Quick Fixes never work

Dear CTO of At&t, John Donovan:
Your network may suck.  But you can fix it.  You can keep your 70 million customers and maybe even add a few million more if you just listen to what your customers are complaining about for once.  They're trying to help you understand that your network's technology is just not working for them and something has to be done about it, or more will take their business elsewhere.  


I understand that your network just can't seem to handle the iPhone's usage amounts, but that isn't an excuse.  The amount of usage per phone isn't going to just die down or go away, it's going to get worst. If you don't do anything to fix this problem you are going to continue to see your customer base diminish. Are you really going to continue to sit and watch as Verizon dominates the cell phone industry?  They need to build seperate cell sites or receivers for data and voice calls. This way, the calls will go through instead of prioritizing between calls and data. It will most likely be an expensive process but the results would bring more business and stabilize the At&t network again, so you can have the best coverage, like you tried to have.


Sincerely,
Your Loyal, Concerned Customer

The Battle Continues..

For years At&t Boasted that they had the best and most reliable network. Their ad campaigns focused on this slogan. “For the best coverage nationwide, chose At&t.” This got them into some legal trouble with their own customers.

Americas Best data and voice network



Best coverage worldwide

In 2007 At&t was sued by it’s own customers, because they obviously did not have the best coverage nationwide. They had to reshape their image and drop the old campaign. The new one tries to appeal to now worldwide coverage. Europe and some other countries use Gsm as their primary network. Now At&t is trying to make itself appealing by piggy backing on other carriers global service. They just cant win


Theres a map for that!

Now Verizon Wireless has proof and they are exploiting the unseen side of At&t. There is now an independent research company that has released the truth, and Verizon is taking advantage of it!

There is now a map for that! 5 times greater coverage over At&t



Android

Verizon Wireless has now made another attempt to win over At&t customers with a phone that does all this and more with no limitations on apps. Verizon Wireless is acting more aggressive to show the U.S. market, that yes we are a better, faster, more efficient network to run your personal, family and business on

So Which is better?

Cellular News writes: 

A study finds that there is a lower rate of call quality problems with certain technologies used by wireless providers. In particular, CDMA technology can potentially lessen the number of call quality problems customers experience. The average number of call quality problems reported by customers using CDMA technology is 14 PP100, while the average is 17 PP100 for wireless customers using GSM networks.

In that same article, a J.D. Power and Associates Senior Director of Wireless services said :

CDMA technology is generally considered to be more efficient for processing wireless calls, as it requires fewer cell sites to handle call volume compared with other wireless platforms. Additionally, major service providers that use the CDMA platform, such as Alltel and Verizon Wireless, typically perform better, with fewer initial disconnects, more on-time text messages, and less interference and static. 

So why hasn't At&t's Chief Technology Officer John Donovan considered fixing their network to become more efficient and make their customers happy? 

Relax, It does it by itself

The Biggest problem for CDMA networks is its ability to switch handsets between carriers.  Qualcomm, the company that makes most of the handsets for the CDMA carriers, dominates their market.  They build technology for all the carriers which makes each handset exclusive for these carriers.  For example, Verizon phones can only be used with the Verizon network.  This basically means you cannot use a Verizon phone on on a Sprint network.  The other draw back is the use of SIM Cards.  Most people, including me, love the fact that if they break their phone they can just take out the SIM card and place it in the new phone with no loss of their phonebook.  The last problem with the CDMA network is international use.  Back when GSM and CDMA technologies were first introduced to most countries, they chose GSM technology because it is cheaper to maintain and operate. Therefore, today most CDMA phones cannot be used in Europe because they are not compatible.

The CDMA network has it's problems but they are constantly improving their network and finding solutions to the issues of GSM customers.  CDMA uses such a wide spectrum of  network they are able to offer services GSM carriers cannot.

One big issue, the phone book!  Verizon Wireless has a feature that is free for most customers called Back-Up Assistant.  By downloading this over the air onto your phone, it will automatically download your address book and refresh it every night while you sleep.  If you ever lose your phone it is always saved on the network.  Just one click and you have your life back in your new phone.

International coverage is also an issue that keeps getting easier for CDMA every year.  They have seen the increase of U.S. citizens need for travel and they are answering the call.  CDMA carriers such as Verizon Wireless are making more phones compatible for data and voice use by making their phones Tri-Band and Quad-band.  By doing this, CDMA phones are able to roam in countries that use GSM.  Its like having a different phone for every network built into one.  If the country is using CDMA it with switch between GSM and CDMA based on which has the better reception.

