Meet Seth the blogger guy, AT&T's answer to angry iPhone owners

Is Seth just kidding, or what? Doesn't seem to me like there is any problem with their Blackberrys. Verizon data transfer seems to be doing quite well. Many of us that have iPhones are industry people with technical backgrounds. As usual, don't whiz on my shoes and tell me it's raining

AT&T sucked 20 years ago, and they do now. Verizon's customer service is so much better than any other carrier. Great phone or not, CUSTOMER SERVICE IS THE ISSUE FOR ME. When the iphone comes to Verizon, I'll get one. Until then, I shall be patient.

There are some data capacity issues in some markets on AT&T's network, but most iphone users are complaining about dropped calls or poor RF reception, not data throughput.

The problem is with the iPhone, not the AT&T network. Other phones on the same network are working just fine.

Apple gets user interfaces and the application space, but they don't know jack about building a good communications device.

Face it, you bought a cool little gameboi ipod with killer apps that happens to be a really sh14y phone.

Classic response from the AAPL fans. Blame AT&T for the lousy RF reception of the iPhone. Don't blame AAPL for the chipset it chose, blame the network. Another triumph of AAPL marketing.

All of the wireless providers have weak spots in their coverage. AT&T happens to have weak spots in the two biggest hipster enclaves in the country in NYC and San Francisco. Simple solution: buy a phone with great RF reception. Almost any Motorola or Nokia will do.

Is it me or does Seth the blogger guy look stoned? He must be staring at too many 1s and 0s.

Switch to T-Mobile myTouch

I have been a Cingular (now AT&T) cellular customer for over 6 years, living and traveling exclusively in the Southeastern US.

Prior to establishing service in 2003, I researched the major cell carriers and spoke with other subscribers on AT&T, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Version.

It is typical for physical landscapes and competing electrical structures to lead to dropped calls, as well as dead zones, bandwidth traffic, and other related issues. From my experience, these situations have occurred very occasionally and fall well within expected and acceptable limits.

I found AT&T technical support staff have addressed problems quickly and efficiently, including swapping my phone at their retail store for another model with additional features for no charge (very impressive).

I am a typical cell customer on a 450/5000 plan and have no desire to pay hundreds of dollars a year to read or answer e-mail (which I can do from my personal laptop via Wi-Fi), text my friends or business associates (makes more sense to call them directly), or pull driving directions and general information off my cell phone. Isn't that what a good GPS unit is for??

I pay nothing for e-mail (free account) and a one-time $100-150 for a GPS which I OWN. In the long run, I save health issues from carpal tunnel affecting my fingers, hands, and wrist and come out WAY ahead monthly regarding my overall cell budget ($35.00 compared with $100.00 or more for an I-Phone with the texting plan).

Each of the major carriers have their own challenges, with additional technology strains on bandwith along with subscriber growth at the top of the list. Keep in mind that AT&T has one of the most extensive wireless networks in the country. It is up to the potential cell customer to weigh the options (pros and cons), accept the current limitations (which may be minimized in the future), report any ongoing issues to technical support, and manage their own realistic expectations for the best possible overall outcome.

I count myself as a VERY satisfied AT&T cell customer and hope healthy competition continues to drive improvements and technical innovation for each carrier moving forward.

I know that At&t definitely has issues like many
other companies. I look forward to the complaining
that verizon will generate when it has the iPhone.

I was on the iPhone for two years. I loved the apps but ATT kept dropping my calls. I nearly lost a client over it because I run and IT support company and it sounded to him like we didn't know what we are doing. I'm now on a Blackberry using Verizon. It's a different ball game. Calls are never dropped. Until ATT gets this fixed, I'm never going back

I don't feel sorry for AT&T at all. They knew what they were getting themselves into. Knowing the capabilities of the original iPhone and the new technology around the corner, they KNEW what demands would be placed on their network. Also, they have and WANT exclusive rights to the phone, so I don't want to hear their whining about all this traffic on their lines. If it's such a burden, then give up the iPhone to others who can handle it. But charging nearly $1200 a year PER phone might not be so easy to give up.

