AT&T More Upset About Stupid Analyst Report About Its Network Than Actual Network

from the forest-for-the-trees dept

Thu, Apr 15th 2010 2:27am — Carlo Longino

AT&T is apparently "miffed" that a recent report from a research firm said that it carries less data traffic on its mobile network than either Verizon or Sprint. Meanwhile, the rest of us are trying to figure out exactly why the company cares so much. AT&T has been much maligned for its network's inability to keep up with iPhone users' data (and sometimes, voice) demands; perhaps the company is concerned that ranking third in overall data traffic will somehow push the perception that its network is underpowered even further. AT&T's own analysis of mobile data traffic shows it carries more than half of US mobile users' data, it says -- which is great. But that figure doesn't matter much to an iPhone user who can't connect to the network or whose device doesn't live up to their expectations because of spotty coverage. And those users' stories are probably much more persuasive among consumers than some pretty meaningless stats.

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Filed Under: network, study
Companies: at&t

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David T, 15 Apr 2010 @ 3:26am

Blame game?
I *suspect* there is some kind of internal game of pass the buck for consistently poor customer perception of the network. The higher-ups are probably saying do more with less and the IT people are saying there will be compromise.

The compromise includes customers spending 100/mo for service that doesn't work in major metro areas during rush hours.
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Spotty, 15 Apr 2010 @ 5:10am

sounds like the norm these days
It is getting to be the norm these days that when something doesn't go right or work quite lets just move on to different data(charts) please. My 3G coverage isn't that bad just look at this voice map. I loved the commercial from AT&T showing 2 Samsung smartphones at the end while an iPhone was doing talk and web at the same time and that was the focus of the commercial. You would think that AT&T would have clustered their towers by the way they talk but the truth is they were to busy with Job's laughing about the crazy amount of money being made.
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Anonymous Coward, 15 Apr 2010 @ 5:51am

remember the we have a map for that ads? imagine what it will look like when a third party report is used showing more data on verizon than att? marketing bonanza.
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Anonymous Coward, 15 Apr 2010 @ 6:29am

Heck if ATT could stick to one network for longer than 3 weeks. they would do wonders. Every time they get a new system in place, they then decide they do not like it, and tear it down and put a new one in. Here in GA, the switched between Erickson and others platforms all the time.
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Pixelation, 15 Apr 2010 @ 7:22am

Size Matters
Haven't checked but I would guess AT&T is run by middle aged males with small penises. Anything that reminds them that they are smaller than the competition must drive them nuts. Whatever women say to your face, we all know Size Matters.
A toast to the "little guys" at AT&T.
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vastrightwing, 15 Apr 2010 @ 9:27am

Same old folks ruining the same old network
Isn't AT&T the old SBC, aka Cellular One, aka Cingular, aka AT&T? And aren't these the same folks who couldn't keep their old network working worth a darn years ago long before iPhone was born? I was a trapped Cellular One customer years ago, then a trapped Cingular customer. I left when my contract expired because at precisely 4pm everyday, my cell phone stopped receiving calls from land lines, because their network was too swamped to handle the traffic then! They kept feeding me "Barbara Streisand " they were fixing the problem. This was 10 years ago. I guess they, they're still trying to fix the problem. Let's face it, the problem will never go away. Give it up.
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edt (profile), 15 Apr 2010 @ 11:53am

AT&T mobile service
fact... AT&T has the worst cell phone coverage of all the service providers... proof positive, even notice the infamous 3G map they displayed in tv commercials; they compared themselves to Verizon in 3G availability... the real noticable diff in the tv commercial was overall coverage, gapping white spots for AT&T.

And now, at least via this article, AT&T has data handling issues with iPhone... glad I have a Droid... I live in smalltown America, dropped AT&T becasue of limited service, Verizon saved-the-day... even in the most remote areas, I get at least 3-bars... AT&T stinks.
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nasch (profile), 15 Apr 2010 @ 4:07pm

Re: Same old folks ruining the same old network
Sort of. If you can follow all the mergers and aquisitions without re-reading it, you're smarter than I.

"Originally Cingular Wireless LLC [now AT&T Mobility LLC], a joint venture between SBC Communications and BellSouth, the company acquired the old AT&T Wireless in 2004; SBC later acquired the original AT&T and re-branded as "The New AT&T". Cingular became wholly-owned by The New AT&T in December 2006 as a result of AT&T's acquisition of BellSouth."

"The Baltimore/DC service, and the rights to the name Cellular One, were sold from Metromedia to Southwestern Bell in 1987. In 1989, Southwestern Bell Mobile Systems and McCaw Communications formed a partnership called Cellular One Group. In 1992, Vanguard Cellular Systems joined the group... In 1995, SNET joined the partnership... AT&T purchased McCaw Cellular in 1994; shortly thereafter, AT&T renamed the former McCaw providers "AT&T Wireless" and dropped out of the partnership. Western Wireless joined the partnership in 1999.

When SBC Communications, which purchased SNET in 1998, and BellSouth merged their wireless operations into Cingular Wireless in 2001, the Cellular One group name became the sole property of Western Wireless. In 2004 Cingular merged with AT&T Wireless, which had acquired Vanguard in 1999, formally reuniting the original Cellular One partnership into a single company."
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