AT&T Announces Rollout Plans for 7.2 Mbps 3G Service

[marco114]

it would be nice if they focused on all the dropped calls I get and get 3G to a wider audience... right now, i am lucky to get 3g in my area at all... only a few spots have it and many of the areas are totally unpopulated... insane.

 

[Razeus]

Wow. Houston made the first round cut. COOL. We usually are last in line for some god forsaken reason while Dallas gets all the love. I don't have a problem with 3G in Houston so this will be even better. Especially since they announced last week they just doubled capacity in my area. And by the end of the year?? Makes my 3GS purchase even more worthwhile!

 

[1Zach1]

I'm guessing Vermont will be in that 10% since we still don't have 3G.

 

[jweinraub]

I Came Here to Say Exactly That

And NYC, undoubtedly their biggest market with severe connection problems, gets the shaft. WHEN DOES EXCLUSIVITY END?

I tend not to comment often here, but I did so today to say exactly this. I don't even get 3G in NYC, just measly EDGE! WTF, I can get cell service in some subway stations but I can't get 3G on the surface???????

 

[flapperdink]

Raleigh? What about us here in Wilmington! We still don't have 3g!

seriously. the EDGE network is killing me.

 

[Chupa Chupa]

this is nice and all, but.....

Heck, the Florida Keys have more 3G coverage than anywhere in south Georgia.

That is because cows can barely spell, let alone use a phone. Why would they need 3G?

 

[jaw04005]

How can AT&T get away with things like this?

I live in Sweden and here we got 14,4 Mbit/s 3G in 90% of the country. In central parts of Stockholm, the first LTE network is already up and running.

This is while paying 199 SEK (about 25 USD) for unlimited data (with full speed up to 5GB, and throttled after that, but no higher cost.). And that includes tethering.

What gives?

Geography. You're about the size of one of our 50 states, California, in terms of land mass.

 

[VenusianSky]

How can AT&T get away with things like this?

I live in Sweden and here we got 14,4 Mbit/s 3G in 90% of the country. In central parts of Stockholm, the first LTE network is already up and running.

This is while paying 199 SEK (about 25 USD) for unlimited data (with full speed up to 5GB, and throttled after that, but no higher cost.). And that includes tethering.

What gives?

Congratulations, you live in a country with about .33 the population and .05 land area.

 

[theMaccer]

By 2011 yes, not sooner

You are correct. This year is definitely not Sooners' year.

 

[Maverick1337]

I'm a little confused, but does the iPhone 3G support these faster 7.2 mbps speeds?

 

[aduzik]

Criminey, Des Moines got 3G less than a year ago. I'm guessing it's going to be well after the end of 2011 before we get faster service here. This isn't even a new technology; it's just an update to an existing technology. Unless I've been misled, AT&T needs to do two things: improve the data connections to the cell towers themselves (which, I'll agree, is not a trivial or inexpensive task) and flip a switch that says "3.6Mbps/7.2Mbps".

But this is still much, much easier than, say, rolling out an LTE network. If it takes them this long just to run new data lines out to their cell towers, imagine how long it's going to be before they roll out a brand new network to a place like Des Moines.

 

[co.ag.2005]

Is that all anyone does is b***h about at&t? No matter what they do you people complain. In order to make you happy it seems like at&t should be rolling out a 5G network to get ready for the 2013 iPhone model right about now.

The popularity of the iPhone and the amount of data iPhone users consume is unprecedented. at&t is spending billions of $$'s to keep up. You're talking about a cell phone network covering the entire united states with thousands of towers that need to be constantly upgraded and maintained.

I have been nothing but happy with at&t, their pricing and service are on par or better than every other company I've used. I can't say the same for when I had Verizon. Service was crap with them! At least in Minneapolis at&t is great, I have consistently fast data speeds and have never had a dropped call or trouble making a call (even several floors underground indoors).

"The folks over at Computerworld just ran the current 3G providers in America through their paces, only to discover that AT&T came out on top in almost every category." Engadget http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/15/atandts-3g-comes-out-on-top-in-speed-tests-will-only-get-faster/

http://www.computerworld.com/s/arti...tsrc=kc_feat&taxonomyName=mobile_and_wireless

+1... things are fantastic here in Denver (which is Verizon country, btw. I get better service on my iPhone than most of my friends do that are on Verizon)(of course, that could be a competition thing)

and there are >298 million folks not living in the Minneapolis area, and >299.7 million not living in Minneapolis proper.
I'm happy for you, but I can tell you LA is not as fortunate, and UCLA Medical Center, which employs largely what might be the iPhone demographic, is worthless with regard to ATT coverage. No calls in or out with any reliability, and data, forget it...

If ATT sucks for you, go to another cell provider.. geez, you have options.

 

[Bjohnson33]

I'm guessing Vermont will be in that 10% since we still don't have 3G.

Ouch - that's pretty bad.

 

[Tom359]

Here's the list counting "metroplex" areas

That doesn't address the metroplex counts. Dallas has a number of suburbs with greater than 200k people. The major population centers in Texas are around Houston and Dallas - the second most populous state in the Union. Pretty sure AT&T has this figured out.