OMFG. ALL OF YOU PEOPLE OUT THERE COMPLAINING ABOUT AT$T AND HOW THEIR SERVICE SUCKS. IM PRETTY SURE THAT ALL OF YOU HAVE IPHONES ALSO. HAVE YOU EVER NOTICED THAT THERE ARE NO NON-IPHONE USERS COMPLAINING? THATS BECAUSE ITS THE IPHONE'S FAULT. IN MY HOUSE I GET 1 BAR WITH IPHONE. 5 WITH BLACKBERRY BOTH FOR ATT. THE IPHONE HAS horrible SERVICE. STOP B#%CHING ABOUT ATT SERVICE WHEN ITS APPLES FAULT. IF YOU REALLY WANT TO CHANGE THINGS THEN COMPLAIN TO THE REAL PROBLEM. APPLE IS THE PROBLEM. YOU PEOPLE NEED TO THINK ABOUT THE PROBLEM AND NOT JUST LOOK AT FACTS. THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX!!!!

iPhone: no thanks. I'm mad as hell about AT&T's involvement in domestic wiretapping. The thought of Bush, Gonzales and Yoo listening to my calls and intercepting my Internet usage is a major quality of service issue.

I just switched to AT&T about three weeks ago. Left Sprint – terrible coverage in my neighborhood, AT&T coverage is great (3G in my house). The iPhone automatically converts to wifi when in my house – so internet is blazing fast. I would get one or two dropped calles on Sprint per week. No dropped calls on AT&T. I was a 15 year Sprint customer – one of my phones died and Sprint treated me very poorly. It just so happened my Sprint phone died a week before my Sprint contract expired. So, we decided to look at AT&T and the iPhone. I wanted to get the 16GB iPhone – out of stock at the AT&T store. They had 32GB phone – which I didn't want. But after they said they would waive all the setup/initiation fees – the 32GB phones ended up costing me about $100 more (total) than the 16GB phone (I bought two). I realize everyone's experience is different – but so far, I have great AT&T coveage and they treated me much better as a new customer than Sprint did as a 15 year customer. My wife and I love the iPhone.

Maybe its time to look at other options? Clear for example. Their WiMAX service in Portland is pretty good and with data only services, it works great. They have VoIP for residential lines so there is a good chance, mobility may be added in the near future.

CDMA is not slower than TDMA, based on my experience with both platforms.

Overall, I'd say CDMA (Sprint/Verizon) has been more reliable and covers better in the major metros than my experience with GSM (AT&T).

CDMA is limited in distribution, but if you aren't traveling outside North America, even the iPhone shouldn't drive one's decision to a lesser carrier, IMO.

Go get yourself a nice blackberry and CDMA service. Then go get a iTouch and have the best of both worlds.

Cheers,

I have a usb net card from at&t I am trying to watch the utube vedio from seth explaining why broadband is slow.
This guy never travel out of the US, overseas. Here in america broad band sucks, I am trying to watch this asshole giving reasons why broadband don't is slow and the viedo keep cuting out every 4 second.

AT&T still likes to avoid talking specifics about where they are fixing coverage. Coverage is a personal issue down to the neighborhood level. This web site has over 20,000 dead zone complaints and network congestion problem areas reported on http://www.deadcellzones.com. Executives at AT&T are still avoiding the tough questions.

AT&T sound like they really suck. I'm in Europe, and I have never had a call drop out. Never. NEVER.

Ha! The imperialist american corporate chickens are coming home to roost. Or something like that.

Still it makes you wonder about the drones that are supposedly zapping terrorists in afpakistan. If AT&T can't hold a telephone call together for big money in the USA, what are the chances civilians are getting wiped out in droves by grainy black and white footage from the terror in the sky?

You weapon is made by the lowest bidder, and all that. I dunno. Oh well, it is only other peoples children dying. No biggie.

Talking about drones may seem a bit left field, on an Apple blog, but that is where this thing is going. Give a couple of decades, and the whole of north america will be a drone zone. AT&T will be zapping folks who are late with their bills, or who download illegally copied movies, and this half wit who needs a haircut is going to be explaining it over the web to concerned customers.

