Even though Sprint is the only major carrier actually bleeding out subscribers , they were source of the fewest iPhone 3G AT&T converts—only 19 percent. Surprisingly—and probably gleefully, for AT&T—nearly half came from its biggest and most bitter rival, Verizon. At a 47 percent attrition rate, more fled from it than T-Mobile (24 percent) and Sprint combined, and almost double T-Mobile.

Granted, that's in part due to the fact that Verizon is simply bigger. But besides showing just how much of a boon the iPhone 3G was for AT&T in terms of bringing in new customers, it throws into relief just how much Verizon needs its own headline-grabbing handset—a role they're obviously hoping will be picked up by the BlackBerry Storm. But whether it'll actually pull in new customers, stop some from bolting or just slow 'em down out the door remains to be seen.

In the meantime, iPhone sales swallowed 17 percent of the smartphone market between January and August of this year—largely thanks to the 3G, which shoved it up from 11 percent—pushing past the Curve, Pearl and Centro. Not too shabby.

PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y. —(Business Wire)— Oct 06, 2008 According to a new report from The NPD Group, the leader in market research for the wireless industry, 30 percent of U.S. consumers who purchased Apple’s new iPhone 3G from June through August 2008 switched from other mobile carriers to join AT&T, the exclusive mobile carrier for the iPhone in the U.S. By way of comparison just 23 percent of consumers, on average, switched carriers between June and August 2008. Nearly half (47 percent) of new AT&T iPhone customers that switched carriers switched from Verizon Wireless, another 24 percent switched from T-Mobile, and 19 percent switched from Sprint.

“The launch of the lower-priced iPhone 3G was a boon to overall consumer smartphone sales,” according to Ross Rubin, director of industry analysis for The NPD Group. “While the original iPhone also helped win customers for AT&T, the faster network speeds of the iPhone 3G has proven more appealing to customers that already had access to a 3G network.”

According to NPD’s “iPhone 3G Report,” before the launch of the iPhone 3G, iPhone sales represented 11 percent of the consumer market for smartphones (January through May 2008); however, after the launch of iPhone 3G, Apple commanded 17 percent of the smartphone market (January through August 2008).

The average price of a smartphone sold between June and August 2008 was $174, down 26 percent from $236 during the same period last year. During June through August 2008, the top four best-selling smartphones based on unit-sales to consumers were as follows:
1. Apple iPhone 3G
2. RIM Blackberry Curve
3. RIM Blackberry Pearl
4. Palm Centro

Methodology: The NPD Group compiles and analyzes mobile device sales data based on more than 150,000 completed online consumer research surveys each month. Surveys are based on a nationally balanced and demographically-representative sample, and results are projected to represent the entire population of U.S. consumers. Note: Sales figures do not include corporate/enterprise mobile phone sales. For more information about NPD’s offerings in this business sector, visit http://wireless.npd.com.

[VPO]

Although the intentions aren't yet explicit, most of the coalition members have openly opposed net neutrality legislation and are in favor of allowing ISPs to have the "freedom" to monitor their customers. But Microsoft is a little bit more squirmy on the subject. Thomas C. Rubin, Microsoft’s chief counsel for intellectual property strategy, told Hansell:

We think that this is an opportunity to work with leaders across industries to put our heads together to discuss the opportunities that exist to facilitate the promotion of the availability of legitimate content on the Internet. We are not in favor of filtering at the network level.

Hopefully that is enough of a bulwark against rampant abuse of power. As the forces align, it's important for pirates and non-pirates alike to keep watch. Meantime, check out the full article. [NYT]

• Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE
• Dual-band UMTS/HSDPA (850MHz/2100MHz)
• 950 mAh battery
• 105.5 x 53.5 x 15.8 mm
• 240×480 2.8-inch LCD
• 3 megapixel fixed-focus camera, with VGA video capability
• 100MB of memory with microSD support up to 16GB
• Bluetooth 2.0
• USB 2.0
• Wi-Fi
• EMP U330 Lite Chipset

While there's no info on exactly what OS the unit'll be running, there is word that it's under testing in AT&T's labs and should hit the streets before Christmas. [BGR]

Gawker Media polls require Javascript; if you're viewing this in an RSS reader, click through to view in your Javascript-enabled web browser.

