AT&T Rated Lowest by Consumer Reports

Att will be in worse shape as the apple hits other carriers

3gAndroid said:

Not true. The fact is that Apple First offered the iPhone to Verizon. They were turned down because Verizon was not willing to pay Apple the obscene amount of money that Apple wanted Verizon to pay them on a per phone basis. Nor was Verizon willing to pay Apple a percentage of airtime and other fee splits that Apple demanded. Apple has always been very arrogant and maintained an air of superiority. No other carrier except AT&T even had the resources to pay the kind of money that Apple demanded (not requested). In addition the negotiations went on and on for a long time before the two parties finally came to an agreement. All because of Apples stubborn position and demand for a huge sum of money up front.

AT&T was willing to take a gamble, (remember this was an unknown phone at the time, therefore there was no way to know if it would be successful and to what degree). This is why the term of exclusivity was so long. It had nothing to do with AT&T and everything to do with Apple offering a multi year deal to get AT&T to accept their terms. Apple shopped this phone around, and there was little if any interest in the beginning.

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I also heard the story about Apple offering iPhone to Verizon first. The point I was trying to make was never about Apple itself, sure they are just as evil as any other large corporation, but to blame them for AT&T's failures just isn't fair. AT&T hoped iPhone would allow them to steal a huge number of customers from Verizon, which it did to a certain extent. As for the phone being an unknown phone, yes and no. The phone was hyped up big time and by the time it came out everyone knew every single detail about it and most of the questions about were already answered.
Also, don't forget, iPhone was really the first mass smart phone designed for regular joe shmoe, unlike Blackberry. A lot of people thought the idea of a smart phone for everyday use was stupid (aka, a lot of people thought personal computer would never take off) AT&T might not have been Apples first choice, because they knew their network wasn't ready for it, and it wasn't.

3gAndroid said:

I'm sure they do, but again let's not forget it was Apple, that dictated the terms of the contract. Apple is nothing if not controlling, this is a very well known fact. Yes they would sell a greater number of phones, but it was Apple that limited themselves to just one carrier.

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Apple might have dictated terms of the contract, but trust me, AT&T didn't lose anything here, they made a ton of money on iPhone customers. As I mentioned above, they did bring in a lot of new customers that would have never switched to them if it wasn't for the iPhone. So in essence AT&T HAD achieved what they set out to do. IMHO, they should have dropped that exclusive contract after the 1st couple years of it.

3gAndroid said:

Yes, and no. Yes there is a certain amount of overload due to the huge number of iPhones on the network. However that is not affecting the voice side, only the data side. Let's remember that GSM technology passes both data and voice over the lines at the same time. When one experiences a dropped call with a good quality phone (that excludes iphone which I will explain later) it's simply a reflection of the fact that all cell phones are radios and cannot always perform perfectly with no dropped calls. There are many variables, too many to list.

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This was exactly AT&T's excuse, and I don't believe it for a second. Verizon has more customers with smart phones that use just as much if not more data. I know from my personal experience, I use more data every month with my Android phone than I did with my old iPhone 3G. As I mentioned in one of the previous posts, my friend and I ran a speedtest app on our phones and his verizon phone was over 4 times faster. Again, I understand that the quality of wireless service is very dependent on your location and where I live (right outside of a major city in a very heavily populated area), AT&T sucks. And I do not agree with the assertion that I can't expect my wireless service to work flawlessly, yes I can and I do. When I pay over $160 a month for service, I expect my phone calls to not be dropped literally every 30 seconds to a minute (no, I'm not exaggerating, it is this bad).

3gAndroid said:

I have been a Verizon _and_ AT&T subscriber for over a decade, with several activated phones that I use concurrently. I'm a huge mobile phone enthusiast that has been using a variety of unlocked, unbranded phones I've sourced from all over the world, and used them on my AT&T GSM network account. I've had very few dropped calls with only one exception and that involves the iPhones I've owned.

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So have I. I switched to AT&T about 4 years ago, before that I had Verizon. Granted I didn't own a smart phone thru verizon (had a blackberry thru Nextel back then), but the service was flawless thru them. I switched because of the billing issues I kept having with Verizon. I would get a $400 bill every other month for no reason, they would fix it after I call and bitch, but I finally got sick of dealing with it.