Great….MMS service…just another way to hog the already crowded ATT bandwidth. They are so smart at ATT.

I have a $20 motorola phone and pay $8.00 a month for ATT wireless service. No dropped calls and I get a signal anywhere I travel within the U.S. Lets see, $400 iPhones and 2 or 3 year contract for $100+ a month and you can't even get a signal to make a phone call. Sounds to me like you all have been taken big time. My advise is to dump these slackers as soon as possible and go back to basics. A $20 phone anybody? At least you can call home and actually get a person on the other end.

You guys expect too much. you pay $100 monthly and also saved $500 for the iphone. All the AT&T haters why you switched to AT&T? You all complained when you were with Verizon. No matter what you get you complain. You dont want drop calls use landline.

Am am pretty happy with AT&T's service.

I realize that cell phone data service is difficult given how many people with iPhones are going on at the same time.

But it will get better over time.

I use to have Verizon. But I hated it. You can't Text or MMS with every country, for example. Try and text with someone in Eastern Europe, and you'll find out that you can't with Verizon.

Verizon also has prohibited and forced cell phone manufacturers to disable features on cell phones such as Bluetooth connectivity or USB connectivity so Verizon can be the one to cell the ring tones and what not.

Verizon also uses an old technology on its cell phones so that you can't travel outside the U.S.

Verizon, worse of all, would nickel and dime you to death with their charges.

Verizon also REFUSED to agree with Apple's requirements for the iPhone – such as Visual Voicemail – which would have required Verizon to modify its computer's programming. Verizon was the one to tell Apple to take a hike.

T-Mobile is even worse than AT&T. It doesn't have good coverage at all.

Sprint is even worse than T-Mobile. it uses the same old techology as Verizon. And it has an even smaller coverage area.

So there you have it.

AT&T is the best network, despite its flaws. AT&T is working to improve its network too. Thus it will get better.

Dan in Chicago -

These are all things people shouldn't have to think about. It's why they PAY for service. I don't care what AT&T claims to have spent on their network when I can't get a signal downtown.

What if your cable company said too many people were watching TV so you might not be able to watch. But they were "on it" and you should keep paying anyway.

I've seen AT&T employees all over the internet making excuses for T. Which isn't really even T. But excuses are BS. People simply want what they are paying for every month. AT&T is not keeping up their end – regardless of the excuse mongering.

Dear Philip,

It is OK to say something not great about Apple some of the time. Really, its true. People will still read your articles.

Everyone in the industry knows how bad the Apple iPhone RF performance is..that is the reason for dropped calls not ATT.

Perhaps if you used your column to raise this issue then ATT would feel happier to pressure Apple to fix their RF problems.

I don't think you guys understand how different cell technologies work. AT&T and Verzion run on to TOTALLY different technologies. AT&T runs on GSM/HSDPA which has faster data speeds, but has more trouble getting into buildings. Verizon runs CDMA, which has slower data speeds, but penetrates buildings better, it's all a trade off. AT&T has been working to expand their coverage, and you all should be grateful. 38 billion dollars is a lot of money, I don't think you guys grasp this.

"Has anyone thought that maybe the dropped calls are the iPhone's fault?" -Ask Why

Do you really think AT&T would issue a video like this if there was a chance it was Apple and not them? I don't think so.

Since 2007 I have had little or no service at my home (I live on the edge of town) and little or no service at my office (downtown). About 50% of all calls get dropped or have to be redialed at least once. Originally I was on the 1250 minute plan, I have downgraded twice because I cant use all those minutes. 3G? Still at 2G here. Please Mr. Jobs deliver us from this evil. Thankyou.

I can look out of my apartment window at Sutro Tower – with it's cell phone transmitters all lined up – here in San Francisco, and yet there are many times I can't get a signal. AT&T is completely ridiculous, and I'll be going back to Verizon as soon as I possibly can. Don't care about the breaking contract fee – AT&T has lost this customer for life!

