AT&T Offers Video Update on iPhone MMS and Cellular Network Issues

[KurtangleTN]

The fact of the matter is that no single carrier has complete, sufficient coverage. It doesn't take a genius to understand why that is. Cellular service is still somewhat young for being a large infrastructural development. It has only been a little more than a decade where cellular phones and plans have become affordable enough for nearly everyone to own one.

I hear the same explanation from many people. "I use fill in carrier name because they have the best coverage in my area". Makes sense to me. Maybe those who got blindly sucked into the iPhone should have done a little more research and reconsidered what is more important, cool phone or reliable service. The only person to blaim is Apple for making a cool phone and establishing an exclusive deal with AT&T.

For myself, it just so happens that AT&T's service has always been perfectly fine where I live. I don't recall ever having a dropped call. It was a no-brainer for me to get an iPhone.

Although I tend to agree, but if people are going to these places and they enter their zip in and are insured good service, they should get good service. Rarely is this the case though.

Just recently since T-Mobile is pretty poor in this area our family went to Radio Shack to look for a decent provider and the guys ASSURED us that we get coverage with Boost and with no contract and decent plans they went for it only to not get coverage around our home's area.

Luckily they were easily returned but knowing my experience thus far with AT&T's DSL service it probably wouldn't be quite as easy with AT&T.

 

[daviszo]

How is spending $17 Billion sucking? I want to see how much Verizon or T-Mobile has spent.

Sprint doesn't count on the fact that their network is near nada in many areas (you have to roam) and there network works because people are fleeing in an Exodus.

Just so you know at least for verizon they have 3g EVERYWHERE!

 

[butterfly0fdoom]

Just so you know at least for verizon they have 3g EVERYWHERE!

Verizon was able to implement 3G more easily is because EV-DO is a modification of the CDMA2000 they use for 2G. AT&T and T-Mobile have a harder time because UTMS isn't a modification of GSM; it needs to be deployed alongside, not on top of, GSM. (Someone please correct me if I'm wrong, this is just what I remember reading somewhere). LTE's going to be a hassle for Verizon and AT&T both because its another along-side technology that's an extension of neither CDMA or GSM/UTMS.

 

[kiljoy616]

I can see the problem

I can see where they would have problems, I for one use the Iphone so much more than my old phone. That said I don't really see the problem people are having; living in Nashville and near San Antonio I had absolutely perfect 5/5 reception, as well as good data. But now that I am in California I have notice a big slowdown.

Living near LA does not help. ATT is not perfect but neither is any of the other carriers, if they had as many Iphone as ATT I could see them having similar problem, maybe that is why they did not push for it here in the states, unlike other countries. I for one would have liked if apple from the start had not done it this way with tying to one company.

But that is also the fault of government regulation and still allowing these deal to go thru. I for one am all about competition, that how things really move forward.

 

[fleshman03]

All I heard was "Waaaa, Waaaaa. Waaaa."

How much longer am I going to have to put up with ATT's incompetence, Apple?

How much longer do you think I'm willing to put up with ATT's incompetence until I just go to t-mobile or Verizon, regardless of the iPhone?


If I told my boss I would have something ready by the "end of summer" and then told him that it would really be ready on September 25, I'd be looking for a new job by then.

 

[kiljoy616]

Verizon was able to implement 3G more easily is because EV-DO is a modification of the CDMA2000 they use for 2G.

Yes this is correct, not an expert on it but that about it.

Here is a link that explains the different technology.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CDMA2000

 

[kiljoy616]

If I told my boss I would have something ready by the "end of summer" and then told him that it would really be ready on September 25, I'd be looking for a new job by then.

That is because your an individual, actually this is not that uncommon. Not sure what job you have but it must be real low level. Real jobs where complications can come up or just don't have the technology yet to fix it as fast as we would want is not reason for dismissal. If companies where run like that they would have very few if any good quality employees. High end problems require high end solutions that are not going to magically appear.