The Largest benefit of being on a CDMA network is just that, The Network!  Carriers such as Verizon Wireless are investing billions of dollars on The Network each year.  Last year Verizon Wireless purchased Alltel Wireless for 30 billion dollars adding 20 million customers to their Network family.  Making Verizon's network a whopping 87 million customers, thats 16 million more than At&t. Verizon Wireless also flooded the midwest U.S. by owning the rights to all of Alltel's cell sites making Verizon Wireless the largest carrier in the U.S.  The benefit is no roaming charges throughout the U.S. and fast data speeds because they are not piggy backing on other carriers networks.

Information courtesy of a Verizon Wireless Representative.

The Alternative

In an online document written by Tektronix, Inc. explaining how CDMA is the alternative for the lacking GSM networks.  

CDMA technology took a large share of the market. Because spread spectrum uses wide band, noise-like signals, they are hard to detect. They are also difficult to intercept or demodulate. Further, spread spectrum signals are harder to jam (interfere with) than narrowband signals. These Low Probability of Intercept (LPI) and anti-jam (AJ) features are why the military has used spread spectrum for so many years. 

CDMA towers have hundreds call and data receivers on their structures, versus GSM towers that only have a few receivers on their structures.  CDMA sites can take in almost as much as 10 calls per second for every call receiver. It then authenticates the origin of the call which is then sent to the switch for the call destination.  Their towers are also more efficient by using a different standard then GSM.  CDMA towers have completely seperate data receivers and voice receivers all on of their towers.  This allows voice dedication for all calls and seperate data dedication.  The importance of this is simple.  On a CDMA network data, is always running around 900 kilobites per second (vs. GSM running at around 500). If data and voice were to be running through these sites at the same time, all voice calls would be cut off, because, like we explained before, data always has priority.  

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

GSM doesn't always seem to be the best selection but it does have it's advantages.  For example, instead of being stuck loosing all of your contacts between phones, GSM uses SIM cards.  This enables cell phone users to carry their contacts from phone to phone, saving a lot of time and hassle of typing in each individual phone number again and again.  That is probably the most obvious reason why a user would like a GSM network, such as At&t.  I'm not going to lie, this is my top reason for why I've stayed with At&t for so long.  It's just nice being able to put a little chip into your new phone and there are all your contacts are, just like you left them.  Or for example, let's say your phone decides to go on a suicide mission.  You don't have to bury your contacts with your phone.  You simply move your SIM card into a working phone and then you're good.  Believe me I've had to do that one a couple times, it comes in handy.


Another reason might be the fact that it is a mature network.  It's been around since 1991 and since then has been able to travel worldwide to over 200 countries.  This makes it the most mature digital network still available today.  Other comparable networks didn't start until 1995 or early 2000's.  Ok so I guess this could be a good thing, but on the other hand, doesn't that mean that most of the cell towers are going to be out of date?  If a tower has really been up and working since 1991, it's most likely not going to have the most up-to-date equipment.


One big issue, especially for me and I'm pretty sure most others on a GSM network too, is the interference problems.  GSM networks can blocked by pretty much anything such as buildings, tunnels, electronics, even some building materials found in homes and buildings, such as metal, stucco, etc. 


One Major downfall of the GSM network is the service problem due to the execution of data and voice calls.  The cell sites are very limited in such that all data and voice calls are ran through the same sites.  This is a huge disadvantage due to the fact that data is always running at a very high speed.  Most data for GSM runs at 500 kilobits per second (kbps).  At&t for example, requires every iphone user to have a data plan.  The average iphone uses an average of 400MegaBites of data a month, that's over 30% more than the average smartphone user. By prioritizing data At&t towers overload, forcing so many GSM network dropped calls.  This amount of usage is why AT&T has admitted its towers cannot handle the iphone.  The GSM network runs very slow and cannot handle the amount of communication their customers want to consume because of all the data and calls are running through the same cell sites.

Less Bars in More Places

A cell phone company's standard network determines the way in which cell phones communicate with their towers.  There are two dominant cell phone technologies at this time.  GSM is At&t's standard network, it standards for Global System for Mobile Communication.  The other one is CDMA, which I'll talk about more another time.  