Everyone forgets that ATT got the iphone because it was willing to adjust its network to accommodate Apple choice of new features. Verizon would not.

You People are boobs you know there is this thing called overhead when you own a business yeah AT&T's network could be better but you got to understand that they have to pay their employees wages, rent for every store world wide (that could run up to $5000 per store maybe more), maintenance for their towers and the list goes on for all the expenses they endure and they still found a way to budget 38 billion dollars to upgrade the network so you can have a better experience when they launch new features but you are still ungrateful and jump ship at your first chance witch drives prices though the roof for other customers come on people use your heads for one second and stop crying at least they want to let you know they care I had sprint for over 4 years constantly drop calls and customer service never seamed to care that i was unhappy with my service you should still let them know about the problems you are having but dont just come out and kick them in the crotch with insults that wont get you anywhere.

iphone is a GREAT device, but the WORST phone ever. I can't believe all of the dropped calls. I get them everywhere. I just have to believe AT&T blows. The phone service has gotten so bad, it's ridiculous. And I have know one to blame buy myself for the not changing carriers because I love the other capabilities of the Iphone. But again, it's got the worst coverage — and a horrible number of dropped calls!

Has anyone thought that maybe the dropped calls are the iPhone's fault?

It appears to be an isolated issue with the iPhone. Maybe Apple should do some "can you hear me now" tests to see why it's dropping so much?

Here's a cool (free) app on iTunes that may help iPhone users feel better….TroubleSpots (http://mytroublespots.com). It let's you report a dropped/failed cell phone call, and also no cell coverage or data failure. It has google maps integrated so you can go back and pinpoint the troublespot. Sounds like the the data collected actually makes it back to AT&T – http://is.gd/2TdcT.

Why didn't AT&T plan for success? Everyone and their grandmother knew what the iPhone was capable of…

We're spending $8 Kazillion dollars to improve things.. really? Is that out of the $80 kazillion you're making every month from iPhone/AT&T Exclusive locked in contracts for the best mobile device on the planet??

Pesonally, I believe all these negative comments about AT&T are right on. You have to remember that the iPhone brought over a lot of people from other providers, so people do have something to compare it against. I came from Verizon and out of the 8 years I was with them I never had a dropped call. As soon as I switched to AT&T I get a few dropped calls a day and I live in San Diego! Not some po-dunk town in boondocks, USA!

AT&T does suck and will continue to suck no matter how much money they throw at PR or how much they try to restrict use of my iPhone. I can't wait to run back to Verizons arms.

The funny part is they've expected people to pay $20 for text messaging and they don't even offer pic messages. What are you paying for then? If they got rid of this I believe that might help there PR, but instead people just jailbreak there phones and bad mouth AT&T for as long as they have a contract and then jump ship.

Finally, MMS end of Sept . . . we'll see how it really works.
Tucson is a somewhat hilly town. Sprint worked fine in my house, not AT&T. Dropped calls of NO SERVICE most of the time. Tech support was not helpful: "turn your iPhone off & then back on several times a week, that might help."
Please Apple let us have another choice like Verizon! Keep AT&T too it works for some people & they should not be forced to switch providers. I too had to get a house phone line again. (I need to be able to use a phone in my home, doesn't everyone ?)

The problem with people justifying this issue by stating the iphone uses up too much bandwidth, or there are so many more reasons to use the internet on the phone is the amount of money ATT makes monthly from each of us. With over 15 Million iPhone users in the US with most plans at or over $100, thats 1.5 Billion a month they make. They should have, and could have much better prepared for this instead of putting all those profits in their pockets! Why are they only now putting up towers. The average tower to erect, with permission from the town, and with hardware upgrades takes well over 6-9 months in some cases. If they took the precautions necassary, this would not have happened. We would have the necassary towers needed to power these hummer like phones with no complaints.

ATT – Lesson you should have learned is Prevention is Better than Cure. In all cases not just healthcare!

