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AT&T Announces Completion of 7.2 Mbps Software Updates, But Backhaul Upgrades Still Needed
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I guess i'm one of the few people who is extremely happy with at&t. I live in new jersey and my 3g speeds are insanely fast and i NEVER drop calls, and i have some very long calls. If i have no 3g coverage out in mississippi i really dont care. i'd rather have no 3g rather than verizon 3g which is about as fast as edge anyway, beside the fact i despise verizon as a company because their practices are down right deceptive (not getting into detail about that). so for me, att is perfect since i tend to stay by the coastal areas, whether it be nj or california. i dont venture into the middle of the country too much unless im flying over it, and in the areas where i spend my time the 3g coverage is great. also we've been with att since the cingular days so we have a "gold status" account and are eligible for early upgrades every year. meaning i can get new iphones as soon as theyre out. happy, loyal att customer here.
i really really hope that tablet won't be locked down to a carrier. that tablet needs to have a 3g chip and let you have your choice of carrier. if a carrier chooses to subsidize it that's their choice. but please no exclusivity contract
Test markets
I'm just going to take a wild guess that neither San Francisco nor New York are test markets.
I'm just going to take a wild guess that neither San Francisco nor New York are test markets.
I'll admit that my iPhone service (both dropped calls and speed) is fine here on the northside of Indianapolis and it'll be great to get the most out of my 3GS. By the time LTE rolls out I'll probably be off my 2 year contract and ready to get another iPhone capable of 4G speeds anyway.
That said, where the heck is my tethering capability that every other major carrier in the world supports for the iPhone? I mean c'mon, do you think we all were going to give you (AT&T) a pass on that one. Right now a whole bunch more people would use tethering than the 7.2Mbps upgrades you're doing. Only a small fraction of your user base has the hardware necessary to reap it's advantages.
That said, where the heck is my tethering capability that every other major carrier in the world supports for the iPhone? I mean c'mon, do you think we all were going to give you (AT&T) a pass on that one. Right now a whole bunch more people would use tethering than the 7.2Mbps upgrades you're doing. Only a small fraction of your user base has the hardware necessary to reap it's advantages.
I agree. In my opinion, this upgrade isn't complete until the people who you plan to use it can actually use it. Plus, with several companies like Sprint & another poster said places in Norway already have 4G, so what's the problem? Plus, why aren't New York & San Francisco part of the test sites? We keep hearing how much they need an upgrade. Heck, AT&T is one of the oldest telephone companies in the world. What the heck?
This is NOT a true statement. Not even close to true.
I average about 1.4 Mb/s down on Verizon 3G. Show me EDGE that does the same.
I just use it for texting easily, occasional wifi use and music for my car. People act like it's a sin to have an iPhone without data. Plus, I don't pay nearly as much as you do and I can still text and make phone calls any time. I also like jotting down notes or adding to-do items with Things.app.
There's still plenty that an iPhone can do without a data plan.
Redondo Beach?! You should have 3G access there, I spend time in south bay, you should have no problems.
Do you even have an iPhone 3G or 3GS? I think it would be quite impossible for you to expect 3G on the 2G phone........
As far as this post goes, AT&T needs to get on the ball. They make how many billions of dollars a month based solely on the iPhone alone? Gimme a break, they shouldve anticipated this before the launch of the 3G and now its a problem.
As one person said, it's not getting coverage everywhere, it's having reliable coverage in major cities. I get dropped calls all the time, lose service sporadically (which is a major pain when I am working on the road and that is my only form of communication, plus finding places on google maps). This should not be happening. They are taking candy from babies, and not giving anything in return. Sigh.......
Google Nexus One?
Good guess. Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles and Miami.
Strange about the better speed tests people are posting, btw... upload speeds still seem to be less than 10% of download speed. That can limit TCP/IP downloads due to ACK congestion. Thought AT&T was also deploying HSUPA ?
