Holy Gizmodo Batman! Talk about laying it out!

Its because they oversold their network.

They keep advertising this amazing iPhone and show you in ads on TV or all the great things it can do, yet AT&T does not want you to actually do any of the things you see in the ads as their network can't handle the traffic.

Yet today they keep advertising and signing up new customers to use a network which can not handle the customers they have now.

That is the issue.

I loved Gizmodos report yesterday especially consider the entire site was sponsored by AT&T yesterday. AT&T paid a lot of money for Gizmodo to tell everyone that AT&T sucks. :) I thought that was GREAT!
 
Ralph De lavga or what ever his name is... The dude incharge of uverse and ATT wireless.

All he said was that customers would be given incentives to reduce the traffic on the network. Incentives could include more free wifi hotspots like the ones at McDonalds starting next month. Look for more free wifi hotspots coming online over time. No one at AT&T said they were changing the price structure.
 
Wifi at McDonalds is a really stupid idea. What McDonalds needs to do is stick to the business model that made their fortune- FAST FOOD. They are no Starbucks. Who wants to hang out at McDonalds and surf the net on free wifi with screaming kids and yelling moms all around you?

Wifi centers are best done at large population centers, like airports ( Thank you Apple!) and future at sports stadiums, hotels, and, sit down restaurants, but Fast food places? It will be a way to convert fast food to slow expensive food.

edit- this is typed as I re-listened to the podcast. Bob you have it right! It was Ralph de la Vega and he made the announcement in a UBS conference podcast to stock holders recently. Dec 9

He discussed the upgrade process to LTE and was placing his bets on being able to do LTE faster than any other carrier. LTE is being implemented by first upgrading the backhaul equpment and upgrading to HSPA 7.2, then when the phones are out for LTE, they will be in position to move rapidly as the LTE equipment will use existing towers as today.

Specifically, he said about NY and SF- that when ATT turned on 850 Mhz the bandwidth increased 30% and over taxed the back haul equipment. He said NY has top priority to fix and SF same deal but at a slower pace.

3% of their iphone users are consuming 40% of the data traffic. He said he was not going to give any details at this time but will do what they can to reduce the the usage by those 3%. "They will be aggressive in that endeavor." He said that "his approach will likely be some sort of pricing plan to reduce bandwidth but the competition also needs to be looked at before they go this route. "

He also said that he improved the margins in the division from 33% to 38% by avoiding costly expansion while at the same time increasing the number of customers. The only area of significant expansion was in the back haul expansion in those troubled areas. NO plans for further expansion at this time and will continue to hold expansion costs as they did in the prior year.

He said that 40% of ATT's customer base are subscribed to some data plan. He refused to elaborate further.
 
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He also said that he improved the margins in the division from 33% to 38% by avoiding costly expansion while at the same time increasing the number of customers.

And that is it in a nutshell. They are trying to force more customers through an already clogged pipe. Keep the margin at 33%, and provide more infrastructure for your new customers.

DeLaVega seems to think the iPhone gravy-train is going to last forever. I was in LA last week and constantly saw "call failed" on my iPhone. The phone then showed no signal, then went back to 5 bars. My kids say it happens all the time. That is not the experience I signed up for.
 
Gee, it looks lit AT&T is still investing in its wireless network to me. I expect to see even more before the end of the year.

