How is it possible for 3G data to be so slow?

[greekpaz22]

Currently located in midtown and the internet is dreadfully slow on AT&T...so I ran a speed test and my download speed is 21 kbps and upload speed is 1kbps with a latency of 567ms!

How can AT&T maintain such an awful network in one of the world's largest cities (with, what I'm assuming to be a large number of paying customers)? It's not like this is the one day a year that there are a lot of people in NYC...AT&T consistently underinvests in NYC, and this is starting to get to be ridiculous!

 

[Trajectory]

Currently located in midtown and the internet is dreadfully slow on AT&T...so I ran a speed test and my download speed is 21 kbps and upload speed is 1kbps with a latency of 567ms!

How can AT&T maintain such an awful network in one of the world's largest cities (with, what I'm assuming to be a large number of paying customers)? It's not like this is the one day a year that there are a lot of people in NYC...AT&T consistently underinvests in NYC, and this is starting to get to be ridiculous!

3G service has always sucked in NYC for the iPhone. When I was there recently, my phone constantly cycled between 3G and Edge. T-Mobile is no better.

 

[mullet]

3G service has always sucked in NYC for the iPhone. When I was there recently, my phone constantly cycled between 3G and Edge. T-Mobile is no better.

Yeah this is true. <sarcasm> I work in Midtown and the suits with their crapberries are hogging up all the bandwidth. </sarcasm> In reality, it's really AT&Ts fault. They aren't doing a gosh darned thing about the atrocious speeds. I'm better off using Edge when I'm at work. Hopefully the new iPhone with supposed faster 3G (7.2 Mbps) will clear things up. I mean what's the point of even having 3G if it doesn't even work most of the time. I blame AT&T not Apple.

~mullet

 

[SiuPak]

Yup, I heard from many people that AT&T is the main reason.

 

[greekpaz22]

I'm better off using Edge when I'm at work.

The only problem with this is that when you are downloading anything via edge, you will not receive any phone calls...to make it worse, the phone continues to ring on the callers end but nothing ever shows up on your iphone...so people think you're ignoring their calls since they think it shows up on your end..and you dont even know about it!!!!

lose, lose situation...i need data but i also need a phone...and im not sure whose fault the edge thing is...but i'd guess AT&T

 

[aristobrat]

lose, lose situation...i need data but i also need a phone...and im not sure whose fault the edge thing is...but i'd guess AT&T

The phone not ringing when actively transmitting data on EDGE is an EDGE thing, ... nothing specific to AT&T.

 

[greekpaz22]

The phone not ringing when actively transmitting data on EDGE is an EDGE thing, ... nothing specific to AT&T.

True but it is an AT&T thing that when you are on EDGE and transmitting data the call does not go directly to voicemail (on the caller's end)...instead, it rings on the caller's end without you ever knowing about it..

then that caller assumes that the iphone works like any other phone--if it rings on their end, it should show up as a missed call on your end...

 

[aristobrat]

True but it is an AT&T thing that when you are on EDGE and transmitting data the call does not go directly to voicemail (on the caller's end)...instead, it rings on the caller's end without you ever knowing about it..

That's how it always worked when I had smartphones on T-Mobile a few years ago.

 

[CocoaPuffs]

All I can say is...

"More bars in more places."

 

[Almy]

AT&T doesn't even have 3G coverage in my area. All I ever have is Edge. Btw I thought calls went straight to voicemail during Edge data tansfers. My girlfriend always leaves messages, and she's not one for the patience to wait on several rings . Have you tested it?