Since the launch of the iPhone brought a few million data-devouring 3G users onto AT&T’s towers, dealing with 3G in any major city was just a wee bit more efficient than sending a carrier pigeon. Well, things ought to be a whole lot better in San Francisco and New York now: like they’ve been doing in other places over the past few weeks, AT&T has fired up their 850 Mhz network in both major cities.
AT&T has long used their fairly hefty allotment of the 850 Mhz spectrum for aging TDMA technologies. By instead devoting this bit of radio to 3G communications, the network can handle significantly more users before grinding to a halt. As a little bonus, the 850 Mhz spectrum does a heckuva better job penetrating the concrete and iron bar walls of an SF or NY skyscraper – so expect general signal improvements indoors on top of the ability to actually, you know, use 3G.
Update: Maybe not? While AT&T says the upgrades are in place, comments are indicating that speeds in NY are as nasty as ever. Share your experiences in the comments.
Too little, too late. AT&T sucks.
I’ve heard improvements in SF, but in NYC. Hell no, I still can’t get decent speeds on 3G in Times Square. I guet around 500 kbps (at lunch time today). If that’s improvements, than at&t can suck it!
LOL!
yeah right. 2 Speedtests this morning in NYC…
51 Kbits/sec &
46 Kbits/sec
1.1MB/s down
81kbps up
Where?
being on wifi doesn’t count ;)
I wish I could post a screenshot on here. on the speedtest.net app on 3G in Macomb, MI, I got a high of 1892kb/s down, 389kb/s up. I average around 900-1000kb/s down and 100-200 up.
If you see anyone with an iPhone in SF, you conclude – there’s a person who only cares about looking cool. Cause the phone – with AT&T – simply does not work. I can immediately tell if someone calls me using AT&T cell service. I simply ask them to call me back when they get to a real phone and hang up. Why on earth would anyone use AT&T when Verizon offers near perfect coverage? Cause you think you look cool with your iPhone? You don’t.
I sure hope Verizon paid you well for that shill, because clearly you’re above all those fanboys.
Yeah, wow. I have an iPhone, and it’s not to be “cool” It’s because it’s the best phone i’ve seen yet. I’ve gone through tons of phones from verizon. HTC Touch pro, Samsung Saga, Samsung i760 Motorola Q9c, EnV Touch, and more, and none of them compare to what the iPhone does. Michigan must be the place to be on AT&T because I haven’t had one dropped call, and I get service everywhere here. I haven’t had one problem with AT&T, even up north in the middle of nowhere. Okay, Verizon might have better 3G coverage, but that doesn’t help when all their phones suck. Their “full html” browsers on their phones are slow as heck, and very choppy. They finally came out with a Blackberry with full html, but still all the windows mobile phones have no full html browser. I have yet to find a verizon phone that isn’t all locked up in verizon’s wrath and doesn’t suck. I’ve had Verizon for 11 years and was worried about switching to AT&T, but it’s close to the best decision i could have made. Oh yeah, and their “app store” on the new env’s? bull.
It looks like the Death Star rising in the horizon…
Speeds are still shit for me and the real irony is that my office (in NYC) is in what used to be the AT&T Corporate HQ back in the 20’s. I can’t even get the “xtreme labs” speedtest app to complete from my desk.
I’m located in NJ, right across the river from NYC, in the heart of AT&T’s 3G network and both my wife and I have to shut off 3G in order to make phone calls. With 3G turned “on” we can’t have a 5 minute conversation with out the phone cutting out constantly. We somewhat fixed this by shutting off the 3G feature but WTF!, last time I checked I’m paying for 3G.
I had that same exact problem. I couldn’t even go a minute. I took it to the apple store, and they gave me a brand new one for free and haven’t dropped a call since. Don’t blame it all on AT&T.
1955 kbps down
263 kbps up
On 3g in CT outside NYC
i hope they haven’t finished upgrading SF yet because i still get little to no signal in the middle of the city.
Queens, NY @ 15:24 EDT:
================
1574 Kbits/s DL
273 Kbits/s UL
Well, that explains why I got “No Service” on my commute from downtown to the inner richmond for the past 2 days…
3G
1250
244
Memphis Tn
I’m considering getting an iPhone in San Francisco, but I actually need the phone part to work. So I have a question for SF iPhone users. For those times when I can’t afford a dropped call, can I turn off 3G and get more reliable phone service (i.e., better call quality and fewer dropped calls)? Thanks.
I’m an iPhone owner who lives in San Francisco. I produce applications for virtually every mobile carrier in North America (Alltel, Sprint, AT&T, Verizon, primarily) and have the top twenty devices from those carriers at my disposal.
From my apartment located at the top of a hill near Alamo Square I have not noticed any difference at all with AT&T. They still have the absolute worse service ever imaginable. It is utterly pathetic.
I cant wait till there is a Android device that truly beats the iPhone both in form factor and application support.
http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/23/htc-hero-review/
This may be your answer.
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It’s amazing how many people still love the iphone and defend it unceasingly even when service works horrible half the time, and just okay the other half. It’s a testament to how close people affiliate themselves with the Apple brand. AT&T needs to figure it out–or they may risk having Apple (subsidies or no subsidies) take a hike.
APPLE SHOULD TAKE A HIKE FROM AT & T. They gave a superior product to the most inferior Cell Provider in the UNIVERSE. They have totally prevented millions from experiencing their iPhone. I would never recommend it because of the HORRID AT & T Cell Coverage and almost non-existant 3G coverage. You screwed up APPLE. You have partnered with A LEMON!!!!!!!!!!!!
AT & T has the WORST 3G SERVICE IN THE WORLD. I love my iPhone but I cannot make ANY Calls from my home and I drop calls constantly. I live in Westlake, Ohio and have never had so many problems making calls or connecting to the internet via phone: They ought to give me their service for FREE! It is THAT BAD. AT & T start upgrading your towers or something because you are lying when you say more bars in more places. The iPhone is GREAT, The service provider TOTALLY SUCKS!!!!!! Verizone phones are HORRID, but their service was GREAT. APPLE you TOTALLY GOT IT WRONG TO GO WITH AT& T! Totally unhappy with poor SERVICE AND 3G NETWORK!!!!!!!!!!!!
hola that sucks for u guys over here in barcelona spain the iphone on moviestar never has problems, i know for a fact is not apple’s fault its at&t’s fault. cause i have been doing research for quite some time and people always blame apple or at&t. i think the at&t network is crappy because over here the moviestar service is fine, u could ask anyone that has an iphone 3Gs they never have dropped calls or trouble with 3G. i actually own one and i always do speed tests and even at daylight like at 12 in the after noon were u see everyone using their i-phones. the 3G IS never slow like yesterday i got 2224/kbits down and 1256 kbps up. and i always gets speeds like that every day on 3G. and so far i have not had 1 dropped call since day one. and i got my i-phone 3Gs since the first day it came out in spain i had vodafone before and i cancelled it at went with moviestar to get an iphone.. so im pretty sure da at&t network sucks in da usa…
4 tests throughout the day in midtown NYC
163-690 Kbits/s download
65-190 Kbits/s upload
tests at ~ 10, 1pm, 3pm and 5pm 8/24
Months later… still awful.