• 7.2 mbps HSDPA/UMTS (2100/1900/850 MHz)
• Quad-band GSM/GPRS/EDGE (850/900/1800/1900 MHz)
• 1GB of memory, 192MB RAM
• 1400 mAhr battery. Standby time: 528 hours
• MicroUSB port
• MicroSD and MicroSDHC expandable up to 8GB
• 3.2 megapixel camera, flash, 2.5x digital zoom, auto focus, and image stabilization
• Video capture. Normal mode (480×320) and MMS mode (176×144)
• Assisted GPS - Enhanced version of GPS that performs at a faster speed

[BlackBerry News]

AT&T Revolutionizes Home Phone, Bringing Color Touch Screen, Customized Content and Wireless Applications to Traditional Voice Calling

Innovative Capabilities, Functionality Redefine Familiar Product

Dallas, Texas, September 22, 2008

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) announced today the introduction of AT&T HomeManager™ — an innovative home phone that combines access to Internet content and popular wireless phone applications with traditional home phone service. As part of its initial launch, HomeManager is available in nine AT&T markets: Chicago; Atlanta; Austin, Texas; San Antonio; Houston; Dallas; San Francisco; San Diego and Los Angeles.

Using a portable, seven-inch color touch screen frame, AT&T HomeManager provides one-touch access from anywhere in the home to a robust lineup of popular features and content, including visual voice mail, weather reports, e-mail access, local news, a portable speakerphone and more. From a broadband-enabled base station, information is sent directly to the cordless touch screen, delivering quick and easy access to relevant information.

Perfect for the always-busy household, HomeManager is designed to bridge the familiarity and comfort of traditional home phone calling with the feature-rich capabilities consumers expect from today's wireless and broadband services.

"HomeManager represents the next generation of home communications," said Brian Shay, senior vice president, Converged Services for AT&T. "We're building on the reliability of our wireline platform and advancing it with touch screens, mobile phone applications, visual voicemail and more. A phone today is not just for talking — it's about having the content and the information that's important to you right at your fingertips."

Home phone calls — both initiated and received — are completed over a traditional wireline or Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) connection using either the touch screen, which also functions as a portable speakerphone, or a cordless handset, which is also provided within the HomeManager package. Touch screen applications and capabilities include:

* Address Book Synchronizing. AT&T Mobile BackupSM — a mobile phone application — synchs address books across the touch screen and home handset with AT&T mobile phone contacts.
* Internet Content. Access weather, e-mail, stock profiles, sports, news, photos, movie listings, recipes and more with one-touch access on the touch screen frame.
* AT&T Yellow Pages. Free, unlimited access to White Pages and Yellow Pages online directories help locate both people and businesses. Use the touch screen to call, map addresses and send information to both mobile phones and e-mail accounts.
* Visual Voice Mail. See and listen to messages via a single wireline-wireless mailbox on both the touch screen and cordless handset. Compatible with AT&T U-verseSM Voice and AT&T Unified MessagingSM.
* Digital Picture Frame. View your favorite photos on the frame as a slide show or screen saver. Photos and videos are easily loaded from an SD memory card, USB device or e-mail attachment.

"HomeManager is perfect for the kitchen, family room or — because it's portable — anywhere families want instant access to communications and information," said Shay. "In one place, families can make phone calls and also access e-mail, contacts, local news, recipes and more. This is a convenient, simple solution for families on the run. It's quick and it's efficient."

AT&T collaborated with Samsung to bring HomeManager to life, while also building on the company's own 100-year legacy of driving innovation.

"HomeManager is a game-changing device that provides true convergence to wireless, wireline and Internet users," said Tom Jasny, vice president of wireless broadband and network systems for Samsung Mobile.

"This intelligent information device gives people the ultimate flexibility to stay connected, entertained and informed anywhere in their home. Following a long tradition of successful cooperation between AT&T and Samsung for wireless handsets, this represents the first collaborative effort between AT&T and Samsung's network business to address consumer solutions for the home, complementing Samsung's leadership as the second-largest mobile phone manufacturer in the world."

