AT&T Boosts Houston's 3G Coverage

[Limey]

So they say.  I must admit, I've been very happy with the quality of service on the 3G network.

[MusicMan]

So they say.  I must admit, I've been very happy with the quality of service on the 3G network.

Where do you stand to actually access the 3G network?

[Limey]

Where do you stand to actually access the 3G network?

I'm an inside the loop effete snob.  Anywhere within the western half of the 610 Loop is fine.  I don't travel outside of that.

[chuck]

I'm an inside the loop effete snob.  Anywhere within the western half of the 610 Loop is fine.  I don't travel outside of that.

Except when you visit, erm, never mind.

Say, how much memory do you guys have on your iPhones? 16 or 32? Do you find that you really need 32?

[Holly]

I'm an inside the loop effete snob.  Anywhere within the western half of the 610 Loop is fine.  I don't travel outside of that.

Feh. Heights to Downtown. That's all you really need.

[Bench]

Feh. Heights to Downtown. That's all you really need.

Which completely ignores the most diverse, interesting, and actually city-like part of Houston.

[chuck]

Which completely ignores the most diverse, interesting, and actually city-like part of Houston.

The Rice Village, quite right. I'll see you at La Madeleine.

[Bench]

The Rice Village, quite right. I'll see you at La Madeleine.

Fuck that.  I was referring to the Med Center.

[chuck]

Fuck that.  I was referring to the Med Center.

Oh. See you at Chipotle Burritos, then.

[Craig]

Except when you visit, erm, never mind.

Say, how much memory do you guys have on your iPhones? 16 or 32? Do you find that you really need 32?

I have a 16GB and after a year I still have 13 GB free. I don't have any video on it though.

[BUWebguy]

I have a 32 GB; I've got 18 GB of music plus some apps and a little video. A fair amount of empty space still, but I couldn't fit it all on my old 16 GB iPhone.

[Ty in Tampa]

I've got 16 that's about half full and I have season 1 of FotC and 2 seasons of Family Guy on it and 4+ pages of apps.

[HudsonHawk]

Except when you visit, erm, never mind.

Say, how much memory do you guys have on your iPhones? 16 or 32? Do you find that you really need 32?

I have 32 and mine's maxed out.  Of course, I have thousands of songs and days worth of video on mine. 

And as far as 3G access goes, it's never been a problem.  In fact, the only place I can recall not getting it is in Santa Fe, NM, as AT&T does not have coverage there, for some unexplained reason.  Other than that, if you can get cell phone coverage, you get pretty much get 3G.

[Limey]

Except when you visit, erm, never mind.

Say, how much memory do you guys have on your iPhones? 16 or 32? Do you find that you really need 32?

I have 32, and it's full.

[Limey]

In fact, the only place I can recall not getting it is in Santa Fe, NM, as AT&T does not have coverage there, for some unexplained reason. 

Did you miss the part when you said you were in New Mexico?

[Guinness]

I wish they would boost their regular cell coverage.  I get almost no signal downtown.  I don't have an iphone, just a regular cell, but jeez, I expect to be able to make a call in the middle of downfuckingtown.

[Limey]

I wish they would boost their regular cell coverage.  I get almost no signal downtown.  I don't have an iphone, just a regular cell, but jeez, I expect to be able to make a call in the middle of downfuckingtown.

What AT&T did was demote their regular signal to give priority to 3G.  In essence, they took those customers on non-3G phones back about 10 years in quality of service.  It used to bug the shit out of me...until I got a 3G iPhone.

AT&T blows.

[HudsonHawk]

Did you miss the part when you said you were in New Mexico?

Ummmm...no, but I guess I miss the joke.

[Guinness]

AT&T blows.

Yes they do, but one of our daughter's has an iPhone, so we're kind of stuck.  I do remember reading (possibly here) that Apple are talking about opening up to other carriers, so that would be nice.

[HudsonHawk]

I wish they would boost their regular cell coverage.  I get almost no signal downtown.  I don't have an iphone, just a regular cell, but jeez, I expect to be able to make a call in the middle of downfuckingtown.

I never have a problem making a call or using my iPhone or my BlackBerry downtown.  In fact, other than the aforementioned Santa Fe, I've never had a problem, except in the deepest, remote areas of West Texas making a call.  AT&T has coverage where no one else does. 

[HudsonHawk]

AT&T blows.

AT&T is the best carrier out there.  In terms of coverage, they have no equal.  I can't imagine why anyone would chose another carrier, if AT&T is available.

[Limey]

AT&T is the best carrier out there.  In terms of coverage, they have no equal.  I can't imagine why anyone would chose another carrier, if AT&T is available.

I agree, but that doesn't mean they don't blow.  They simply blow less than other carriers.

In a similar vein, I hate Comcast.  But I have had other cable providers that make Comcast look like Emmanuelle Chriqui.  Namely Optel 0- who was criminally incompetent, and TV Max - who were functional and adequate, if you didn't want any of the features added to cable TV over the last 10 years but were happy to pay modern-day prices.