I would get an iphone in a heart beat, even with all the trouble. But I can't! You know why? Because Verizon, the only carrier my area that can actually get a signal, is not available to iphones. Why is that? My biggest wish? MAKE IT HAPPEN PEOPLE!!!!!

I live in Riverside County, California and my 3GS service is great. I've never had a dropped call. My only complaint is that the data plan ($30) and texting plans are expensive. In fact AT&T texting plans are a joke. $5 for 200, $15 for 1500, or $20 for unlimited. What happended with $10 for 1000? I've had an iPhone for two years now and cannot live without it. My wife has an iPhone too. For $30 a month we can get unlimited family texting… Once MMS is supported on 9/25 I can see my texting increasing.

Seems a little ridiculous to blame the customers – 'ooh the networks were designed for voice and a few texts it's not AT&Ts fault' – or even better 'Its mobile and you are not going to get the bandwidth that you get at your home or office.. people in the US have grown into big babies that want want want… We are not owed anything..'

AT&T has advertised and sold us a product and contracted to provide service. They should not have sold a service they could not deliver. Period. The reason iPhone users consume more data is because all the other phones controlled by the carriers flat out suck and nobody uses them. The iPhone is actually useful so people use it. Duh. AT&T blew it big time – they knew well before the 3G came out that they would need more capacity – why weren't these upgrades put in prior to the launch of the 3G? Because now they are financing the buildout on the backs of current users who are getting terrible service. Lame. AT&T sucks. Between the wireless issues and billing errors I will leave AT&T the second that I can. I had TMobile for a decade and had fewer dropped calls than in one month with AT&T.

If there is anything I really can do without, it is a cell phone, no matter what "variety".

Basically, people who really think they need those devices, need to get a life.

I left Verizon for AT&T because of the iPhone. The last two days has been horrendous in trying to talk from home. I live in Altadena (15 miles north of Downtown Los Angeles) where, according to their coverage map, I should be getting the "best service, including 3G". Yeah right. It got so bad that I just decided to connect a home phone.

If Verizon would get the iPhone I would drop AT&T in a heartbeat even if I have to pay the cancellation fee.

This is not my original idea but it does make one wonder. When I buy a TV I don't have to subscribe to just one provider. I buy the TV and then choose a content provider like Comcast or Direct TV. Same with a Computer. I buy the computer, then I choose an Internet provider. I am not bound to anybody when I first buy the consumer product. Why is it that when I buy a phone, I have to go with just that exclusive service provider. Very anti competitive and contributes to lousy service. Just my two cents.

I have noticed huge improvements in service over the past year, at least here in Atlanta. All over Downtown/Midtown/Buckhead, my connection is very fast and reliable now, even on my older 3G phone.

Great phone with crappy service cell service but has wifi or Verizon has good cell service but doesn't have any phones that have wifi or features worth writing home about. Sounds like a lose lose situation for customers.

I've got Verizon and a 3 year old phone. I've started looking at getting another phone since my battery isn't holding charge very well. I looked and I don't like what I see. It looks like I'll get another cheap phone with no features.

I dont pay an obscene amount of money each month to AT&T to hear excuses. Just make it work!

Dave – .33 % of ALL web traffic. Think about what you do on the web from a cpumpter at home or at work. The mpbile web is just a tiny fraction of that. Check the figures for iphone vs blackberry on web traffic, Iphone users are the largest mobikle web surfers, and that causes a lot of strain on the networks that were deisgned to handle voice calls and a few small text messages, not streaming video or downloading songs.

OK, ATT Sucks. Got it, and I'm not surprised… But what evidence is there that any other wireless carrier is any better? I have Verizon and rarely have any coverage problems for Wireless Plain Old Telephone Service. It's not clear to me at all that any of the carriers are prepared for the large increase in bandwidth demand from smart phones, particularly a smartphone that gets used as much as an iPhone.

And in my experience, Customer Service is a lost art, not just in wireless cell but in most high tech/telecom industries.

