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Potential Problem for ATT N1 customers

I have an iPhone on AT&T and I have not had more then 2 or 3 dropped calls since June last year. No more then I had with Verizon in the same period of time. And there is only 1 small area around here that I dont get service and its a rural area (which happens to be where my church is, so its probably a good thing).

I live in Baltimore county btw
 
clutchy said:
i still can't figure out why people are bagging on ATT's network. In southern/central california it's superb. I've used it in phoenix/mesa AZ as well and have never had any issues. It worked well in D.C. and boston when i was there last year as well as vermont and new hampshire; it was a vacation though.

It's blazing fast and i always have 3g.
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Agreed, S. Florida has kick butt 3G with ATT. I have a 3GS and now the N1 and both get about 2.5 Mb download consistently and no dropped calls.

A few coworkers that have the Tmo N1 are only getting about 600 kb.

Joe
 
i thought the initial question is totally valid. ipad users will slow down the att network. now i'm actually glad i'm sticking with tmobile
 
th0r615 said:
I have an iPhone on AT&T and I have not had more then 2 or 3 dropped calls since June last year. No more then I had with Verizon in the same period of time. And there is only 1 small area around here that I dont get service and its a rural area (which happens to be where my church is, so its probably a good thing).

I live in Baltimore county btw
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Are you on the phone for hours during the day, driving around going from appointment to appointment? That's where the majority of dropped calls occur, for me and the others I know.

My son-in-law works in Silver Spring, does not travel for business and makes the occasional call. He loves the phone.
 
Always between a rock and a hard place. I believe not all the questions are answered yet. I'm a NYC AT&T Voice + Data customer with an expired contract and was a Verizon customer (work phone) for a few years until a few month ago. A victim of the downturn.

With Verizon voice reception is solid almost everywhere, but 3G data connections at their peak are not as fast as AT&T. Unless you get a World Phone like the Verizon HTC Imagio CDMA&GSM. Verizon's phones are basically useless when you travel abroad. Verizon plans are expensive, but we have yet to see if they're going to offer plans that are tailored for the N1. We have yet to see how the N1 (specifically) performs in Verizon's 3G network. We also don't know if the Verizon N1 is going to be a World Phone CDMA&GSM like the Verizon Imagio so that you can use a GSM prepaid SIM outside the US. Another thing that worries me about a Verizon N1 is that xda and pdageeks community might take a lot longer to release a cooked ROM. The Verizon "exclusive" HTC Imagio has been out for a while and there is no cooked ROM for it yet.

With AT&T I get good voice quality with a few voice calls dropped and in many places the signal is not as solid and strong as Verizon's. Data reliability also fluctuates, but when the 3G signal is optimal it beats data throughput of a Verizon phone with optimal 3G signal. AT&T 3G coverage in NYC is improving. The GSM band that they use for voice is popular outside the US (European and Asian countries) All you need is a pre-paid SIM and you can use your N1 in many countries. AT&T "appears" not to have an "official" relationship with Google as it relates to the support of the N1 on their network. AT&T offers 2-year voice contract plans for $60 with a subsidized phone or 2-year without a subsidize phone for the same $60. Their no-contract also cost $60. In other words, none of their contracts are pro-rated to be friendly to "unlocked" phones.

What I hear about t-mobile in NYC is that their 3G data speeds are not so great, but that they're working on improving their network. T-mobile has subsidized plans for the N1 and has no-contract plans that take into account the cost of the N1. In other words, t-mobile has plans that are tailored for the N1.

The main reasons I have not bought my N1 yet is that I'm waiting to see what Verizon is going to do in regards to N1 service plans, is the Verizon N1 going to be a World Phone, and how fast is the N1 going to be on their 3G network. I have Verizon POTS and DSL, so I can also get a break if I bundle my Wireless service with them.

I welcome any positive or negative comments you have in regards to where "I see" my position to be. I know, I know... I should stop looking so much at the pros and cons and get the freaking phone from AT&T without renewing my contract!
 
^ one thing i'd add is that both t-mobile and ATT versions are perfectly fine for voice all around the world they're quad band GSM phones which pretty much covers voice anywhere.

3g really isn't a voice service, it's for data.
 
clutchy said:
^ one thing i'd add is that both t-mobile and ATT versions are perfectly fine for voice all around the world they're quad band GSM phones which pretty much covers voice anywhere.

3g really isn't a voice service, it's for data.
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I stand corrected... I meant to say GSM. Forgot to mention that traveling to Canada with an AT&T phone is also convenient.

Edit:
Corrected my post above.

Correct me if I'm wrong, t-mobile GSM for voice is fine outside the US, but t-mobile runs its 3G protocols for data on different bands than AT&T. My understanding, again I could be wrong, is that AT&T runs their 3G protocols in a Band that is also commonly used for 3G protocols outside the US. This is the reason why a t-mobile N1 can not reach 3G speed in the AT&T network.
 
To the OP,
From my understanding of everything Ive read, Apple isnt expecting iPad users to really be using this product on a network. They are expecting iPad users to be utilizing wifi with the device more than 90% of the time. This will hardly affect the ATT network.

Now, that being said, in response to all the other ATT bashing posts. It gets really draining. Anyone ever notice the amount of posts containing "ATT dropped calls" and "with my iPhone"? Its not the network, its the phone. I have YET to really find anyone on a blackberry(self included) to EVER drop a call on ATT. I love ATT and have yet to find anywhere Ive gone where I didnt get service.