3gAndroid said:

What very few people are aware of is the choice of chips that Apple uses. They are only marginally compatible with AT&T's GSM network. AT&T asked Apple to employ another chip, but they refused as the ones they chose, they chose based on price. A substandard chip that saved Apple some money.

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I don't doubt that at all. A lot of companies try to cut corners to save money. Again, I'm not defending Apple here.

3gAndroid said:

Then because of the nature of Apple's rather cult like customer base, they believe anything that Steve Jobs tells them. Being the highly skilled sales person he is and very persuasive, he convinced his followers that it was an AT&T problem.

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Again, in my previous post, I wrote that myself, my wife, my in-laws and my parents all have issues with AT&T connection, and it has nothing to do with Apple, since there is only 1 iPhone in the mentioned group.

3gAndroid said:

Yet that said I am a professional 3D aerospace designer that works in Windows by day. Therefore as multi-platformist, I have a unique perspective from first hand experience in both environments. Something that not every one has as a basis to compare.

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Dude, don't be trying to bring me down by mentioning your occupation. I am a software engineer with a masters and work for a defense contractor doing some neat stuff. So the fact that you're an aerospace designer doesn't impress me.

3gAndroid said:

I'm here to say thats competely untrue. If it was, then every phone I have on AT&T (and I currently have three active lines) would perform poorly. AT the end of the day, AT&T gets a black eye over the arrogance and pompous attitude of Apple. That is simply a fact.

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Again, read what I wrote above about multiple phones having issues.

3gAndroid said:

What will happen when the iPhone is offered on the Verizon network? I can assure you, that Apple will not repeat the same cheap approach, as they know they will be discovered. They will build a better phone for Verizon that is a certainty.

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You sure, you're not a fan boy? The above statement certainly sounds like a conspiracy theorist to me. Verizon has a better network and that's a fact.
Also, that Consumer Report ranking was based not only on the network, but also on other things, one of which is how knowledgeable are the customer service reps. And they are clueless.
Again, I'm not here to defend Apple and to bash AT&T. I don't like either one of those companies and that includes Verizon.

Have a good day.

Ha even cricket is better than Verizon around here....Oklahoma city

We should all boycott contract carriers and switch to MetroPCS.

George0211 said:

I don't agree with this whole Apple bashing that goes on here.

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I am late but This was a good read for early in the morning at starbucks

as far as your post, I don't agree with the Apple bashing(or RIM, WP7, WEBOS or whatever) either. But as someone else said, it has something to do with being an enthusiast. It amuses me even more so that Android user/fanboys are just as bad as Apple fanatics yet claim they are not....and the length they go to explain how they are not is funnier...

Do as I do, and just laugh at various posts you read...

I see the bashing as the Cool Kids(Apple users) vs the Geeks(Android)...

My short time with AT&T. I never had any issues with their network really. I owned an iphone...no issue and various Android phones...No issues.
Customer Service however, was horrid

Okinz said:

Location is probably one of the biggest factors when it comes to quality of your network. I live around Houston, TX and never get dropped calls or have speed issues. Overall AT&T is one of the better if not best choices here for providers.

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I am very frustrated. Where I work, AT&T is the only provider that you can get a reliable signal from. Otherwise I would have had an HTC Droid months ago.

A lot of AT&T bashing goes on here - and rightly so, but Samsung is really the most to blame. I remember back in early August hearing that Froyo would be out in late-September. It infuriated me then that they should take so long for the update... Now here we are coming up on the New Year and STILL NO FROYO OR GPS FIX. Obviously Samsung and AT&T are too busy getting new products "ready" to be bothered by the current epic fail product line.

John

I live in a suburb of Boston, about 20 miles south as the crow flies, our area is very large and developed. I can't get a reliable AT&T signal in my house, and there are dead zones in and out and all around me. Verizon rules around here, but I won't do business with them because of their piss-poor customer service.

I've been with AT&T since before Cingular (the original AT&T). I have to say, their customer service has always been fine, I've never once had a problem with incorrect bills, they've been responsive to me when I've had whatever issues I've had, and they've been few other than the bad reception in my area. Sprint, T-Mobile, etc. all have similar issues. I stay with AT&T because the alternative is Verizon, and that's a no go. They never poll me on this stuff, however! Rate wise they're comparable, but AT&T has rollover minutes, Verizon doesn't.