1) New York-Newark-Bridgeport, NY-NJ-CT-PA - 21,976,224
2) Los Angeles-Long Beach-Riverside, CA - 17,775,984
3) Chicago-Naperville-Michigan City, IL-IN-WI - 9,725,317
4) Washington-Baltimore-Northern Virginia, DC-MD-VA-WV - 8,211,213
5) Boston-Worcester-Manchester, MA-RI-NH - 7,465,634
6) San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland, CA - 7,228,948
7) Philadelphia-Camden-Vineland, PA-NJ-DE-MD - 6,382,714
8) Dallas-Fort Worth, TX - 6,359,758
9) Houston-Baytown-Huntsville, TX - 5,641,077
10) Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Gainesville, GA-AL - 5,478,667
11) Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Miami Beach, FL - 5,463,857
12) Detroit-Warren-Flint, MI - 5,410,014
13) Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, AZ - 4,039,182
14) Seattle-Tacoma-Olympia, WA - 3,876,211
15) Minneapolis-St. Paul-St. Cloud, MN-WI - 3,502,891
16) Denver-Aurora-Boulder, CO - 2,927,911
17) San Diego-Carlsbad-San Marcos, CA - 2,941,454
18) Cleveland-Akron-Elyria, OH - 2,917,801
19) St. Louis-St. Charles-Farmington, MO-IL - 2,858,549
20) Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL - 2,697,731
21) Pittsburgh-New Castle, PA - 2,462,571
22) Sacramento--Arden-Arcade--Truckee, CA-NV - 2,211,790
23) Charlotte-Gastonia-Salisbury, NC-SC - 2,191,604
24) Portland-Vancouver-Beaverton, OR-WA - 2,137,565
25) Cincinnati-Middletown-Wilmington, OH-KY-IN - 2,147,617
26) Orlando-The Villages, FL - 2,053,623
27) Kansas City-Overland Park-Kansas City, MO-KS - 2,034,796
28) Indianapolis-Anderson-Columbus, IN - 1,984,644
29) Columbus-Marion-Chillicothe, OH - 1,953,575
30) San Antonio, TX - 1,942,217

I live in the Denver-Boulder area, and would greatly appriciate it if we could just get our 3g speeds/coverage up to par.

 

[acidfast7]

Congratulations, you live in a country with about .33 the population and .05 land area.

I've made this argument before and I'll make it again. We already have 160Mb/s LTE in some parts of Stockholm and the whole country (98%+, there are some water-based dead spots) is 3G and the size of California.

If California has 35 million people, why can't they do it? That's 4x the population density.

I guess I don't understand your argument.

 

[KindredMAC]

Please bare with an original iPhone user...

Are you telling me that the in iPhone 3G stands for "Same Old Speed as the iPhone 3G"?

I thought AT&T already had the 7.2 3G network available major metro regions when the 3G launched?!?!?!?!?

Wow..... can't wait to hear all the lawsuits that are gonna pop up because of false advertising.

 

[Xenu007]

Consistant and better coverage is more important

Who cares how fast it is if you still get dropped calls and "Enterprise" service in areas where you're supposed to get high speed service.

AT&T's Swiss cheese coverage has got to go!

 

[NightStorm]

I'm guessing Vermont will be in that 10% since we still don't have 3G.

AT&T has already announced 3G is coming to Vermont later this year... there was a posting on the Killington restort website regarding it. I'd say they are making pretty good progress considering their service wasn't available a year or so ago.

 

[NoExpectations]

This seems like good progress, but somehow talking about a technology roll-out that will complete for 2011 when it's technology that we'd like to be utilizing currently, and that the current iPhone supports, seems a bit too late. There will presumably be two more generations of iPhones by then. Will AT&T ever be at the point of having a network that supports the iPhone when it's released instead of months (MMS & tethering) or years (7.2 Mbps 3G) later?

End computing devices are always ahead of (and faster) than the networks that they are attached too.....this is true for PCs as well. Network upgrades are slow....they are very costly and time consuming. Ask anyone who work s for a med-large company....the network is always the choke point.

 

[co.ag.2005]

...AT&T's Swiss cheese coverage has got to go!

NEWS FLASH: every cell network in the US has Swiss cheese coverage!

 

[Ted13]

And NYC, undoubtedly their biggest market with severe connection problems, gets the shaft. WHEN DOES EXCLUSIVITY END?

Not only is it the biggest market but it is where the PRESS is, and along with SF where the highest concentration of iPhones is.

AT&T is either totally obtuse or incompetent. They are guaranteeing themselves continued bad press, and a very large concentration of iPhone users who will be eager to switch as soon as exclusivity ends.

 

[Ted13]

End computing devices are always ahead of (and faster) than the networks that they are attached too.....this is true for PCs as well. Network upgrades are slow....they are very costly and time consuming. Ask anyone who work s for a med-large company....the network is always the choke point.

Not in Italy, for instance. I was just there, they have a nationwide (and I do mean *nationwide* unlike every US carrier) 7.2 Mbps network. It flies on the iPhone.

 

[NoExpectations]

I think AT&T should fix New York so that it gets basic, reliable 3G speeds before it tries to tweak the currently broken network up to 7.2Mpbs.

As with any wireless carrier, it depends on where you live. Here in the Midwest (Chicago), I have no complaints. However, every carrier has dropped calls. A wireless device is a complex radio that receives signals over the airwaves. If you area has any tall buildings, hills, or trees (that about covers the entire US), then the signals can be blocked. Even a passing semi-trailer on the highway can/will drop a call.

Everyone who is complaining about their 3G coverage, let me ask you this: You had 30 days to test it out and return the iPhone if you did not like the service.....why did you keep it?

 

[err404]

Are you telling me that the in iPhone 3G stands for "Same Old Speed as the iPhone 3G"?

The 'S' is for the faster CPU and additional RAM. It's really is quite a bit faster. The CPU and RAM also make web browsing much faster.

 

[axer940]

Just give me 3g

ATT should focus on getting those of us who bought the 3g phones access to the 3g network. Get everybody off of the Edge network first guys. I live in a fairly populated town and its frustrating to hear that all of these people are getting faster 3g when ATT will not give us basic 3g.