AT&T Investment Delivers Improved Wireless Network Experience in Springfield
AT&T Investment Delivers Improved Wireless Network Experience in Baltimore
AT&T Investment Delivers Improved Wireless Network Experience in Buffalo
AT&T Investment Delivers Improved Wireless Network Experience In Clarksville and Hopkinsville
AT&T Investment Delivers Improved Wireless Network Experience in Charleston and Huntington
AT&T Investment Delivers Improved Wireless Network Experience in Dover
AT&T Investment Delivers Improved Wireless Network Experience in Enid
AT&T Investment Delivers Improved Wireless Network Experience in Louisville
AT&T Investment Delivers Improved Wireless Network Experience in Lexington
AT&T Investment Delivers Improved Wireless Network Experience in Oklahoma City
AT&T Investment Delivers Improved Wireless Network Experience in Reading
AT&T Investment Delivers Improved Wireless Network Experience in Detroit
AT&T Investment Delivers Improved Wireless Network Experience in Poughkeepsie
AT&T Investment Delivers Improved Wireless Network Experience in Poughkeepsie
AT&T Investment Delivers Improved Wireless Network Experience in Rochester
AT&T Investment Delivers Improved Wireless Network Experience in Eastern Shore
AT&T Investment Delivers Improved Wireless Network Experience in Salem Area
AT&T Investment Delivers Improved Wireless Network Experience in Spokane Area
AT&T Investment Delivers Improved Wireless Network Experience in Hawaii
AT&T Lights Up 3G Mobile Broadband Network in Tioga, Schuyler and Chemung Counties
AT&T Investment Delivers Improved Wireless Network Experience in Providence
AT&T Investment Delivers Improved Wireless Network Experience in Johnstown
AT&T Investment Delivers Improved Wireless Network Experience in Pittsburgh
AT&T Investment Delivers Improved Wireless Network Experience in Butler and New Castle
AT&T Brings 3G Mobile Broadband Network to Virginia's Northern Neck
AT&T Investment Delivers Improved Wireless Network Experience in Altoona
AT&T Investment Delivers Improved Wireless Network Experience in Erie
AT&T Investment Delivers Improved Wireless Network Experience in Fresno
AT&T Investment Delivers Improved Wireless Network Experience in Lincoln
AT&T Investment Delivers Improved Wireless Network Experience in Windham County
AT&T Investment Delivers Improved Wireless Network Experience in Winchester

And that's just since the 18th...
 
I still have a question: If a provider gives you what you need with little to no issues in an area where you spend over 95% of your time, then why does it matter to you how good they are in other parts of the country?

ATT could be the worst nationwide, but they are the best in my area, so why should I care how they rank outside of my area? The same can be said if a Verizon customer has good Verizon service in their area.
 
Gee, it looks lit AT&T is still investing in its wireless network to me. I expect to see even more before the end of the year.

AT&T Investment Delivers Improved Wireless Network Experience in Springfield
AT&T Investment Delivers Improved Wireless Network Experience in Baltimore
AT&T Investment Delivers Improved Wireless Network Experience in Buffalo
AT&T Investment Delivers Improved Wireless Network Experience In Clarksville and Hopkinsville
AT&T Investment Delivers Improved Wireless Network Experience in Charleston and Huntington
AT&T Investment Delivers Improved Wireless Network Experience in Dover
AT&T Investment Delivers Improved Wireless Network Experience in Enid
AT&T Investment Delivers Improved Wireless Network Experience in Louisville
AT&T Investment Delivers Improved Wireless Network Experience in Lexington
AT&T Investment Delivers Improved Wireless Network Experience in Oklahoma City
AT&T Investment Delivers Improved Wireless Network Experience in Reading
AT&T Investment Delivers Improved Wireless Network Experience in Detroit
AT&T Investment Delivers Improved Wireless Network Experience in Poughkeepsie
AT&T Investment Delivers Improved Wireless Network Experience in Poughkeepsie
AT&T Investment Delivers Improved Wireless Network Experience in Rochester
AT&T Investment Delivers Improved Wireless Network Experience in Eastern Shore
AT&T Investment Delivers Improved Wireless Network Experience in Salem Area
AT&T Investment Delivers Improved Wireless Network Experience in Spokane Area
AT&T Investment Delivers Improved Wireless Network Experience in Hawaii
AT&T Lights Up 3G Mobile Broadband Network in Tioga, Schuyler and Chemung Counties
AT&T Investment Delivers Improved Wireless Network Experience in Providence
AT&T Investment Delivers Improved Wireless Network Experience in Johnstown
AT&T Investment Delivers Improved Wireless Network Experience in Pittsburgh
AT&T Investment Delivers Improved Wireless Network Experience in Butler and New Castle
AT&T Brings 3G Mobile Broadband Network to Virginia's Northern Neck
AT&T Investment Delivers Improved Wireless Network Experience in Altoona
AT&T Investment Delivers Improved Wireless Network Experience in Erie
AT&T Investment Delivers Improved Wireless Network Experience in Fresno
AT&T Investment Delivers Improved Wireless Network Experience in Lincoln
AT&T Investment Delivers Improved Wireless Network Experience in Windham County
AT&T Investment Delivers Improved Wireless Network Experience in Winchester

And that's just since the 18th...

This was in response to OPCHOKE.
 
If you travel a lot it matters. :)
I understand that, which is why I said where you spend 95% of your time. For me I seldom travel, except up to the local mountain, the Rocky Mountain, and the Sierra Nevada Mountains, in each case most areas had better ATT coverage than Verizon.