AT&T HomeManager is available to new and existing AT&T High Speed Internet and residential wireline customers, including AT&T U-verse TV and Voice customers, at select AT&T retail locations within the nine markets for a one-time payment of $299.00. Customers must agree to a two-year AT&T High Speed Internet term commitment or sign up for AT&T U-verse TV, High Speed Internet and Voice services.

The package includes the seven-inch touch screen frame, one cordless handset and one base station. Additional handsets and frames can be added for an additional charge. There are no monthly fees for AT&T HomeManager. Other service plans for customers without AT&T services are also available.

[AT&T]

Subject: Important information regarding your iPhone 3G

The new AT&T - Your world. Delivered.

Our service records indicate that you are using an iPhone 3G with a data plan designed for other devices.

To avoid unexpected data overage charges and enable Visual Voicemail, please contact your telecom manager, or an AT&T representative at 1-800-331-0500.

Thank you for choosing wireless from AT&T. We appreciate your business.

Sincerely,
AT&T Customer Service

Now, that may be all there is to it, just a simple warning about the chance you may get unexpected charges. BGR goes a bit deeper, suggesting this is the first sign of a crackdown:

If you were enjoying paying only $15 for AT&T’s MEdia Net Unlimited, enjoy it while you can! Pretty soon, AT&T will be making sure that you’ll all be paying twice that amount for their sub-par 3G service for the iPhone.

I wouldn't go that far with only this as evidence, but I certainly wouldn't discount BGR entirely, either. All I can say is, watch out! [BGR]

Though details on pricing and availability were scant, WM Experts thinks it won't hit until December at the earliest (due to AT&T's leaked roadmap today), and Wired believes the subsidized price that comes along with being locked on the AT&T network will bring it down into the 200-300 dollar range. So far, however, this is all speculation. [WM Experts via BGR via Gadget Lab]

Because believe us, it wasn't for lack of trying. And even supposing that people really did just happen to not use their phone as much as you expected, it's not like AT&T's network did a great job keeping up with that oh-so-meager demand in some cities. Sure, a solid portion of the problems fell squarely on Apple's side of the bed, but it's clear that AT&T's network isn't up to snuff in plenty of spots. (Have you ever tried using an iPhone 3G in NYC's Union Square?)

So, get back to us after you make good on your promises to make everything less sucky, and then talk about meeting expectations. [Alley Insider]

•HTC Fuze will launch on October 23nd
•Motorola V9x (new V9 with GPS) launches on October 2nd
•Samsung Mirage i907 (basically our version of the Omnia) launches on October 21st
•Pantech C740 in red, navy, and green launches on October 14th
•Nokia 6650 launches in red and silver on October 23rd
•BlackBerry 8320 in that totally cool color launches on October 21st
•BlackBerry Pearl in pink launches on October 2nd
•The BlackBerry Curve in “burnt orange” is pushed to “2009″.
•The regular BlackBerry Curve is discontinued
•The Palm Treo 680s are discontinued

[BGR]

The terms are buried in a 2,500-page "guidebook," which seems like some pretty miserable reading. By sticking them in such a dense document, they pretty much ensure that no customers will actually read them. Who is reading it? California state regulators, who may require AT&T to edit the terms, at least in California. It seems that since doing some deregulating of the wireless industry designed to increase competition a couple of years ago, prices have actually gone up and we're seeing more fishy BS such as this guidebook. Well, it was a nice experiment, I guess. Now let's get some oversight on this industry to keep consumers from getting screwed over, shall we? [LA Times]

In order to provide a consistently high-quality video service, AT&T Uverse High Speed Internet throughput speeds may be temporarily reduced when a customer is using other U-verse services in a manner that requires high bandwidth. This could occur more often with higher speed Internet access products. It may be necessary, for some AT&T High Speed Internet users, for AT&T to set a maximum downstream speed on a customer line to enhance the reliability and consistency of performance.

