AT&T Nervous About Upcoming iPhone MMS Launch?

[j-Phone]

True, but no excuse...

From a former telecom engineer's perspective...Yes, I would agree any carrier would have this problem with bandwidth. But there is no excuse because AT&T had time to plan for this....Years to be exact!

So, although I agree that any carrier would suffer with what the iphone can do (internet browsing, downloading apps, downloading music, and now MMS), they still had time to plan for this.

There are simulations that can model so many users doing certain tasks including MMS. You can model all of the behaviors and bandwidth by past metrics. They had two years to model this behavior.

So bottom line: NO EXCUSE!

 

[miniConvert]

1. There are two different standards in play for cellular service in the US. The GSM standard (which happens to be the one generally adopted in the rest of the world) is what AT&T and T-Mobile use. Nobody else in the US really uses it. Instead, companies like Verizon, US Cellular and Sprint are all on the CDMA standard instead. GSM signals are weaker and have more problems penetrating buildings, so that automatically gives CDMA carriers perceived "better service", without them spending a dime of extra money on infrastructure improvements.

GSM signals aren't weaker. It's all to do with the frequency used and the power used. If the US has placed CDMA in more optimal frequency, building penetration will be better.

In the UK we have GSM at 900MHz, 1800MHz, and 3G at 2100MHz.

GSM 900 provides considerably better coverage. Up at 2100, people struggle to get 3G inside buildings at all - it's really poor.

 

[twoodcc]

of course they were nervous. they know people love to use their iphones to send pics and videos

 

[Cleverboy]

As anyone who has one knows, Verizon doesn't change smartphone software. It's only the dumbphones that have the same basic UI, so users can switch phones and not have to relearn everything.

Verizon "DID not". Not "DOES not".

http://gigaom.com/2009/07/13/verizon-to-mobile-developers-can-you-hear-me-now/

And while Verizon is romancing developers, the carrier isn’t as solicitous of its handset partners. Verizon’s Ryan Hughes, VP Partner Management, said in an interview Friday that the network operator’s app store will be the sole marketplace on devices sold by the company, meaning stores such as Research In Motion’s BlackBerry App World or Microsoft’s Windows Mobile Marketplace won’t get placement on Verizon handsets unless a consumer downloads them. Hughes also said that Verizon is focusing on aggregating content from four different developer communities: Windows Mobile, Palm, Android and BlackBerry.

I mean... sure, maybe the iPhone could be ON Verizon (sold through Apple stores and Best Buy), but not sold THROUGH Verizon's stores or by Verizon staff. Boy, wouldn't that be weird. Kind of impossible though considering how Verizon operates its network, handling the activation process and all. I can understand why Verizon Verizon would want to change its Smart Phone policy now that people actually are buying Smart Phones in droves. --But, it means that they're going to start meddling with them now.

Maybe it will blow up in their faces. Who knows? Seems a bit crackpot to me though.

~ CB