Well they certainly tout the "fastest 3g network" every 15 minutes on every major commercial spot... Cricket, who has HEAVY users of TXT, MMS and INTERNET, all unlimited has better performance than ATT does here...
They charged me for 3G for over a year in a non-3g market... (ATT)
They've known since June 29th, 2007 what iPhone people wanted, in that two years they couldn't upgrade to an MMS system that works?
ATT is the only carrier that seems to have these issues...
I had an ATT data card... slow speeds, bad connections...
I finalyl got fed up, spend $100 on a Cricket data card and $35 per month, and it out performs the ATT service 10 fold with no contract.
I know cingular took a chance with Apple and nobody else would, but I know many, many, many people who may love the iPhone but will not get it because of ATT....
I have yet to find someone who is happy with ATT...
ATT is no longer helpiing the iPhone grow, they are hurting it.
the MMS messaging is utterly ridiculous though... the SMS and MMS protocols have standards, ATT should have had them built in, and I believe they do, they just do not want to let the iPhone do it because they are going to try and get more money out of us.
I already reserved my 3GS phone at the apple store and will get it on the 19th... it sucks to pay ATT, but until there is a viable alternative, I am stuck...
I just wish Apple would open up our choices some how.
Mike
What you need to realize is that iPhone users tend to use the "special" features more than most other users.
Ex: I have a Sony Ericson phone. It does MMS, it does texts, it does mobile web. It sucks at them all. The screen is tiny, the interface clunky... in short, I use it as a phone, and nothing else. If I had an iPhone, I'd be doing a whole lot more, and thus using the bandwidth. ATT knows that current, non-iPhone users don't use all that much bandwidth. Other smartphone users are an exception in varying degrees. I can do most of these things from my work-supplied Blackberry as well, but you know what? Its a work phone... I use it for light email, rarely for web, and that's it.
It isn't that they specifically want to screw iPhone users, it is simply that they know how popular the iPhone is, and know that iPhone users will strain the network. Think of it in terms of an over-subscribed ISP - if everyone took the full bandwidth that they technically pay for, the network would crash. AT&T simply isn't prepared for the onslaught. If you're going to criticize them, at least criticize them for the true failings, including lack of preparation and foresight, not for simply "being greedy" (although they are that as well).
Pike, Michael (IHS/NPA) wrote:
What I find interesting is the fact that ATT says that they need to upgrade their infrastructure to support MMS picture mesaging, yet every other phone they have does pictures just fine (even the old crappy ones that I have laying around).
I think the real story is "We need to come up with a price increase for MMS messaging for iPhone."
I have unlimited family text on mine, which is supposed to include picture messaging...
ATT is really a lousy excuse for a carrer. the iPhone is respsonsible for their success... if my iPhones would work on Verizon or Sprint, I would be there...
But this no MMS messaging makes the 3.0 software very limited... not to mention no tethering...
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W. Taylor Armstrong email@hidden
NOAA's National Ocean Service Domain Infrastructure Team
1305 East-West Highway Phone (301) 713-1156
Silver Spring, MD 20910 http://nos.noaa.gov
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