Update: So here's what AT&T just told us: "We’re not referring to the use of high-bandwidth activity from other services, like AppleTV, we are saying that customers who subscribe to our higher-bandwidth tiers could see slowdowns in their Internet throughput." In other words, what this actually means is you won't be slowed down for downloading a whole lot, but if there's network congestion generally speaking, your bandwidth's going to get squeezed, and it's more likely to happen if you've got one of the faster U-Verse broadband packages. People that have a (s)lower-bandwidth tier won't see this as often because their connection is already pokey. AT&T says the "vast majority" of people will never notice.

There's a bunch of other changes in the updated terms of service that you should read too if you're an AT&T customer, like regarding the settling of disputes. There are some clauses about not distributing copyrighted content, but I don't know if those are new, I'm still checking on that. Either way, it's another step toward crappier internet for all, and it's not like you're going to get anything out of it, either. [AT&T]

Don't worry, I've already told our AT&T PR dude that's like the most tragically, eye-stabbingly stupid pun I've ever seen. Since it's a draft, and they haven't even set the exact day, they should have time to change it. But the $299 price is set, like we heard. [BGR]

The condensed version: AT&T told RIM to make a 3G device (the Bold) even though it wasn't really in RIM's bag, since AT&T is pushing to have every one of its devices using 3G, even if the network can't really stand up to the onslaught right now. So RIM did. Fast forward to now, AT&T has apparently been rejecting buggy OS builds from RIM for months, even though they obviously crossed the line into acceptable for most other carriers. Granted, there are apparently some very real problems, most pointedly with the Hotspot Browser, though we did not encounter them with our review unit.

RIM got more than a little fed up, and this supposedly drove them to deliver the touchscreen Storm to a carrier who is not AT&T. In fact, RIM is reportedly kicking up the marketing budget for the Storm. Which brings us to the last bit: BG says multiple sources have confirmed to him that the Storm will go for $199. [BGR]

AT&T U-VERSE INTRODUCES TOTAL HOME DVR, TAKING

‘WHEN YOU WANT, WHERE YOU WANT’ TV VIEWING

TO WHOLE NEW LEVEL

Latest U-verse TV Enhancement — Made Possible by IP Technology — Enables DVR Playback on Any TV Throughout the Home

DALLAS, Sept. 9, 2008 — DVRs have given customers the flexibility to watch TV programs on their schedules, but limited where the programs can be watched by restricting recorded content to certain TV sets and rooms in the home. Now that’s about to change for AT&T U-verseSM TV customers. Using the power of AT&T’s Internet Protocol (IP) network, families no longer have to plan how or where they watch and record their favorite shows.

AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) today announced the launch of AT&T U-verse Total Home DVR, giving U-verse TV customers the freedom to play back Standard Definition (SD) and High Definition (HD) recorded programs on any connected TV in the home.

U-verse Total Home DVR is now being introduced to customers in the Bay Area at no additional charge and is planned for deployment to all U-verse TV customers by the end of 2008.

“AT&T U-verse is about providing the latest in entertainment and technology for a better TV experience,” said Jeff Weber, AT&T vice president of video products. “With our 100 percent IP network, we are able to constantly evolve features and services to match the needs of viewers. Total Home DVR is the latest addition to our portfolio of unmatched features that give U-verse customers more control, on any TV, at a great price.”

AT&T U-verse Total Home DVR customers can:

• Watch HD and SD DVR recordings on other connected TVs in the home. In addition to your DVR, you can access, play, pause, rewind and fast forward any recorded SD or HD program on up to seven additional U-verse-connected TVs. All U-verse DVRs and receivers are HD-capable.
• Pause a recorded show and pick up where you left off in another room.
• Play back multiple, independent viewings of the same recorded show on different TVs.
• Play back up to four recorded shows at once. Up to three can be HD recorded programs.
• Watch up to five HD programs simultaneously throughout the home, including two live HD programs and three recorded HD programs.
• Record more of the show you want to see with soft padding, which automatically adds 1 minute to the beginning and 2 minutes to the end of each pre-scheduled recording.
• Organize recorded content by series. Series recordings will be grouped as a single heading in the recorded TV menu, making it easier for customers to manage and select their recorded programs.
• Store up to 37 hours of HD content or up to 133 hours of SD content, which is more storage than most cable providers’ DVRs.
• Record up to four programs at once on a single DVR — another feature that is exclusive to AT&T U-verse TV.
• Set the DVR while on the go from your PC or wireless phone. With AT&T Yahoo!® Web and Mobile Remote Access to DVR, you can schedule recordings from any Web-connected PC or compatible mobile phone (wireless service charges apply) by using your AT&T High Speed Internet account.