I think the article is considerably generous to AT&T. In my humble opinion, the company (AT&T) is worse that outlined in the article.

AT&T's reception is the worst. Selection of phones is abominable. Customer service is non-existent. And what is keeping me on? I have well over 4,000 rolloever minutes. I will burn those up and hope to move on in 2011. I wish HTC Evo was a GMS/Global phone! I would have been gone!

I wonder if the current AT&T's CEO or head of Marketing/Strategy is fully aware of what is happening to the company? May be I am giving them too much credit. Remember that this bunch of people came over from "Cingular" when Cingular bought over AT&T...they were not the original AT&T people.

Maybe they should now changed their names from ATT to approved iPhone store...or something demeaning!

Just for a moment let's forget, or set aside the brands & models of phones we use.

I challenge you to spend some time learning the way a cellular network functions.

Once you have this knowledge you will then understand why all networks have dead spots. Some as small as a few hundred feet in diameter. An example, when I try to use my Verizon phone in my house, the signal is too weak, it will not make a call. Next, I walk outside to the end of my driveway which is about 100 feet away. Now my phone works fine.

Conversely, I'm in my house wanting to make a call, I pickup my AT&T phone and the call is crystal clear and strong.

Does that prove AT&T is better? No.
It simply proves that there's a small dead spot with Verizon in that specific location.

I have the opposite situation when at my brothers house, where my Verizon phone works great in his house. Does that make Verizon better? No. It simply illustrates & reminds us that cellular phones are radios that don't work perfectly everywhere.

Each networks dead or weak spots are in different areas. Therefore since most people use just one carrier & one phone, they cannot compare.

At the end of the day, having used both Verizon and AT&T they are both good. There is very little difference. So, what to do? Make your first priority to choose the network that's got the best coverage in your area. Second, now choose the phone.

If you insist on choosing the phone first, and network second, then be prepared to accept the fact you may not get the call quality & coverage you expect.

AT&T isn't in bed with Apple. Apple sets the rules for how their phones are sold. I think it's funny how much AT&T bashing goes on. Verizon and AT&T only sell what's given to them. They never designed the Android. They didn't design the HTC or Samsung. They sell phones. As long as I don't drop calls, I won't be pointing fingers at AT&T.

Edit: The dead spots should be a no brainer. People should open their minds just a bit.

We had consistent issues with ATT up until about 4 or 5 years ago (10+ year customer.) Reception was spotty, cs sucked, etc. Then there was a survey of some sort (just like this one) that said they were the worst and they really cleaned up their act. CS has been great, and they have (had) been putting more and more towers up.

My current list of ATT complaints is fairly small: hate that I an held hostage to their ridiculous data and rate plans. Europeans and Japanese pay a fraction of what we do for phone service; we are getting robbed blind. And those BS local and federal taxes and fees.... I know this isn't an ATT thing, but DAMN!

We have a couple of well known dead spots in the area. Have learned to deal with it.

Data at "peak times" is slow or inoperative. Don't know if this is fixable, but I wish they would.

My last 2 phones have been Samsung through ATT: at this point, hate them both. The A767 had a horribly clunky interface (5 button presses to get a text off???) and was set up for only right handers. My Cappy blew my socks off with the OLED and swype and (at the time) most current OS; I even did a bunch of online research on the phone. Right after I bought it, the web blew up with tales of the dreaded "self power down" issue. Lucky me.

Since neither Samsung or ATT will own up to this issue OR tell us if 2.2 will fix it, my Captivate is now a nice paper weight on my desk as I go BACK to the Propel.

fml

**edit - one last ATT complaint: the fact that they won't let you download video over wifi and make you use your dataplan: BUSH LEAGUE at best, criminal at worst.

neo1973 said:

We had consistent issues with ATT up until about 4 or 5 years ago (10+ year customer.) Reception was spotty, cs sucked, etc.

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I'm a decade long customer of both AT&T and Verizon. During that same period of time I've also used Sprint & T-Mobile because they had phones I wanted to try. What my personal experience with all four carriers taught me is while they're each different, they share more similarities than I would have guessed.