Back to AT&T.  Before I upgraded to a 3G iPhone, the service I was getting from them was shite.  They'd taken the "2G" signal and put it back on the old frequency - the one with no range and that wouldn't go through walls.  The signal was unbelievably shitty and wouldn't work hardly anywhere indoors, yet they still charged me the same, premium, price for it.  That's why they blow.

[Limey]

Speaking of which, AT&T have now announced that they're going to start letting us iPhone users send MMS messages as of Sept. 25.  Way to stay ahead of the curve, Big Blue!

[HudsonHawk]

I agree, but that doesn't mean they don't blow.  They simply blow less than other carriers.

Oh I see...you want tastes great AND less filling. 

[Waldo]

AT&T is the best carrier out there.  In terms of coverage, they have no equal.

I have plenty of coworkers with iPhones that can't get anything from our basement.  I get a full signal on Sprint.  There's no exact science to it.

[Limey]

I have plenty of coworkers with iPhones that can't get anything from our basement.  I get a full signal on Sprint.  There's no exact science to it.

My choice of carrier has been mostly driven by equipment, rather than signal.  Having said that, I switched from Houston Cellular to Verizon because I couldn't get a signal in the middle of the street in downtown Houston.  I switched back to Cingular (as Houston Cellular had become by then, before they became AT&T) because Verizon crippled the BlueTooth capability of their phones and I had a handsfree connection in my car.  Also, Verizon's network wasn't GSM, an I wanted a phone that would work somewhere other than the US (and South Korea).

I'm stuck with AT&T now, obviously, because of the iPhone.

[chuck]

I live in downtown and have AT&T and cannot for the life of me maintain a fucking cell. It is fucking maddening. Am I to believe that if I upgraded to an iPhone this problem would disappear?

[Bench]

I live in downtown and have AT&T and cannot for the life of me maintain a fucking cell. It is fucking maddening. Am I to believe that if I upgraded to an iPhone this problem would disappear?

I have AT&T and have no problem getting a signal downtown except for in my office.

[HudsonHawk]

I live in downtown and have AT&T and cannot for the life of me maintain a fucking cell. It is fucking maddening. Am I to believe that if I upgraded to an iPhone this problem would disappear?

Don't know about downtown Panama City, but in downtown Houston, I've never once had anything other than a full signal on AT&T, be that a regular phone, BlackBerry or iPhone.

[Limey]

I live in downtown and have AT&T and cannot for the life of me maintain a fucking cell. It is fucking maddening. Am I to believe that if I upgraded to an iPhone this problem would disappear?

Not necessarily an iPhone, but any 3G phone might do the trick.  When they started ramping up their 3G network, AT&T switched their non-3G signal back to an old frequency that they'd dumped because it sucked at going through walls.  I presume it'll stay there now until non-3G phones are phased out completely.

If you want to stay with AT&T, you'll need to upgrade your phone to a 3G model.

[Limey]

Today, AT&T announced its plans to roll out a much faster 7.2 Mbps 3G service in a number of major cities, including Houston.  FTR, the latest iPhone, the 3GS, supports the faster download speed but not the faster upload speed.  Thanks Steve.

[MusicMan]

FTR, the latest iPhone, the 3GS, supports the faster download speed but not the faster upload speed.  Thanks Steve.

Lover's spat?

[chuck]

So. I get into town an hour ago or so. I'm sitting here going through my mountain of mail and watching a great pitcher's duel. I get a call on my cell. I am in my apartment in downtown Houston. After about five minutes of conversation I suddenly realized that I was talking to myself. I look down at the phone and sure enough there are zero bars. Dropped call. THE FIRST FUCKING CALL. I just spent six weeks in a third world banana republic talking on my cell constantly and guess how many calls were dropped. Right. None.

I have a full four bars now. God knows what'll happen when someone calls, though.

[homer]

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/print/9137510/Elgan_Even_AT_T_says_AT_T_can_t_handle_the_iPhone?taxonomyName=Hardware&taxonomyId=12

While iPhone users complain about AT&T's "dropped calls, spotty service, delayed text and voice messages and glacial download speeds," according to a piece published last week in the New York Times, AT&T blames iPhone users. "Overnight we're seeing a radical shift in how people are using their phones," AT&T CTO John Donovan told the Times. "There's just no parallel for the demand." Donovan told Fortune magazine that "3G networks were not designed effectively for this kind of usage."

And, as a BusinessWeek article makes clear, there's no way AT&T will be able to meet the traffic demands of iPhone users any time in the next few years. (The article also confirms that AT&T has deliberately delayed MMS and tethering because it simply can't handle the traffic.)

An article in the Wall Street Journal last week even has AT&T complaining about the $400 subsidy it has to pay for each iPhone sold.

[HudsonHawk]

So. I get into town an hour ago or so. I'm sitting here going through my mountain of mail and watching a great pitcher's duel. I get a call on my cell. I am in my apartment in downtown Houston. After about five minutes of conversation I suddenly realized that I was talking to myself. I look down at the phone and sure enough there are zero bars. Dropped call. THE FIRST FUCKING CALL. I just spent six weeks in a third world banana republic talking on my cell constantly and guess how many calls were dropped. Right. None.

I have a full four bars now. God knows what'll happen when someone calls, though.