“While some other providers may claim to offer some form of whole home DVR, AT&T U-verse Total Home DVR is the only one that truly lets you play back recorded programs from a single DVR on any connected TV in the house,” Weber said.

Using IP technology, Total Home DVR capabilities will be seamlessly provided to existing customers’ DVRs without the need to swap their current equipment. The U-verse network architecture and IPTV service allow Total Home DVR functionality to be enabled by a software update, without any action or hassle for existing customers. The updates occur on a market-by-market basis, and existing AT&T U-verse customers in a market will gain the new functionality as their home equipment receives the update.

Total Home DVR is the latest addition to the constantly evolving suite of features that has been introduced to all U-verse TV customers at no extra charge since the AT&T U-verse launch in June 2006. These include:

• Mobile Remote Access to DVR, which lets you schedule and manage DVR recordings from any compatible mobile phone.
• AT&T U-bar, which brings customizable weather, stock, sports and traffic information to the U-verse TV screen, without interrupting the current program.
• AT&T Online Photos from Flickr, which allows you to simply and conveniently browse the photos you've uploaded to flickr.com and watch slide shows on your U-verse TV screen from the comfort of your couch.
• Yahoo! Sports Fantasy Football, which allows you to track the progress of your fantasy team — including current team matchups and league standings — directly from your TV screen through the AT&T U-bar.
• YELLOWPAGES.COM TV, for fast and easy searches to find local businesses and other information via your TV screen.
• AT&T Yahoo! Games, so you can play your favorite online games — including Sudoku, Solitaire, JT’s Blocks, Mah-jongg Tiles and Chess — on the TV screen.

AT&T has also announced today the availability of AT&T U-verse Voice to all U-verse eligible customers in the Bay Area, bringing consumers a next-generation digital voice service with unique integrated features. AT&T U-verse services are currently available to more than 580,000 living units in the greater Bay Area, marking a significant expansion since AT&T U-verse launched locally in December 2006.

In the future, AT&T plans to add to its Total Home DVR service with the ability to schedule recordings and pause or control live TV from non-DVR receivers.

AT&T is deploying next-generation AT&T U-verse services as part of its mission to connect people with their world, everywhere they live and work, and do it better than anyone else. Customers benefit from integrated AT&T services across the three screens they value most: the TV, the PC and the wireless phone.

For additional information on AT&T U-verse — or to find out if it’s available in your area — visit http://uverse.att.com, call 800-ATT-2020 or visit a local AT&T retail location.

The survey of 22,000 wireless customers from around the country did not touch on data quality, surprisingly, which is obviously a very important metric to factor in to a network's overall quality. Here are the complete results—with nary an AT&T or T-Mobile to be seen anywhere near the top.

Northeast Region: Verizon Wireless ranks highest, with fewer customer-reported problems in dropped calls, initial connections and static/interference compared with the regional average.

Mid-Atlantic Region: Verizon Wireless ranks highest for an eighth consecutive time, with fewer customer-reported problems regarding initial connections compared with the regional average.

Southeast Region: Alltel ranks highest in the region, with customers reporting fewer problems than the regional average in dropped calls and voice distortion.

North Central Region: U.S. Cellular and Alltel rank highest in a tie. U.S. Cellular customers report fewer problems in dropped calls, static/interference, echoes, voice distortion and late voice message notifications. Alltel customers experience fewer problems with dropped calls, initial connections, static/interference and voice distortion compared with the regional average.

Southwest Region: Sprint Nextel and Verizon Wireless tie to rank highest in the region. Sprint Nextel customers report fewer problems regarding initial connections. Verizon Wireless customers experience fewer problems with dropped calls, static/interference, voice distortion and failed voice message notifications compared with the regional average.