At the stadiums, ATT came in better at 4 of 5 CA baseball parks (Dodger stadium had better Verizon coverage) and Verizon did better at Coors Field (ATT did not come it at all there....I think they intentionally blocked it out). So even in these places in which I frequent, ATT outperformed Verizon 4 to 2
 
I understand that, which is why I said where you spend 95% of your time. For me I seldom travel, except up to the local mountain, the Rocky Mountain, and the Sierra Nevada Mountains, in each case most areas had better ATT coverage than Verizon.

At the stadiums, ATT came in better at 4 of 5 CA baseball parks (Dodger stadium had better Verizon coverage) and Verizon did better at Coors Field (ATT did not come it at all there....I think they intentionally blocked it out). So even in these places in which I frequent, ATT outperformed Verizon 4 to 2
You're absolutely correct. If your service works well for you it really doesn't matter what anyone else experiences.

I do find it interesting that people say it makes a difference if you travel since AT&T has been voted the best mobile service for business travelers for the last three years running.
 
Travelers need the service with the widest footprint. Business people need a service that doesn't drop calls. If you stay home, get magic jack. If you go about town, check out the cheapest rate T-Mobile and save some cash!
 
AT&T has been pouring a lot of money into their cell phone network. It seems as though if you are on AT&T land line you might have problems coming. They are spending a lot less on maintaining the land line business and diverting it to cell phone to keep the profit margins fat. Of course one could argue with up to 24% of houses no longer having land lines they do not really need to invest much in them.
 
Gee, it looks lit AT&T is still investing in its wireless network to me. I expect to see even more before the end of the year.

AT&T Investment Delivers Improved Wireless Network Experience in Springfield
AT&T Investment Delivers Improved Wireless Network Experience in Baltimore
AT&T Investment Delivers Improved Wireless Network Experience in Buffalo
AT&T Investment Delivers Improved Wireless Network Experience In Clarksville and Hopkinsville
AT&T Investment Delivers Improved Wireless Network Experience in Charleston and Huntington
AT&T Investment Delivers Improved Wireless Network Experience in Dover
AT&T Investment Delivers Improved Wireless Network Experience in Enid
AT&T Investment Delivers Improved Wireless Network Experience in Louisville
AT&T Investment Delivers Improved Wireless Network Experience in Lexington
AT&T Investment Delivers Improved Wireless Network Experience in Oklahoma City
AT&T Investment Delivers Improved Wireless Network Experience in Reading
AT&T Investment Delivers Improved Wireless Network Experience in Detroit
AT&T Investment Delivers Improved Wireless Network Experience in Poughkeepsie
AT&T Investment Delivers Improved Wireless Network Experience in Poughkeepsie
AT&T Investment Delivers Improved Wireless Network Experience in Rochester
AT&T Investment Delivers Improved Wireless Network Experience in Eastern Shore
AT&T Investment Delivers Improved Wireless Network Experience in Salem Area
AT&T Investment Delivers Improved Wireless Network Experience in Spokane Area
AT&T Investment Delivers Improved Wireless Network Experience in Hawaii
AT&T Lights Up 3G Mobile Broadband Network in Tioga, Schuyler and Chemung Counties
AT&T Investment Delivers Improved Wireless Network Experience in Providence
AT&T Investment Delivers Improved Wireless Network Experience in Johnstown
AT&T Investment Delivers Improved Wireless Network Experience in Pittsburgh
AT&T Investment Delivers Improved Wireless Network Experience in Butler and New Castle
AT&T Brings 3G Mobile Broadband Network to Virginia's Northern Neck
AT&T Investment Delivers Improved Wireless Network Experience in Altoona
AT&T Investment Delivers Improved Wireless Network Experience in Erie
AT&T Investment Delivers Improved Wireless Network Experience in Fresno
AT&T Investment Delivers Improved Wireless Network Experience in Lincoln
AT&T Investment Delivers Improved Wireless Network Experience in Windham County
AT&T Investment Delivers Improved Wireless Network Experience in Winchester

And that's just since the 18th...

This was really more of an absurd PR smokescreen than anything else, it doesn't really change anything from the OP. Do you really think that most other providers if not all of them couldn't do the same thing for every single township every time they install hardware? It looks really petty more than anything, and I think it's hilarious that you post it as proof ATT is doing something to improve their network. OF COURSE ATT is working to improve their network, it's just their financials show they are doing what appears by many to be as little as possible to improve things prior to all the PR they're eating because of it.
 
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