

I think most figured that out already as people in several cities on this forum have talked about how little or great their 3G service is and those people with little service are found right in the middle of supposive 3G service while those with great service are not found to be covered by the 3G maps

 

[slapguts]

Sorry, but they might have fed you a line.

I'm in Bradenton, and went into an AT&T store on Cortez, and checked he 3G connection. With 3G enabled, it had no signal. The speeds were WAY slower than my first gen on edge.

Ateast spend a couple minutes with the demo unit before coughing up the cash.

 

[aphexii]

I think they haven't posted it on the site yet because its still kinda unstable at times. As the poster above noted, the coverage is spotty right now (maybe not all the towers have 3g enabled yet?) It was turned on the 14th from what I recall.

I live at I-75 & University and used to get 5 full bars with Edge, now with 3G i'm lucky to get 3, usually 1 or 2. I've heard though that 3G has a more difficult time penetrating buildings, so that may be the case, but i'm not sure.

That being said, even though the coverage is more spotty than I'm used to, the 3G speed is a noticeable difference for me from Edge.

 

[cenetti]

pffft....

where I live, according to their map, we're in the super duper blue..

and I am bouncing between 3G and "E" all day long....

fk their map
fk their coverage

pissing me off...

 

[maddan]

Sorry, but they might have fed you a line.

I'm in Bradenton, and went into an AT&T store on Cortez, and checked he 3G connection. With 3G enabled, it had no signal. The speeds were WAY slower than my first gen on edge.

Ateast spend a couple minutes with the demo unit before coughing up the cash.

Actually, I have been around the Southgate Mall area, and the signal reaches my phone just fine. Maybe it really just is Sarasota that has the stronger signal.

 

[Vaco Deus]

pffft....

where I live, according to their map, we're in the super duper blue..

and I am bouncing between 3G and "E" all day long....

fk their map
fk their coverage

pissing me off...

Same here. The area in which I live is pure deep blue. When I first got it the iPhone was 3G all the time and I just noticed that most of the time its on E and when I turn 3G on and off to force it on 3G the signal is so poor the iPhone switches over to E and I get great service

 

[Cynicalone]

One thing I've been wondering for a while is how does 3G work? Does the signal get weaker the more people that use the network? The reason I ask is because here in good old Oklahoma, I have never dropped below 3 bars on 3G. Most of the time I have 4 or 5 bar's all day long. But you really don't see a lot of iPhone or Blackberry users here. I know that may sound stupid, but I don't really know how the technical side of things work when it comes to cell service.

 

[sUGArDawg]

Wait a minute...

Are you guys saying that a wireless company's coverage map isn't accurate? NO WAY!!

/sarcasm
//deal with it

 

[MemphisDave]

I had Sprint for 6yrs and 3rd 2yr contract expired 7/5/08. I had made the decision to finally migrate to ATT -due to free M2M - everyone i know has ATT. The 3G was announced in June and I hoped on the Bandwagon - loving my 3G !

Since I work in a rural area, I checked out the ATT coverage maps, asked everyone at work who had ATT about the reception. Seems pretty good overall. There is a deadzone on a Major Interstate I-55 on my way to work. I'm not complaining about 3G, my phone reads "NO SERVICE" for a few miles on my way to and from work each day. It doesn't seem bad but if your on the phone or playing around-email txt, GPS, internet radio..etc.. It becomes a temporary Brick for the 2+miles and it takes another 1min to reconnect to the network.
The US coverage map below seems to cover the my commute,


but when i zoomed in closer,


I found the area my phone slips into the "No Service" Deadzone on a major interstate within 20miles of Memphis-Center distribution hub of the US. Seems kind of odd with all the trucking and traffic on this interstate.
/rant
.:MemphisDave:.