Thursday, December 17, 2009

AT&T cell users, is your 3G getting better?

Verizon is pounding AT&T with its commercials about superior 3G service. At least in Charlotte, AT&T says it is doing something about it.

The company released details today about expansion of its Charlotte wireless network. The company said since the start of 2007, it's invested nearly $50 million in the Charlotte area network.

Those network enhancements include (from the press release):

· Upgrades to the cell sites and switches to support higher volumes of voice and data traffic.

· The addition of more than 230 T1 lines to add more voice and data capacity between the cell site and routing switch.

· The addition of a new Radio Network Controller, a network management equipment that significantly increased network capacity.

· 20 new cell sites and eight more before the end of the year adding to the nearly 280 that already exist in Charlotte, 100% of those sites are 3G; and expanded 3G service this year to cover the I-85 corridor all the way to Greensboro and added 3G service in Hickory and Concord.

AT&T said that next year it plans to roll out faster 3G speeds in Charlotte, along with 25 other top markets, as well as a new technology, HSPA 7.2, that doubles the peak speed of today's networks.

What's all that mean to you? Hopefully fewer dropped and missed calls and faster downloads of emails and webpages.

Is anyone seeing improvement or just liked what they have now?


23 comments:

Anonymous said...

that at&t map is just as good as verizon

Anonymous said...

i havent noticed a difference using my blackjack 2. i still frequently drop calls on the drive from concord to charlotte and have spotty coverage near concord mills.

ewillard said...

Alas, I live in Morganton, about an hour NW of Charlotte and my AT&T service sucks. The only reason I'm with AT&T is my Iphone was a gift from my sons.

Anonymous said...

I've never had a problem with my ATT service, and it's much better than my Verizon service was. I honestly don't understand what people complain about.

Anonymous said...

I live in Marvin/Waxhaw and have noticed "some" improvement in AT&T's phone service. I used to sit in my home office and could literally watch my bars go up and down while sitting still and would drop the majority of calls made from within my house. That being said, there are 2 spots heading toward Charlotte where calls drop entirely even though my phone registers full 3G service.

Anonymous said...

Unless you're in the city itself the coverage is pretty spotty. I felt that 1 dropped call is 1 too many in today's world. I mean it's not the mid 90s anymore, who wants to have to keep calling back explaining that they dropped a call

I recently switched to Verizon and the proof was in the pudding. What good is having the "fastest 3G" or talking and surfing the web if you drop calls.

Anonymous said...

I still don't know what '3G' is, other than a marketing ploy where they can keep telling me they are improving the service. They should keep improving it, and stop telling me its '3G' and soon we'll be moving to '4G'.

Anonymous said...

Service in the Lake Norman/Denver area continues to be sparse, even in major subdivisions. I've seen no change in the last 4 years.

The biggest "scam" is AT&T's push to pilot the micro-cell as a solution to spotty coverage in your home. Let's see - you want me to pay you extra money each month to offload your network traffic onto my cable/DSL provider???

Anonymous said...

My AT&T phone network is awful. I have notice no improvement and I have been with them for 5 yrs.

Anonymous said...

My AT&T service sucks. I work in Uptown Charlotte and have no service in and around my building. What good is the phone. Talked with customer service and dropped the call twice while trying to resolve the problem. Switchin to Verizon after new years.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous said...
....
The biggest "scam" is AT&T's push to pilot the micro-cell as a solution to spotty coverage in your home. Let's see - you want me to pay you extra money each month to offload your network traffic onto my cable/DSL provider???
........

Dude, stop being a clueless troll, AT&T does NOT charge monthly fees to use the device... jsut a flat $150 for the device itself that VZW chrges $299 for.

as for me my AT&T Coverage has been great since i switched from Verizon (better than Verizons at home (North West Charlotte) AND at work (North East Charlotte) I have had no dropped calls and get great 3G coverage on my iPhone everywhere i need it.

lastly i think the VZW map commericals are repetitive and a flat out lie... and i was a loyal 10+ year Verizon wireless customer that bailed for AT&T because i had no data coverage at home/work, and 0-1 bars for voice. AT&T is much better at home and once UVerse is installed i will be set.

Anonymous said...

Dude, maybe *you* should read a little closer. The major point of the "scam" comment is:

1. AT&T requires you to buy a device to get decent service/coverage - shouldn't you expect that from a wireless provider?

2. AT&T then offloads traffic from their wireless network and routes their traffic over your cable/DSL. Such a bargain...

3. Then, they restrict the number of phones that can use the microcell and require you to register them.

Oh, and you can *optionally* choose to sign up for unlimited microcell calling. Straight from the AT&T site under "Billing" at http://www.wireless.att.com/learn/why/3gmicrocell/faq.jsp

Anonymous said...

I left Verizon to obtain the iPhone. I absolutely love the iPhone but HATE the AT&T service. If Verizon offered the iPhone I would pay to get out of my AT&T Contract the day it was offered. I live in Matthews and cannot even make a decent call inside my house, nor can I text. Horrible service.

Anonymous said...

I had wonderful service with AT&T until I mvoed to Charlotte, after tolerating dropped, calls, not getting a gps signal, and inability to get on the internet, I switched to Verizon.

Unknown said...

Their service has gotten better and better and better. I am noticing 75% fewer issues over the last 12 months both with Blackberry and I-Phone 3G devices. It has even improved 100% inside my home which I have not seen for 5+ years now so that was a surprise. I LOVE AT&T and they keep getting better.

Anonymous said...

At&T service has gotten much better! Last year this time I was thinking about switching to Verizon because I typically only could get one bar in my home(Concord area) and dropped numerous calls. I am now able to get 5 bars with full 3G service and rarely if ever drop a call anymore. Some members of my family are thinking about leaving Verizon due to the problems they have had with service since Verizon bought Alltel.

Anonymous said...

AT&T service is awful. I moved to the Blakeney area in April and I can barely get a signal in my house. I was at a restaurant in Ballantyne and could not make a call as there was no service available. My contract is up in April and I can't wait to get rid of AT&T and switch to Verizon.

Anonymous said...

I've traveled to 22 countries in the last 2 years, and I get excellent service everywhere BUT Charlotte! I was in a remote village in Lucknow, India last month and had 6 bars, got home to Blakeny and only have 2!

greg said...

AT&T stinks. I have Verizon and never have reception issues. I have the new HTC Eris which is much better than an Iphone. The I-Phone is way overrated

Anonymous said...

Still holes all over the place.

Anonymous said...

Alltel undeniably had the best coverage in Charlotte (and the Carolinas in general). Verizon put the kibosh on that - they still haven't figured out how to use that to their advantage.

But its still more consistant than AT&T. Its amazing that after all these years they can't provide coverage without predictable "drop zones".

Anonymous said...

Verizon is the greatest thing, it also stinks! AT&T is the greatest thing, it also stinks! There's good and bad with both carriers and neither is perfect. I had AT&T for years. I was ok until they sold me like a slave to Cingular and then to SunCom. I'm currently with Vzw and I'm ok, but there's always a hiccup here and there. Either one of these is far better than Sprint/Nextel!

Anonymous said...

Nice story as for me. I'd like to read something more concerning this topic. The only thing it would also be great to see on this blog is a few photos of some gadgets.
David Flouee
Phone jammer