We moved from Verizon to AT&T not just for the iPhone but coverage in our area. We live in a Verizon dominated area but coverage in our home and surrounding area was nil. Switching to AT&T now I get a full signal in my basement where previously I had to go on the porch to get a minimal signal with Verizon. AT&T has been great for us so far, and if Apple has a device on Verizon and people move for it all the better for me and others that are happy.

"It's pretty well documented at this point that AT&T is doing a lousy job in many markets."

This is the kind of comment that really makes me angry. Where's this "documentation"? Did you just pull it out of a dark, moist place – after you pulled your head out first?

AT&T ain't perfect – but no service is.

This reeks to high heavens as a major PR hatchet job.

I would just like to say that I have been with most carriers. AT&T is by far the best. My coverage has been that best and their customer service has been the best. I have sold most other carriers as well and I can speak from experience that AT&T has the best service available. I recently upgraded to an iPhone in June and I love it!! I do not however live in a metro but I will say that there are a lot of iPhone users in the area. I rarely drop a call or have any issues what so ever.

I can't wait to get out of my contract with AT&T. Customer service is horrible. I had a bundled plan including a family plan with 3 cell phones, land line, Dish TV and internet. There was a mysterious $10.00 charge every month on my cell phone bill no one could ever explain. I called every month and every month the customer service rep said they would stop the charge and credit the $10.00. Next month, the charge was there again with no credit. After 5 months, a customer service rep told me she would give me credit for $50.00 so to deduct $50 from my bill. So I paid the whole bill except for $50.00. The next week, they shut off my Dish Network. When I called they said my bill was past due and they shut off what they consider "non-essential service!" Then Dish Network debited my checking account for $400.00 because they said I broke my contract by discontinuing service! This caused my checking account to get overdrawn which resulted in about $500 in fees from the bank! This whole nightmare took over 3 months to resolve! I spent literally hours on the phone. I finally had to file a fraud affidavit at my bank and let me handle part of it from their end. It was a horrible experience!

What if my cable tv provider made a video that told me too many people wanted to watch The Office – so they couldn't guarantee I'd be able to watch it? But that I should keep paying anyway – just in case I got lucky and the signal came through?

AT&T must have the most iron-clad disclaimers of all time in their contracts and coverage maps. Here in downtown Charlotte the coverage is horrible.

Amazing hypocrisy, when they can run this commercial on TV simultaneously:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XP9tc8oYfmI

I no longer believe anything AT&T has to say.

For those of you having no problems with AT&T coverage: congratulations. It's pretty well documented at this point that AT&T is doing a lousy job in many markets. The fact that some people are actually getting what they've paid for shouldn't be surprising, nor does it excuse AT&T's blatant disregard for customers in ill-serviced regions.

If they can't deliver the service they shouldn't market it. Nor should they publish bogus coverage maps. What they should do is pour money into expansion. What they will do is ride out the backlash, spend as little as possible, and hope their next-gen network handles the load better.

Sure, now ATT is UPGRADING SF and NY like a drunken monkey, due to HIGH VISIBILITY…the REST of us schmucks will be waiting till 2020!!! ATT must be hiring exMSFTers who brought us all the 'joys' of Vista. If we had a working FCC/Justice, they would smell the STENCH of 'Bait n Switch,' but Congress neutered them too, as it helps their cash flow for re-election.

I would like to say on behalf of AT&T,,,I think they have done a better job than most providers….Remember,,Iphone takes up a big percentage of Bandwith than any other smart phone…this has overloaded ATT network…They have shown that there are upgrading and building out more cell sites to fix the problem in areas that has poor network…NOT all areas have this problem…Now could Verizon have done better…the answer is NO>..Again the bandwith for the smart phone (IPHONE) is greater than anyother smartphone. So to the defense of ATT..people that are complaining on this board,,are probably people that had to switch to ATT network to use the IPHONE.. Well at least a company steped up to the plate..or you wouldnt even have a IPHONE. Again…ATT has been around for a long time…there network is the best…there getting a bad rep because of the bandwith of the iphone…Also,,this is not a problem in most states..but the media and critics cant stand AT&T..so they blow this story out of control….We all know that ATT is the best,,look at all the Government and corporate companies and Schools and businesses give them contracts to take care of there service.. i think there is alot of Verizon customers bashing ATT to much..Verizon has there problems also in coverage…HELLO!!!