West Region: Verizon Wireless ranks highest in the region, with customers reporting fewer problems in dropped calls, initial connections, static/interference, echoes and voice distortion than the regional average.

[JD Power via BGR]

Obstructions like walls, mountains and fat people; RF interference; weather; and your phone's antenna placement are all things than can dilute your signal to a tiny, staticky trickle. From there, using the power of deduction you can figure out what's hosing your reception and try a couple different fixes. Most obviously, you can actually move your ass, but if your whole house is in a virtual dead zone, there are a range of gizmos like external antennas and repeaters, but be wary of crap boxes promising miracles—they only exist in the X-Files.

Lastly, you can always call your provider to tell them they suck, and where exactly their suckiness is the suckiest, underlined with the vague threat you'll switch to the other guy, and pray that they'll fix it. If you've got other tips, lay 'em down in the comments. [Wired How To]

In his 18-page filing, Gillis points out the 3G tower power issue that recently leaked to the public in which an AT&T worker disclosed that current sub-par connections are caused by iPhones sucking too much power for AT&T transmitters to maintain proper 3G signals. Given this knowledge, Gillis feels the iPhone was clearly sold past network capacity creating problems that cascaded to every AT&T 3G users.

The suit seeks class action status so that every California AT&T subscriber could receive compensation if they've experienced poor 3G performance. And in light of such 3G failures, Gillis points out that Apple's packaging should have a disclaimer to manage consumer's expectations. [AppleInsider]

There was a routing issue affecting some wireless data use in the Northeast region. AT&T technicians determined the cause and restored service at 11:56 a.m. EDT. Voice calling, text messaging and BlackBerry email were unaffected.

On our end in NY, with full bars and fresh off a restart, the data connection is technically alive again, but really, not so much—it's so slow it's still dead for all actual intents and purposes. How's it on your end? [AT&T Forums - Thanks Jack!, Twitter Search, Apple Forums]

AT&T offers data plans for BlackBerry that include tethering for an additional $30 per month (a total of $60 per month for the BlackBerry+tethering plan).

It seems ludicrous that the same thing is not offered with the iPhone. I understand the desire to prevent tethering with the current data plan, but I am willing to pay more money to allow tethering! With such an advanced device, why can I not do so?

From "Steve" to our reader:

We agree, and are discussing it with ATT.

Steve

Sent from my iPhone

We're not sure—that "Sent from my iPhone" kicker either makes this email completely legitimate or illegitimate, but it's not a bad little rumor to start your holiday weekend early.

So would you pay extra to tether your laptop to your iPhone? [Image via Lifehacker]

Essentially, the 2.0.2 updated the iPhone to ask for less power from AT&T's towers for UMTS voice and data transmission. Apparently iPhones were simply asking for too much power—more than the handsets actually required—and when many iPhone users were stacked on one base transceiver station tower, the tower simply ran out of power.

No/low tower power equals dropped calls and poor 3G connections.

It's sort of like splitting a chicken for dinner. If everyone grabs just one piece, it can feed a family. But if Dad goes back for seconds before Mom sits down to the table, someone is going hungry.

The problem will not fix itself until the firmware update is distributed to more handsets. So update your phones and bring me another piece of chicken. [DailyTech via CrunchGear]

AT&T was calling me to set up an interview with their CTO, but all I could hear was garbled noise on my AT&T iPhone. "I can't really hear you!" I shouted, as if volume would clear the channel. It's always been like this, in my home in San Francisco.

While the howls of iPhone 3G reception issues get louder and louder, I've always wondered if it was the network's fault, as some Swedish scientists and journalists have recently suggested. Maybe it's just new AT&T customers making the bulk of the noise. From my experience, the phone isn't blameless, but the network is a major part of the issue.