Based on your post it sounds like you're way overdue for a change of carriers.

3gAndroid said:

I'm a decade long customer of both AT&T and Verizon. During that same period of time I've also used Sprint & T-Mobile because they had phones I wanted to try. What my personal experience with all four carriers taught me is while they're each different, they share more similarities than I would have guessed.

Based on your post it sounds like you're way overdue for a change of carriers.

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Probably, but you know what they say about creatures of habit. The pain hasn't been bad enough to change, I guess. Even though my friends tell me about their free upgrades on Verizon, how he has unlimited data and could stream Pandora all the way up the Columbia Gorge, from Vancouver, WA to Pullman, WA without dropped service, his plan is less than mine, etc...

Just signed my wife and myself up to 2 year deals, and got her a Curve for $.01 on ATT's black Monday deal, so we're stuck for a bit.

Like I said, though, my biggest complaint overall right now is my device, not my service.

I have been a customer of every carrier in the many years i have had phone service and out of all of them the best for me has always been AT&T i have traveled all over and even brought my unlocked phones with me. My signal is always good if not great in my area and CS has always been good. I think this perception of AT&T being bad was furthered along by Verizon and crappy media like consumer reports. In the end though AT&T adds more subscribers every quarter than verizon has in the past 5 years running and there turn over rate is the lowest in the business so I take these BS polls with a grain of salt

But ad space from my magazine and I'll tell everyone your product is the best and everything else isn't.

Just sayin'...

More fuel for the fire from Phonescoop, AT&T is the worst value for data:
"AT&T offers the worst bang for your buck of all the major carriers."

Link:
The Fastest Networks : The $$$ (Phone Scoop)

3gAndroid said:

Just for a moment let's forget, or set aside the brands & models of phones we use.

I challenge you to spend some time learning the way a cellular network functions.

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This is a very good point. Most people are ignorant of how a call is connected and what takes place to get it to it's target. My guess is that Consumer Reports failed to take this into consideration as well.

I'm an outside tech for "the dark side" and have been involved intimately for better than a year of the massive build going on. AT&T, Verizon, and T-Mobile have been going full bore to upgrade to faster pipes in preparation for LTE. IMO this is a very good indication as to what is coming. Just remember that your call (regardless of carrier) makes a short trip before it hits the local Telco (or at times CATV) network.

So i got a new ATT nationwide plan back home with the captivate and 2GB of data. I am in the military so i went to back to my base from home and now i am getting emails that ATT is going to cancel my plan due to the fact of too much roaming data. WTF. ATT is garbage. Man i hate this company...Anyone have any experience with this?

magtech said:

So i got a new ATT nationwide plan back home with the captivate and 2GB of data. I am in the military so i went to back to my base from home and now i am getting emails that ATT is going to cancel my plan due to the fact of too much roaming data. WTF. ATT is garbage. Man i hate this company...Anyone have any experience with this?

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Actually, I believe most wireless companies will drop you, if you roam too much, because they pay for it.
Look on the bright side, you get to get out of your AT&T contract without any penalties.

Being that i am 1/3 phones/contracts on this ATT account will they only drop my contract or can i get them to drop everyone so we can group move to verizon?

That's why I just left they asses for Sprint and my evo kick rocks at&t

magtech said:

Being that i am 1/3 phones/contracts on this ATT account will they only drop my contract or can i get them to drop everyone so we can group move to verizon?

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I don't know, but it might depend on which line is the primary line on the account.

AT&t is excellent, the best prices and the est service and best network. Definitely the worst network is Verizon also by far the most expensive. Definitely staying on AT&T here. Wont go to Verizon.

shark974 said:

AT&t is excellent, the best prices and the est service and best network. Definitely the worst network is Verizon also by far the most expensive. Definitely staying on AT&T here. Wont go to Verizon.

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Who has better or worse network is usually location based. But as far as pricing goes, Verizon are not more expensive. They are about the same as AT&T.

No, Verizon is more expensive - and they don't have rollover minutes. None of them are cheap, though. My son is on Boost Mobile, his whole plan with unlimited everything is $60 a month (well, $63.58 with taxes). How I wish!! But he lives in Oakland (was in Boston), coverage out here in the boonies of the South Shore is an issue for me.