"iPhone’s accounted for 0.33 per cent of Web traffic last month, up from 0.30 per cent the month before and 0.14 per cent in October 2008, the figures reveal."
HOW DOES 0.33%(LESS THAN 1%) OF WEB TRAFFIC CONSTITUTE BEING A "HOG"? YOU MEDIA PEOPLE MAKE ME SICK.

Todd,

You are a dope.

I worked at at&t and the problem is management period.
Sprint is the better network they have learned the hard way by losing customer base for the same reasons at&t is now learning. Sprint network is in fact far better.

Cordial, the sad part is although AT&T took Cingular over, the wireless division is still run by the same SBC and Cingular people. The drop in customer service your experiencing has nothing to do with the Merger.

If only the iphone worked as well as a phone as it does an ipod. I have never had a harder time talking to people than those who have AT&T, what awful service. At least you can enjoy your itunes while your call is dropped 10 times.

Todd,

You are absolutely right, they don't owe us anything…besides the fact that we pay a hefty monthly fee for their service. I'm sure if you pay $80 – $150 a month you would expect to get service.

Also AT&T should be ashamed of their inability to have MMS much earlier. It is standard and would help lower the traffic on their network given the fact that MMS requires less bandwidth than typical 3G data so iphone users can get a text message/picture/video whatever instead of having to check their email.

I've used my 3G Iphone in the Chicago area, since the unit was released. I live about 90 minutes away from Chicago, in the NW "sticks". I use my Iphone every day to listen to streaming radio everyday over the 3g network during my 60 min commute and it works perfectly. I feel bad for people that have problems but my experience is very good. I love the Iphone and have no complaints about the AT&T network. Not a fan of Itunes but that's not relevant to this discussion…

I can't say much about the iPhone, but AT&T customer service is awful. It was fine when my account was with just Cingular, but it steadily went downhill after AT&T took over to run the show. The people I spoke with there acted like they were doing me a favor by being snarky and unhelpful.

I'm familiar with AT&T (SBC, et.al.). I can't believe that Apple let that stodgy company control the fate of such an awesome product. Go figure. Can't wait until the iPhone is carrier free.

As an ATT user On the Iphone for 3 gens now.. I have seen Vast improvement. I have been with other wireless providers and they all suck.. Its mobile and you are not going to get the band with that you get at your home or office.. people in the US have grown into big babies that want want want… We are not owed anything..

1)What about AT&T investing in 4G like Verizon is already doing instead of wasting $38 billion+ on 3G networks?
2) Why do you bloggers and AT&T demonize iPhone?
There are other so called "smart phones" ie. berries, etc. out there also eating up network capacity.
3) What about the worst offender? AT&T sells mobile internet connectivity for LAPTOP COMPUTERS and netbooks. I am sure there are more fully configured laptop computers plus NETBOOKS with mobile internet connectivity out there on AT&T's wireless network than the IPhone's demeaned name of "hogs". Haven't any of the media seen the TV ads with the hefty guy most recently in a mototcycle side car selling 3G internet connectivity to the public laptops and netbooks of this world? Hasn't there been an explosion of netbook sales in the last year or two? Face it. The media is biased and prejudiced.

He should move back into his mother's basement (if he ever left).

As a NYC AT&T customer I'm glad to see that the company is at least responding to the abyssmal service in NYC. It's amazing that I can be in the nation's largest metropolis and not be able to get a signal at all for blocks–while my friend chats away at full bars on his Verizon phone everywhere my phone doesn't work.

Recently I went to meet some friends in Central Park. I ended up going home because my iPhone didn't have a signal at all and of course I couldn't reach them. Try finding a payphone these days in the park.

It's getting to the point where the amazing features of the iPhone are pretty much useless. It may be time to give up the iPhone for a lesser handset–that at least can reliably connect.

hmmm. Damage limitation. I think AT&T are scared that Apple are going to leave them.