No Multitasking
I think that AT&T cannot multitask. Apple needs to break the monopoly that AT&T has with the iPhone so that they are compelled to upgrade faster. It's embarassing to tell people I have an iPhone then try to show them something that requires 3G to get something done and it won't connect to it, and sometimes no connection at all unless I turn off 3G.
TMobile is done upgrading and AT&T is just starting? I suppose it shouldn't be a surprise after it took so long just to get MMS turned on and tethering is still a mythological being in the iPhone world. Someday.....
I think that AT&T cannot multitask. Apple needs to break the monopoly that AT&T has with the iPhone so that they are compelled to upgrade faster. It's embarassing to tell people I have an iPhone then try to show them something that requires 3G to get something done and it won't connect to it, and sometimes no connection at all unless I turn off 3G.
TMobile is done upgrading and AT&T is just starting? I suppose it shouldn't be a surprise after it took so long just to get MMS turned on and tethering is still a mythological being in the iPhone world. Someday.....
Actually, T-Mobile also completed their 7.2 mbps rollout, with the backend to support it. They announced it the day before AT&T announced their half-baked 7.2 rollout.
Sprint is using 4G technology.
Verizon is testing 4G technology.
What standard are they smoking?
Why does it feel so wrong fact checking a rumor site
Everybody wants more and more connectivity, which means more towers. Yet they don't want a tower in their backyard. I have read reports that some places have waiting lists of over 1 year to get a tower approved to be installed. So much red tape.
Hi. At&t customer service.....
Hi, this is ***** calling again. You can see the notes on my account; I'll hold while you read over them.... Great, now I called you in October, November, December and now it's Jan. You see those calls? Good.
You see, my iPhone 3GS has full bars, yet when I make calls it tells me call failed. Furthermore, should I be lucky enough to get a call to go though on my premium iPhone plan with you At&T; it fails sometime between now and the next 5 minutes.
Now, all times you have told me their is a tower in my area having trouble, but it is being fixed. In Dec, you told me that the tower was fixed, but another one is experiencing some half service stuff. My phone most of the time says E instead of 3G anyway; yet on the AT&T coverage map it shows me dead center in a Full 3G service area. Can you confirm this? Great!
Now, can you please tell me how many "call failed" calls I have experienced in oh let's say the last 30 days... Yes, I'll hold... Oh I see, 67 calls have failed... hmmm.
Well, seeing as how I need this service, pay for it, require it for my business as well as... oh I don't know needing to contact my son, wife, whatever... don't you think I should be getting service on my phone?
I see, you agree great!! Well, when do you think I will be getting quality service that I pay for, and you advertise to me? I see...you're really sorry... yeah me too.
Tell you what; I can't pay you this month; mkay. You see, my personal service of sending that monthly check to you (like clockwork) is temporarily exhibiting some; shall we say; outages.
So let's keep this simple shall we. I want a credit for 3 months of service now. Yes, I will hold....
Oh great; you agree!! good, now I can't pay you until you prove that my service works as we both believe it should; so please issue me a January credit as well, so I know I don't have to worry about calling again until Feb so make sure you have corrected my issue. Yes, I will hold... Yes, I accept your apology; again. Oh, it is approved; great, when will it post to my account? Oh it already has; let me log in and verify please- not that I don't trust you of course. One moment...
I see it, thank you and I will be following up next month for my update.
Yes, pleasure doing business with you too; please make sure my phone starts working soon; won't you.
Bye.
Hi, this is ***** calling again. You can see the notes on my account; I'll hold while you read over them.... Great, now I called you in October, November, December and now it's Jan. You see those calls? Good.
You see, my iPhone 3GS has full bars, yet when I make calls it tells me call failed. Furthermore, should I be lucky enough to get a call to go though on my premium iPhone plan with you At&T; it fails sometime between now and the next 5 minutes.
Now, all times you have told me their is a tower in my area having trouble, but it is being fixed. In Dec, you told me that the tower was fixed, but another one is experiencing some half service stuff. My phone most of the time says E instead of 3G anyway; yet on the AT&T coverage map it shows me dead center in a Full 3G service area. Can you confirm this? Great!