Continuing the call on an land line, I said I'd be glad to meet with John Donovan. To be perfectly honest, on a certain level, I didn't really want to ask questions. All I wanted to do was get the guy in front of me and berate him for his network's voice quality and reception, relatively slow 3G rollout and coverage. AT&T's been last in all those metrics for years (according to JD Powers) and they were still raking in the bucks as the nation's largest carrier. But after meeting him, I'm certain John Donovan has the intent the Old AT&T didn't. And a detailed plan on how to make "More Bars in More Places" less like a joke and more like a promise. In fact, Donovan surprised me when he said, "We want to be number one in all those metrics" — That's a lot of big talk when I can't even make a call from my own house right now. Here's the outline of the plan, which Donovan provided later — as well as some straight talk from an AT&T engineer on whether or not the plans will work.

•Cell site splitting. We’re deploying about 1,500 new cell sites this year. This enhances service quality in two ways – we’re expanding the geographic reach of the network, and in some places, we’re adding cell sites in existing territory to improve coverage and capacity.

•We monitor the usage for both data and voice on each and every cell site sector, combine that with our forecasts and customer feedback to target specific locations where we need to augment capacity via further cell splits.

•TDMA turndown. Earlier this year we turned down our TDMA/Analog networks. That allowed us to free up key spectrum to redeploy into the UMTS/HSPA network. Not only does that give us the opportunity to increase overall capacity on UMTS/HSPA, it enables us to deploy UMTS/HSPA at 850 Mhz (vs 1900 Mhz). This 850 spectrum provides optimum in-building coverage. We’re in the midst of turning up this spectrum on the UMTS-HSPA network across the country.

•Short measurement intervals. We’re deploying capabilities to measure network performance in much shorter intervals. This capability will be especially important to maximize service quality during major events. For example, during a Final Four or World Series game, traffic on the network will spike during time outs, or when a great play, bad call, or something else big happens. In normal circumstances, we might measure traffic and performance a few times per hour, but in these situations, we’ll monitor every few minutes to ensure maximum performance during the spikes that occur in real time.

•Wireless backhaul. We’re leveraging our U-verse and metro Ethernet fiber deployments to enhance wireless backhaul connections in many areas. We’re moving more and more of our wireless backhaul onto the 40 Gbps AT&T backbone network. So … the investments we’re making to maximize service quality on the wired side also benefit our wireless customers.

•Drive testing. AT&T technicians and other third-party vendors will drive-test its network nearly 30 million miles in the next year to improve the network’s coverage and quality.

•Hundreds of technicians from third-party testing companies, infrastructure vendors and AT&T technicians use specially designed vehicles to travel throughout the country and test the signal strength and coverage of AT&T’s ALLOVER Network.

•Along with drive-testing its own network, AT&T drive-tests competitors’ networks to ensure that its coverage and quality are equal to or better than other companies providing service in the area.

•The drive-test results help to prioritize where the company invests in new cell sites and equipment that enhances the network quality and coverage.

While a great deal of the document above is fairly obvious, there are many roadblocks to executing the plan and improving the network. Donovan's interview revealed some details of the plan above, but some engineers within the ranks gave me a great deal of insight, too.

A large part of the problem, Donovan said, is that people would complain, and yet, by all of their measurements, the user should have had full bars in the place and at the time they reported the poor coverage. Hence the need for better tools and more frequent sampling, instead of several times per hour, they'd do it every few minutes during congested periods. A great deal of that testing is done using network tools, but drive testing will help, and AT&T also tests their competitors' networks for comparison.

Adding more towers in a place is not simple. It's a local affair, requiring navigation of local building codes and politics. Somewhere like SF makes that hard, but the hilly terrain wouldn't help the situation either. And while 30 million miles of driving sounds like a good idea, the engineers I talked to insisted that drive testing is really just a final check once you've got enough towers in place. "Save the money on drive testing and build sites or improve sites we already have...[by] buying t-1s to increase capacity." He also commented that adding 1500 towers alone isn't enough to solve the problem.

Turning down analog networks sounds like a winning strategy, as long as you don't mind grandma's cell call quality being degraded. The activation of the 850MHz band will also enable better indoor reception, which is going to be critical in expanding data/voice quality as user counts go up. Donovan also said that they'd shift their allocation of bandwidth towards data from voice, which makes sense. Analog aside, the EDGE legacy is taking up resources on the towers which are shared with 3G. As one of the engineers said, having UMTS and GSM use the same antennas causes "interference and performance. It’s like putting a splitter on a garden hose the flow is still there but volume is cut in half on each side." (This is where Verizon and Sprint have an advantage.)

