ATT 3G Network Review Part 2

In a previous post I went through some of the noticeable problems with ATT's 3G service for the new iPhones. My initial review wasn't very good and unfortunately, this one is going to be worse.

Since the first review, I've gotten feedback from more users in more cities that are experiencing the same problems. During peak usage hours (5-10pm) users are experiencing "Failed Calls" which is what is displayed on the iPhone when a call is dropped, over 10% of the time within the first 2 minutes of a conversation. The updated cities list which I've tested and gotten feedback from are as follows: St. Louis, Kansas City, Chicago, New York, Phoenix, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Las Vegas, Richmond, and Austin. That's 10 cities in 9 states.

The iPhone users love all the applications, ipod, GPS, and internet features. BUT IT IS TERRIBLE AT MAKING AND ACCEPTING PHONE CALLS, which is arguable the most simple, but most important feature of a cell phone. I continue to check the web and company website to look for updates on their network. I've gotten my phone looked at twice to make sure I didn't have a defective phone before I bashed the company, and it checked out perfectly fine. I encourage all feedback and testimonials on this problem. Hopefully as time goes by, ATT can straighten out these issues.

Not So Hot 3G Network

The 3G network that ATT and Apple have been boasting about is not stacking up to the hype. Any user of the new 3G iPhone can tell you that they are experiencing more than just dropped calls. Often, iPhone users are unable to place calls, along with having their current conversations “fail.” The current speculation is that there are not enough satellites to hold the larger than anticipated 3G network of users. At times, it can be so bad that iPhone 3G users are not able to place calls for periods of up to 30 minutes. At first I thought it might be a regional issue. However, I experienced the problems initially in St. Louis, my friends in Chicago are having the same problems, and during my trip to the San Francisco Bay area and Phoenix, the issues were still present. I’ve had my phone looked at by the Genius Bar, and completed all necessary updates. Hopefully this problem will be addressed soon. Otherwise, I would expect ATT and Apple to get a lot of angry customers most likely resulting in discounted monthly statements. I was unable to find any sources discussing ATT’s plans to beef-up the 3G network. Hopefully they have a plan to address the recent problems. I’ll continue to look for reliable information about the current issues and hopefully get some insight as to when the problems will be fixed and we can continue to use our 3G iPhones without major service interruption.

If any readers feel these statements are false, or exaggerated, please comment on your experience.

iPhone Picture Messaging

I received my first picture message yesterday with my new iPhone 3g. Previously I had Sprint and I thought it was a pain to have to connect to the internet to see my picture message, but ATT is much worse than that.

I got a text message saying that I had a new "multimedia" message. To view it you have to visit an ATT website. But, you also have to log in with a username and password sent with each text message that is about 8 characters long each with letters and numbers. This is a much bigger pain in the neck than the way Sprint does it.

I'm confident that the reason they chose to do it this way is to discourage users from sending such picture messages or video messages since it is included in your plan. Not a very good feature of the iPhone or ATT service.