I switched from ATT in November to VZW for the droid. That lasted 10 days. I got more dropped calls in one week than I have in 4 yrs on ATT. I had people telling me I sounded like I was talking through a fishbowl. My father even told me not to call him again until I got a proper phone or back on ATT. Well, moved back to ATT with the Bold 9700 and have been happy ever since. Gonna be happier when my N1 arrives tomorrow!
 
ATT is currently revamping their network in all major markets and working their way in. I personally have no dropped calls in Columbus GA (3G)
 
tamanaco said:
I stand corrected... I meant to say GSM. Forgot to mention that traveling to Canada with an AT&T phone is also convenient.

Edit:
Corrected my post above.

Correct me if I'm wrong, t-mobile GSM for voice is fine outside the US, but t-mobile runs its 3G protocols for data on different bands than AT&T. My understanding, again I could be wrong, is that AT&T runs their 3G protocols in a Band that is also commonly used for 3G protocols outside the US. This is the reason why a t-mobile N1 can not reach 3G speed in the AT&T network.
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Most all phones with GSM can be used almost anywhere. It's an international standard. I think the US is the only place that uses CDMA still.

It's really the 3G frequencies that are different b/w ATT and T-mob. The reason the t-mob N1 can't get 3g on ATT is b/c it doesn't support the proper frequences, which are 850mhz and 1900mhz if i'm not mistaken.
 
clutchy said:
Most all phones with GSM can be used almost anywhere. It's an international standard. I think the US is the only place that uses CDMA still.

It's really the 3G frequencies that are different b/w ATT and T-mob. The reason the t-mob N1 can't get 3g on ATT is b/c it doesn't support the proper frequences, which are 850mhz and 1900mhz if i'm not mistaken.
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Actually China and Taiwan use CDMA heavily still. And no ATT and TMO do use dif freq for 3g. Att is 850 and 1900 as you stated and TMO is 900/1700/2100. TMO matches what most other countries in the world use for 3G. ATT and Rogers are the only ones using the 850/1900.
 
I just recently switched from Verizon to AT&T. I got the iPhone 3Gs 32GB. I experienced the 3G/Edge switching, and incredibly slow 3g speeds compared to Verizon. 2 days after I started my contract the N1 came out, I have been eyeing it for a while. So I sold my iPhone on eBay and bought the N1. I have less 3g/edge switching with it than the iPhone. I spoke to the rep at the AT&T store (as all of them were drooling over my N1) and was voicing my displeasure with AT&T 3G speed. Apparently they (AT&T) will be upgrading the network VERY soon according to the sales reps. So, heres hoping.
 
jmcgee_jr said:
Actually China and Taiwan use CDMA heavily still. And no ATT and TMO do use dif freq for 3g. Att is 850 and 1900 as you stated and TMO is 900/1700/2100. TMO matches what most other countries in the world use for 3G. ATT and Rogers are the only ones using the 850/1900.
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actually, your partly right, AT&T uses 850 or 1900 depending on what area in the country they own spectrum, most of the 3g phones that are 3g smart phones come with the required 2100 MHz. when your talking about T-mobile's 3g compared to AT&T, yes they use different Frequency's, they use band IV: 1700 MHz down, 2100 MHz up. AT&T users Band II: 1900; and band V: 850, as i mentioned earlier, depending on the area. No telecom company here in the states uses Band VIII: 900, that band is more prevalent in Asia and Europe.

UMTS frequency bands - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
 
That's interesting that ATT believes the iPad will only be used on their network 10% of the time. This is an assumption on their part and we really have to see what apps and services come out for the iPad market. In other words, things can change.

I agree with someone previously (sorry, long thread) that Android phones pose a greater threat to ATT's network. Or to be more specific, Adobe Flash which will be on the Android sets. We all know Apple products will not support it. As I've read, 70% of internet video is delivered using Flash, so I can see it increasing traffic to all the carriers. Will it be significant? I don't know, but just an observation.

Regarding ATT coverage and reliability... We have to understand there are MANY markets out there with their own technical challenges. Not all carriers place the same emphasis in all the same markets. That's why Verizon doesn't drop calls in North Phoenix while ATT does. I say ATT sucks in my neck of the woods based on my experiences. I'm sure they're good in other places. And that's why I feel this whole side discussion is a meaningless pissing match. Respectfully... :-)
 
I'm not going to defend any one in this, but i will say that there are tests out there that are saying (some would say proving) that the reason the iPhone drops calls is because of low quality equipment in the iPhone, not because of ATT. Here is the thing in the same place one 3G phone can have full service and the iPhone will have either no service or low service. I have had two iphone models and now the nexus one. It isn't all ATT causing the problem. You can thank Apple for being a large player in the dropped calls market. I know some folks who have gotten iPhones and they have nothing but trouble out of them constant dropped calls and lack of service and other who never have a problem. After comparing all things together i would say that the real culprit is the iPhone. This isn't a slam but it is the truth. So i don't see the iPad causing a problem.
 
Honestly, I'm not worried about the iPad on AT&T.

I'm enjoying EXCELLENT coverage on my N1 on THE best network (AT&T) in America!!!

It's going to be real intersting to see the N1 sales numbers for end of 1st quarter and 2nd quarter with the AT&T version coming on board.
 
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