You were born under a REALLY bad sign.  Either that, or you pissed off the cell phone gods something fierce.

[Limey]

http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/print/9137510/Elgan_Even_AT_T_says_AT_T_can_t_handle_the_iPhone?taxonomyName=Hardware&taxonomyId=12

While iPhone users complain about AT&T's "dropped calls, spotty service, delayed text and voice messages and glacial download speeds," according to a piece published last week in the New York Times, AT&T blames iPhone users. "Overnight we're seeing a radical shift in how people are using their phones," AT&T CTO John Donovan told the Times. "There's just no parallel for the demand." Donovan told Fortune magazine that "3G networks were not designed effectively for this kind of usage."

And, as a BusinessWeek article makes clear, there's no way AT&T will be able to meet the traffic demands of iPhone users any time in the next few years. (The article also confirms that AT&T has deliberately delayed MMS and tethering because it simply can't handle the traffic.)

An article in the Wall Street Journal last week even has AT&T complaining about the $400 subsidy it has to pay for each iPhone sold.

If AT&T didn't design their 3G network with the iPhone in mind, then they are even more reprehensible than I originally thought.  That's like Chevvy blaming Exxon for the shitty gas mileage achieved by Suburbans.

[HudsonHawk]

If AT&T didn't design their 3G network with the iPhone in mind, then they are even more reprehensible than I originally thought.  That's like Chevvy blaming Exxon for the shitty gas mileage achieved by Suburbans.

I know that sounds clever, but that's a really fucked up analogy.  A better one would be TXDOT saying too many cars on the road is to blame for traffic delays, while motorists bitch that TXDOT should have anticipated the traffic and made the freeways 26 lanes wide.

[Holly]

So. I get into town an hour ago or so. I'm sitting here going through my mountain of mail and watching a great pitcher's duel. I get a call on my cell. I am in my apartment in downtown Houston. After about five minutes of conversation I suddenly realized that I was talking to myself. I look down at the phone and sure enough there are zero bars. Dropped call. THE FIRST FUCKING CALL. I just spent six weeks in a third world banana republic talking on my cell constantly and guess how many calls were dropped. Right. None.

I have a full four bars now. God knows what'll happen when someone calls, though.

Is "FML" (365) part of your phone number?

[HudsonHawk]

Is "FML" (365) part of your phone number?

In the 13 years I've had Houston Cellular/Cingular/AT&T, I've never once had a dropped call.  Never.  Ever.  Not in downtown Houston, not in Bumfuck, Oklahoma, not in Frozen Nutz, Alaska, not in Tumbleweed, West Texas, not going under a bridge, in a tunnel, in a box or with a fox.  It's simply never happened, even in the most remote places I travel, where AT&T is the only signal available and it's only one bar.  Not even once.  From my experience, AT&T is simply the best, most reliable, best designed, best maintained cell network that I could possibly imagine.  I'm not sure whether to laugh at or feel sorry for those who haven't had the same experience.

[chuck]

In the 13 years I've had Houston Cellular/Cingular/AT&T, I've never once had a dropped call.  Never.  Ever.  Not in downtown Houston, not in Bumfuck, Oklahoma, not in Frozen Nutz, Alaska, not in Tumbleweed, West Texas, not going under a bridge, in a tunnel, in a box or with a fox.  It's simply never happened, even in the most remote places I travel, where AT&T is the only signal available and it's only one bar.  Not even once.  From my experience, AT&T is simply the best, most reliable, best designed, best maintained cell network that I could possibly imagine.  I'm not sure whether to laugh at or feel sorry for those who haven't had the same experience.

It could be my motherfucking phone. I don't know. I had a VM message a minute ago and I called voice mail and had to wait thirty seconds or so before it connected because I had no signal. Then, suddenly, wham, four bars. Right now I'm looking at the phone, zero. OH! There it goes, four. Actually, it's five, the most possible. I am receiving OUTSTANDING signal at the moment. Which is just OUTSTANDING.

If anyone wants to call me better call me right now.

[MusicMan]

In the 13 years I've had Houston Cellular/Cingular/AT&T, I've never once had a dropped call.  Never.  Ever.  Not in downtown Houston, not in Bumfuck, Oklahoma, not in Frozen Nutz, Alaska, not in Tumbleweed, West Texas, not going under a bridge, in a tunnel, in a box or with a fox.  It's simply never happened, even in the most remote places I travel, where AT&T is the only signal available and it's only one bar.  Not even once.  From my experience, AT&T is simply the best, most reliable, best designed, best maintained cell network that I could possibly imagine.  I'm not sure whether to laugh at or feel sorry for those who haven't had the same experience.

I'd say you won the cell phone lottery.

[HudsonHawk]

I'd say you won the cell phone lottery.

I must have.  For all the negativity that Jim accuses me of, my cell phone has never been a complaint of mine.  It's the little things, I guess.

[JimR]

I must have.  For all the negativity that Jim accuses me of, my cell phone has never been a complaint of mine.  It's the little things, I guess.

man, i get blamed for everything. FML.

[homer]

man, i get blamed for everything. FML.

WFW