If not an iPhone than What

[normiss 878]

We don't carry that traffic on our PSTN network!
Not much circuit switch or cell switch networks left....since the wireline business is disappearing most network traffic is now on packet switched networks.
The protocols you're referring to are wireless protocols generally handled solely on the cell tower itself.

[Gawain 0]

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We don't carry that traffic on our PSTN network!
Not much circuit switch or cell switch networks left....since the wireline business is disappearing most network traffic is now on packet switched networks.
The protocols you're referring to are wireless protocols generally handled solely on the cell tower itself.

That's what I've been talking about. AT&T's capacity for cellular/wireless activity. I'm not talking about the backhaul data (which you brought up, and btw circuit is nowhere near as dead as you claim), whether circuit or packet. AT&T capacity in the wireless space is the iPhone's weakness. It's due in part to the iPhone's data hungry set up, but it's more due to the fact that AT&T did not build out the wireless standard to the saturation levels needed to handle their growth.

They encountered this 10 years ago with the roll-out of the "SingleRate" which boosted subscriber activity on their then TDMA network, and they have been having problems again with the explosion of activity with the iPhone. However, the gripes of activity have been in the major cities, where subscriber density is greater than the carrier's ability to handle the demand.

Merry Christmas!

So I try and I scream and I beg and I sigh
Just to prove I'm alive, and it's alright
'Cause tonight there's a way I'll make light of my treacherous life
Make light!

[warpedskydiver 0]

Singlerate was awesome in it's day.

[normiss 878]

Interesting opinion.

Quite different from what I see in reality though.



what ever...

[BadNinja 0]

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THEN what. Not "than" what.

I have been sitting here waiting for 3 days to find out which fine gentleman would correct that. Thanks for identifying yourself.

I'll try and be quicker next time.

[ridestrong 1]

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I'm not talking about the PSTN that carries the back end traffic. I'm talking literally about AT&T's wireless coverage. The PSTN has far more capacity than the wireless system could deliver to it.

Their network was built off the original AMPS/FDMA (like everyone) and migrated to TDMA, which is like GSM in terms of channeling and dividing frequency slots, but does not have any "data" standards per se. GSM accounts for this with larger channels, but actually requires more physical towers (saturation) to maintain service.

In Europe, for example, they migrated directly to GSM off AMPS/D-AMPS. SIM cards were the size of a credit card (my European acquaintances surely remember), and the system was physically installed to maximize that standard. AT&T implemented GSM over their legacy system, and didn't aggressively build out to meet the demand. They've been suffering this problem for over 10 years.

Yeah... what he said...

*I am not afraid of dying... I am afraid of missing life.*
----Disclaimer: I don't know shit about skydiving.----

[Gawain 0]

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Interesting opinion.

Quite different from what I see in reality though.



what ever...

It's been a few years since I was in the business, and I'm sure my years in telecom is slanted, as I worked for a competitor of AT&T, I'll grant that. However, when AT&T's senior management is on the record with things like this:

http://www.minyanville.com/articles/ATT-apple-google-verizon-iphone-3G-cell-phones-wireless-motorola-sprint-nokia-android-droid-smartphone-samsung/index/a/25849

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Speaking with investors on Wednesday, Ralph de la Vega, head of AT&T’s mobile division, did the unthinkable: He actually acknowledged the performance issues with the provider. He didn't go so far as to address the Consumer Reports survey that ranked his company last overall in cellular customer satisfaction, but he did note that coverage in New York City and San Francisco are "performing below our standards." Case in point, New York City has a 30% dropped-call rate for the iPhone, which Apple (AAPL) deemed acceptable, according to tech site Gizmodo.

Just as everyone was beginning to wonder if we're seeing a more lucid AT&T -- one that recognizes issues and actually does something about them -- de la Vega shifted blame onto customers.

Yes. The CEO of a lackluster provider just blamed the increasingly dissatisfied user base for being the source of the problem.

"We need to educate the customer," de la Vega smugly said. "We've got to get them to understand what represents a megabyte of data."

De la Vega trotted out a statistic -- largely targeting iPhone users -- that 3% of smartphone customers on AT&T comprise 40% of data usage, namely high-bandwidth activity like streaming video and audio. He added, "The amount of growth and data that we are seeing in wireless data is unprecedented," and described that the US is unique in such exponential usage increases.

Without specifying what changes would need to be made, de la Vega mentioned certain measures that would need to be addressed to decrease traffic "in a way that's consistent with net-neutrality and FCC regulations." In other words, goodbye unlimited data plans. Hello, tier-based data plans.

When AT&T has roughly 80M subscribers. Let's be generous and say 6 million of them of iPhone subscribers (I'm guessing the number may be 5M?). AT&T is blaming their network problems on a mere 180,000 of them (most of the complaints in the US seem to be focused on NYC and San Francisco, but it's generally accepted that there are issues in several major markets)?? If that is truly the case, then their network is truly in trouble (the wireless side, not the backhaul).

It's easy to simply blame "GSM" as a general rule of capacity, but it really is more than that. It's how the capacity is managed. I'm sure you understand what I'm talking about. These issues with the iPhone, or "smartphone" data in general are not happening in European or Asian markets in any proportional manner relative to here in the US.

So I try and I scream and I beg and I sigh
Just to prove I'm alive, and it's alright
'Cause tonight there's a way I'll make light of my treacherous life
Make light!