Now, can you please tell me how many "call failed" calls I have experienced in oh let's say the last 30 days... Yes, I'll hold... Oh I see, 67 calls have failed... hmmm.
Well, seeing as how I need this service, pay for it, require it for my business as well as... oh I don't know needing to contact my son, wife, whatever... don't you think I should be getting service on my phone?
I see, you agree great!! Well, when do you think I will be getting quality service that I pay for, and you advertise to me? I see...you're really sorry... yeah me too.
Tell you what; I can't pay you this month; mkay. You see, my personal service of sending that monthly check to you (like clockwork) is temporarily exhibiting some; shall we say; outages.
So let's keep this simple shall we. I want a credit for 3 months of service now. Yes, I will hold....
Oh great; you agree!! good, now I can't pay you until you prove that my service works as we both believe it should; so please issue me a January credit as well, so I know I don't have to worry about calling again until Feb so make sure you have corrected my issue. Yes, I will hold... Yes, I accept your apology; again. Oh, it is approved; great, when will it post to my account? Oh it already has; let me log in and verify please- not that I don't trust you of course. One moment...
I see it, thank you and I will be following up next month for my update.
Yes, pleasure doing business with you too; please make sure my phone starts working soon; won't you.
Bye.
Not Just Data
Three attempts to call home this morning before I could get through. Two "call failed" yesterday during conversations.
If it was not for the iPhone I would have stayed on Sprint. Never had this problem with them and data was much faster.
Three attempts to call home this morning before I could get through. Two "call failed" yesterday during conversations.
If it was not for the iPhone I would have stayed on Sprint. Never had this problem with them and data was much faster.
My questions are:
1. Why aren't they making any EDGE improvements?
2. Where is tethering?!
3. Why are they not already deploying some LTE?
4. When is Microcell going to be generally available?
1. Why aren't they making any EDGE improvements?
2. Where is tethering?!
3. Why are they not already deploying some LTE?
4. When is Microcell going to be generally available?
Easy for T-Mobile considering they have such limited 3G coverage. And people complain about AT&T’s coverage.
The dark red (maroon, those tiny little dots in the middle of certain major cities) is T-Mobile’s 3G (not to be confused with the purple areas) from their own Web site.
Attachments
The need for the backhaul thing is RIGHT! When you go to the new Cowboys stadium in Arlington you get a full 5 bar 3G signal thanks to all the repeaters but you cannot do one thing data-wise due to the large crowd of people who are also trying to use the system. This has been true at both events that I attended at the stadium and it's pretty frustrating. My friend got a text message two hours late at one football game.
brad
brad
This is a big issue I have with AT&T as well. My 3GS tests out as having a faster overall data speed (around 2000kbps where I live), but it takes quite a while for the initial connection to establish, and quite often my Mail.app will time out or get "hung" trying to establish it. But the Droid I have connects instantly, and although it's overall speed is consistently slower (around 1300-1400kbps), this almost instant connecting to the data network makes it a lot faster usability wise. I think this faster initial connection is reflected in the ping rates of the networks...AT&T is usually 220-300ms for me, and Verizon is often under 110ms, which is not too far off from our broadband connection at work.
Europe, Australia and Eastern Asia are starting to upgrade their networks to HSPA+ (21-28 Mbps) while the US is starting to upgrade to 7.2 Mbps.
That seems kind'a sad :-(
That seems kind'a sad :-(
I can tell you for a fact that T-Mobile does not have the backhaul in place to support it.
They did the same thing AT&T did... they updated the software and swapped out equipment to meet the new speed requirements.
A good friend of mine is a tower manager for T-Mobile here in AZ and he told me the upgrades are all at the tower sites only. The backhaul upgrades to support it are not in place yet.
Most of the towers here in AZ are already updated with HSPA+ (21Mbps) software.
Again.. there's no backhaul in place to support it.