In a real company with real job titles that does not have clerk on it, been wrong, making mistakes, been late is not a reason for dismissal.

I for one have no problem with ATT, used the 3 main carriers and they all have their problems, but considering how much I use my iphone I can see any one of them folding under the strain, and when I walk around where I live there is a lot of iphone users.

 

[aphexacid]

No one is forcing anyone to stay with at&t or buy an iphone. If you dont like it, go somewhere else. but for pete's sake, stop crying.

 

[Bubba Satori]

AppleT&T. Massive network fail on the 25th.

 

[tpm1999]

I still do not understand what ATT is thinking/doing.

Their network is still a mess, no amount of Seth "The Blogger" videos is going to convince us otherwise. ATT could have done numerous things since the iphone 3g was launched...instead they waited for their network to totally fall apart before doing anything.

What they could of done right when they knew they had a mega hit with the iPhone 3G

1. Build out network (duh...they are finally doing that now)
2. Fast track in home/business femtocell. ATT is last to the game with this and it is STILL not out, even though it has been in testing since January. Would have been nice to have this in customers hands when the 3GS launched.
3. Support UMA and force all smartphones to support it. This probably would not have been possible...even Tmobile implementation of this is weak (no 3G phone has UMA through Tmobile).

There is a lot ATT could have done. Blaming customers is not the way to go.

 

[STC1709]

and this is why I refuse to get an iphone because i HATE ATT with a passion, ****** company, ****** service, ****** CS..

please come to verizon

 

[gmfeier]

Well it is and it isn't.

Here in south florida, we have the best Wireless cell network in the country. We were fully 850 MHz several months ago, and consistently have 1.5 Mbps + download speed. Calls don't get dropped on the iPhone, cell coverage is not spotty at all, and I have used it a lot from Port ST. Lucie down to south miami.

Now i'm not making any excuses for AT&T because there are still problems and some places are just really bad. But its not bad everywhere. And if AT&T would model the rest of the country on what they did in South Florida there would be 90% less problems then what people have now.

Pretty much the same here in Cary, NC. Just an occasional slowdown in download speeds during the evening rush hour, otherwise perfect.

 

[Ksg89]

All I can say is QQ more. I believe AT&T pretty much 100%, their network isn't up to scratch for the iPhone deal imho, Its hard to manage and keep all cell towers in the US capable of supporting massive amounts of data. Implementing new technology early holds you back if you don't fully upgrade when new development come around, this is what i believe is happening to AT&T, they slacked a bit in supporting data and 3G because they don't want to have to do that. Apple came along and they seen a huge potential market, they went for it. MMS cant be enabled on all iPhones unless ALL towers support it. (some towers would have only been gprs and try sending a 300k mms on that, be waiting forever) You would be pi**ed off if mms was enabled for all phones, yet you cant send or receive those messages because your local tower uses outdated GSM. (Sorry for the messy reply but some people just don't understand why. Of course if you don't like AT&T just move)

 

[Slurpy2k8]

I like how quickly and easily some people here are giving AT&T credit, that they're 'turning a new leaf'. What a bunch of ********. I'm supposed to congratulate At&T because they're about the enable MMS, on a phone, in 2009? Or is it because they haven't even yet set a date for tethering, and will have it available 'something in the future'?? Absolutely mind-blowing.

You people act as if they posted this video out of the goodness of their hearts or something. You think this idea wasn't brought up in a boardroom meeting, as something they could do that might improve their image? It was a simple emperical decision that is supposed to help the bottom line and justify their pitiful lack of services with some fancy animations that mean nothing. There's no new 'leaf-turning' here.

 

[MikePA]

The American mobile telecommunications industry started to fall behind many, many years ago.

Exactly why it's yet something else he needs to apologize for.

 

[dragossh]

Europe keeps on being brought up. Guess what? They do have a better infrastructure but they also have a lower customer density as well on average and most of their nokia phones are either dumb phones or smart phones that are too damn hard to use and have crippled browsers.