And as Wired has realized, 3G range being more limited, AT&T can't actually blanket a city by using the same tower locations as their EDGE counterparts. But my engineer friend also said, "We went from 2.5g experts to 3g novices." They don't have the training or experience to find or fix issues as well as they do on EDGE networks. Many in the field are also lacking the expensive test gear for UMTS to find bad channels and interference.

Why didn't AT&T make these investments in the first place, while Starbucks and T-Mobile worked on Wi-Fi hotspots and Sprint/Verizon went 3G ahead of the curve? Money.

And while AT&T's financially conservative strategies in the past have limited expansion, there's no reason they couldn't also do so in the future. I asked Donovan if caution was the overriding strategy behind waiting to match Sprint's initial 3G rollout, he replied, "I'd like to say we're deliberate. " He added that initially meeting the voice quality and data rates of Sprint's 3G network would have been both technically and financially impossible, despite the customer benefit. (One only needs to look at Sprint's financial weakness now to appreciate the wisdom of his point.) He also pointed out that by waiting, they got to leapfrog the limitations of Sprint's EVDO networks, referring to the extended data rates their network will eventually run at, at a better value. "The most astute thing you can do is be as late as possible and as fast as possible. Because it's going to cost you more if you do it too early, and if you do it too late, you don't get the features you want."

When AT&T's LTE networks do make the jump past Sprint, from 1.7Mbit to 7Mbit to 11Mbit to 20Mbit, their bottle neck will move to their backend infrastructure. To counteract that, they'll depend on their extensive wired and fiber backhauls the company has. But, in areas where the telco is owned by AT&T, AT&T wireless still has to buy lines from themselves and the budget isn’t there. According to at least one engineer, "We still operate at the field as two completely different companies. While at the top they see “ONE” we see many."

Will AT&T succeed at having the best call quality, coverage and reception? Who knows. But at least here, we have their plans on record and can hold them to the goal. After all, they're the biggest carrier — they've got a responsibility to all of us to make their network the best, no matter what the cost.

I just want to be able to hear the other person on the end of the line.

In major metro areas in the US, 3G performance is slow as balls—10 out of 30 in San Francisco reported speeds as slow as EDGE, pointing to overloaded towers in heavy usage areas. (And because AT&T's 3G equipment is mostly deployed on existing 2G towers which are spaced farther apart than 3G's range, when you get the to edge of a tower's coverage, you're going to get crappy performance.)

Another thing pointing to tower overload, anecdotally, is that the noise level of complaints has been blowing up since launch (re: 3G speeds, it was relatively quiet in complaint city), indicating that the rising tidal wave of 3G users hitting AT&T's network is outpacing their capacity. With Wired's data, there's a decent case that if your 3G is sucking, it's not entirely your phone's fault after all.

Still, the average speed US speed of 990Kbps isn't bad, actually, considering that 1.4Mbps is the rated max download speed. It's better than EDGE. You know, when it works. [Gadget Lab]

While the idea of someone in Alabama using an iPhone might take a second or sixty to process, she actually lives in Birmingham, one of the state's few bastions of civilization, which AT&T has blanketed with solid 3G coverage (though congestion is always a possible issue). Given the huge amount of noise about the problems with the phone's 3G—and even Apple's tacit admission of the issue with the 2.0.2 update—she estimates in the suit that the class spans "perhaps tens of thousands" of people.

The actual basis of the suit is that Apple broke its warranty that it would "perform adequately" on 3G. She's asking for Apple to be forced to repair or replace all "defective iPhone 3G" units, plus damages, interest on "monetary relief" and attorney's fees. The suit hasn't actually been made class action yet, but if it does, then this could get interesting. If nothing else, we might learn from the suit where exactly the phone's problems lie, and that might be worth the ride, even if it takes a long time to get there. [Ars Technica]