The way GSM works is very different than other networks, making GSM phones incompatible with other networks' phones.  Basically GSM works through radio frequencies, also known as MHz. GSM phones require sim cards that can hold a person's address books and register with the network, relaying information.  GSM network frequency range is much wider than CDMA networks, thus making AT&T more cost efficient.  The ratio of AT&T's GSM cell sites to CDMA carriers is 1-2.  We"ll also go into that later.  The fact is that they have gotten by through limiting network funds to attempt to advance their cell sites.  At&t's collection of data and voice run through the same cell sites.  By all the information running through the same cell sites, one portion has to be prioritized, this being the data.  Prioritizing their information makes the GSM network run much slower with the end result being dropped voice calls.  

The amount of data that At&t has to handle by having exclusive rights to a Data Guzzler they need to find a way to have their network run smoother without having a 30% dropped call rate.

All We Ever Do Is Complain

In this post I thought I would include some information about the complaints At&t has been getting over the last several years. MSN Money wrote an article giving the Pro's and Con's of At&t and Tips if you plan to stay with them. Here is an exert from that article:

Should You Remain An At&t Customer?

Of the six largest cell-phone carriers, AT&T Wireless generated the most complaints overall and the most complaints per subscriber last year, according to FCC records obtained by Consumers Union. AT&T Wireless had 3.39 complaints per 10,000 subscribers, compared to best-ranked Verizons 0.76

I found several videos on Youtube about At&t wireless and their problems.  This one I found particularly Interesting...

Here is a direct link to the At&t Wireless Complaints thread on a website made by consumers to basically complain about products and services.  It's a way for prospective consumers to see what current customers are having problems with before they purchase. Here is an exact complaint from that site.

I have so many dropped calls at my house that I or any of my friends that have AT&T have to use my land line to make calls or call people back when they call on our cell phones. There is a cell phone tower which is visible from my back yard that does belong to AT&T

I found this particular one interesting because that is exactly what I have to do.  I pay monthly for a house line just so I can make and receive phone calls when I'm at my apartment.  I'm spending close to $100 a month for a phone that doesn't work and an additional $20 a month for a house line that does.  So why am I paying so much for a phone that doesn't ever seem to work??

At&t : It's Your Fault, Not Ours

According to an article in the New York Times, At&t explains why their service is well... Not what it should be.  They blame iPhone users for their service problems. Calling us Data Guzzlers.  In the NY Times article it explains :

Not only do iPhone owners download applications, stream music and videos and browse the Web at higher rates than the average smartphone user, but the average iPhone owner can also use 10 times the network capacity used by the average smartphone user.

They have a point however IPhone users aren't exactly using their phones to make calls.  They are using it to update their Facebook status, checking football scores, shop, listen to music, and play games.  Sorry we're using the iPhone how it was designed to be used, as a hand held computer mixed in a phone. However, that means At&t needs to update their network to meet the demand. At&t had the perfect opportunity to become the leading carrier in a multi-billion dollar market for wireless web access and they're blowing it.  

My question to John Donovan, Chief Technology Officer of AT&T since 2008, is Why are you blaming us for your problems? A company can't honestly expect to blame it's customers for their own spotty service, dropped calls, delayed text messages, and ice age internet speeds. I believe it was Kindergarden when we were taught to take responsibility for our own actions.  

At&t Sucks

Dear At&t,
You Suck.  Here's Why : 
I've been your loyal customer since 2000.  When I moved out of my parents house and into the real world, I stayed loyal to you and signed contracts with your internet, home phone, and cell phone services in 2005. In 2007, you stunned consumers with excitement of this amazing new and exclusive Apple device that would attempt to give us the ability to talk, surf the web, play videos, and run all kinds of fun software that we call Apps, all in a cell phone. Due to the success and hype of the iPhone itself, it is estimated that you now handle more than twice as much smartphone traffic as any other U.S. carrier. Or really, mishandle.  


Since the iPhone was released, I have watched your wireless network dramatically deteriorate. I thought to myself, maybe my cell phone is just out of date. So, I bought a new one. Then, before I knew it, I had tried 4 different cell phones.  I finally purchased the iPhone in March of 2009, thinking that would finally solve my problem. 


Nope. 


If anything, since I purchased this phone, my service has even gotten worst. I have so many dropped calls in my own home that I pay additionally for a house line simply to keep a conversation with people without loosing connection every two minutes.  I've also moved all across Orange County, and each time, having no bars. 


Apple has proved that they can create a phone that is a perfect computer in the palm of your hand. However, You have yet to prove to the world that you deserve to remain exclusive to this masterpiece. 


Sincerly, 
Loyal At&t Customer