There are also cultural differences. Most Europeans are probably not streaming cat videos from Youtube or twittering about the minutia of their boring little lives like Americans seem to do.

Actually Europeans also have the iPhone and a lot of other easy to use smartphones. And I'd guess we are streaming cat videos from YouTube and twittering about our lives.

 

[BKroll1223]

I still do not understand what ATT is thinking/doing.

Their network is still a mess, no amount of Seth "The Blogger" videos is going to convince us otherwise. ATT could have done numerous things since the iphone 3g was launched...instead they waited for their network to totally fall apart before doing anything.

What they could of done right when they knew they had a mega hit with the iPhone 3G

1. Build out network (duh...they are finally doing that now)
2. Fast track in home/business femtocell. ATT is last to the game with this and it is STILL not out, even though it has been in testing since January. Would have been nice to have this in customers hands when the 3GS launched.
3. Support UMA and force all smartphones to support it. This probably would not have been possible...even Tmobile implementation of this is weak (no 3G phone has UMA through Tmobile).

There is a lot ATT could have done. Blaming customers is not the way to go.

With what capitol? It seems that many people forget how deep in the crapper AT&T was when the iPhone was first released. The iPhone alone has saved AT&T from the abyss financially. Now that they're investing in network infrastructure, everyone's whining that it's not happening fast enough - as if someone snaps a finger and tens of thousands of cell towers get erected and/or upgraded over night.

I'm not defending AT&T; and I'm not a big fan either. As far as I'm concerned, the features that the iPhone offer offset the service issues that I have had.

I'm not so sure that if Apple had chosen a different US carrier the situation would be different. The iPhone has been driving the cell phone market since it was announced, and while AT&T is getting tarred and feathered publicly over the network demand, other carriers are quietly upgrading and bolstering their infrastructure. When AT&T's exclusivity is up, some other carrier (probably Verizon) is going to come in like a knight in shining armor and look like the hero.

That's just my $.02. Flame away.....

 

[tpm1999]

With what capitol? It seems that many people forget how deep in the crapper AT&T was when the iPhone was first released. The iPhone alone has saved AT&T from the abyss financially. Now that they're investing in network infrastructure, everyone's whining that it's not happening fast enough - as if someone snaps a finger and tens of thousands of cell towers get erected and/or upgraded over night.

I'm not defending AT&T; and I'm not a big fan either. As far as I'm concerned, the features that the iPhone offer offset the service issues that I have had.

I'm not so sure that if Apple had chosen a different US carrier the situation would be different. The iPhone has been driving the cell phone market since it was announced, and while AT&T is getting tarred and feathered publicly over the network demand, other carriers are quietly upgrading and bolstering their infrastructure. When AT&T's exclusivity is up, some other carrier (probably Verizon) is going to come in like a knight in shining armor and look like the hero.

That's just my $.02. Flame away.....

I actually totally agree. Apple could have used the money from the iPhone 2G and the initial money from the 3G...but instead they waited until Q1/Q2 of this year to start getting serious about it. Way too late.

When the Verizon iPhone launches with all the latest features (instead of having to wait like ATT) on the day it is released, they will be hailed as a hero...and rightfully so. They are planning for the future when they have the iPhone...instead of just sitting on their hands and making mea culpa videos.

 

[hindmost]

I like how quickly and easily some people here are giving AT&T credit, that they're 'turning a new leaf'. What a bunch of ********. I'm supposed to congratulate At&T because they're about the enable MMS, on a phone, in 2009? Or is it because they haven't even yet set a date for tethering, and will have it available 'something in the future'?? Absolutely mind-blowing.

You people act as if they posted this video out of the goodness of their hearts or something. You think this idea wasn't brought up in a boardroom meeting, as something they could do that might improve their image? It was a simple emperical decision that is supposed to help the bottom line and justify their pitiful lack of services with some fancy animations that mean nothing. There's no new 'leaf-turning' here.

You are exactly right! 'Seth the Blogger dude' does not exist as an actual human being. AT&T had their ad agency tasked to get out the message in an effort to stem a tide of bad commentary being spread mainly via the internet. Their ad agency taking the lead (always copy success) from Apple commercials concluded that iPhone users are mainly younger Mac users and must be a class of grungy, scruffy nerds (Hi, I'm a Mac). Thus, the creation of 'Seth'. Except they didn't get it. We all see Mac commercials as humorous and a parody. AT&T tried to sell 'Seth' as real. Thus, we see it for what it is......as hollow, fake and mocking of our intelligence. 'Nuff said.

 

[macshill]

*This* about says it all!

AT&T and Apple’s iPhone Need an Open Marriage
http://www.pcworld.com/article/171495/atandt_and_apples_iphone_need_an_open_marriage.html

With a second -- or even third -- carrier, iPhone customers would be able to choose their own network, and the current load on AT&T’s infrastructure would be reduced. This could improve service for iPhone customers who stick with AT&T.

Also:

An Open Marriage Would Be Profitable… for Apple.

 

[Chasmo]

Hello AT&T

AT&T our point is simply this, when we signed up to use yours service you told us you were ready. SImply put you were not. Sure the iPhone blew previous sales out of the water, but also simply put, that is not our problem. You should have done more, earlier. Yes you are working on the problem. And yes SOME markets have seen improvement, but the fact remains you promised EVERY, not some, customer service. Stop pointing the finger at us the user, all we did is say yeah we will use AT&T, the fact you couldn't handle it is your fault not ours. Stop blaming and start fixing in EVERY market. You say the most bars in the most places, that money on those comercials should have gone to even more upgrades, especially since you are saying you can't handle what you have, stop looing for more, and start doing more. The cell companies do a lot of playing with their customers, unlimited data, oh did we say that we meant up to a few GB(thats not unlimited), few dropped calls, oh we meant if no others were using their phones, unlimited data again, oh we meant as long as you were not SMSing, thats more... We are not lost to those facts, we are really mad at the service you have given, you made promises you didn't keep, should we have to pay for those, you broke our contracts in doing so.

Time to face the piper.

 

[neeshman]

I like how quickly and easily some people here are giving AT&T credit, that they're 'turning a new leaf'. What a bunch of ********. I'm supposed to congratulate At&T because they're about the enable MMS, on a phone, in 2009? Or is it because they haven't even yet set a date for tethering, and will have it available 'something in the future'?? Absolutely mind-blowing.

You people act as if they posted this video out of the goodness of their hearts or something. You think this idea wasn't brought up in a boardroom meeting, as something they could do that might improve their image? It was a simple emperical decision that is supposed to help the bottom line and justify their pitiful lack of services with some fancy animations that mean nothing. There's no new 'leaf-turning' here.

WOOHOO! You are spot on.We sure do have a lot of people defending a company that overcharges on services that they don't even fully deliver on.

Perhaps they will engineer an iPhone that is shaped like a sex toy, that way you can just walk into an AT&T Outlet where they will bend you over and violate you two ways from sunday right then and there.

 

[paola105]

September 25th- two days before my birthday. Happy early birthday present?

 

[BeyondtheTech]

Do you think AT&T will be ready?

What if we all did something on our iPhones at exactly the 12PM noon, Eastern Time on September 25?

1. Choose a photo or video.
2. Begin to send it via MMS to another iPhone.
3. While sending, hit the Home button and immediately launch a data-intensive app, anything from Safari loading a web page, to watching a video on YouTube.

You think AT&T's network can handle it?

 

[DELLsFan]

I live in San Diego, CA; and I haven't noticed any of the problems that have been in the news lately about 3G bandwidth issues.
Joseph Elwell.

Take a vacation to Las Vegas and get back to me. Misery loves company.