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story category Mapping the iPhone's Global Network Performance
Different networks, different results...go figure...
01:34PM Monday Aug 25 2008 by Karl Bode
Tipped by ptrowski See Profile
Wired News recently conducted an iPhone user survey of network quality and rather unsurprisingly found that the quality of your 3G connection varies greatly by the country you're in and the network you're on. They also found that some of the recent problems with 3G iPhone connectivity should be blamed on the networks -- not the phone. Some interesting bits from Wired's report:
Click for full size
• European T-Mobile users reported the fastest 3G Download Speeds: 1,822 Kbps on average.
• U.S. carrier AT&T tied for third with Telstra, Telia and Softbank, where users reported average download speeds of roughly 990 Kbps.
• Participants in Australia reported the slowest average 3G download speeds of about 759 Kbps.
• Users in Germany and the Netherlands reported the fastest average 3G download speeds -- about 2,000 Kbps.
All of Wired's data can be found here in Google spreadsheet form, and a global map can be found here (though it appears to be struggling under blogger load).

Discussion in recent weeks have focused on the iPhone Infineon chip being to blame for dropped calls and poor 3G connectivity, with some disagreement over whether this is firmware fixable or not. Some Apple fans are heartened by some tests out of Sweden this morning that show the iPhone (at least the one they tested) has no connectivity problems. So is it the network or the Infineon chipset in the iPhone? Still no word from Apple.

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EPS

join:2008-02-13
Hingham, MA

One wonders about at&t...

The BlackBerry Bold, the first HSDPA (though not the first 3G if you count UMTS) BlackBerry, has been released in Canada and Europe, but not in America, reportedly because at&t wants RIMM to improve the reception... it makes one wonder about at&t's US network quality, perhaps.

ptrowski
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Re: One wonders about at&t...

said by EPS See Profile :

The BlackBerry Bold, the first HSDPA (though not the first 3G if you count UMTS) BlackBerry, has been released in Canada and Europe, but not in America, reportedly because at&t wants RIMM to improve the reception... it makes one wonder about at&t's US network quality, perhaps.
I was wondering what was holding up the Bold. Interestingly enough mail on Exchange and Yahoo hits my iPhone WAY faster than it did my Blackberry Curve.
--
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tmw

@iland.net
Too much hype about 3g an not nough areas sevicd (in Mid Misoui serviced by g.got liied to

en102
Canadian, eh?

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AT&T needs to improve its 3G capacity.

European networks have a 'clean' yet expensive 2100MHz network to build on.
Rogers in Canada has a lot of spectrum/user (at least 55MHz of spectrum, and only around 6 million subs)
In many areas, AT&T has 45-55MHz of spectrum, however, its at +70million subs. Given the 'relatively' cheap nature of use compared to Canada, its spectrum capacity is nearing its limits in some areas.
10MHz of 3G spectrum is not enough to run voice and data in major areas.
--
Canada = Hollywood North
EPS

join:2008-02-13
Hingham, MA

Re: One wonders about at&t...

The problem with UMTS/HSDPA is that it was designed for a European environment where spectrum auctions take into account which technologies must be deployed on them, while in the US spectrum is auctioned off in a less organized fashion and companies can use different technologies. The main reason CDMA EV-DO is better deployed is because it only requires 1.25Mhz channels (IIRC), though it only does data and not voice.

en102
Canadian, eh?

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Re: One wonders about at&t...

It was designed for a global environment, however, the U.S. does not always have the same spectrum availability as other countries do. Also, many companies prefer to cut costs where possible, while many other nations have spectrum mandate due to high government regulation of the wireless industry.

I agree that 1.25MHz channels are a nicer fit than the relatively huge 5MHz channels used by WCDMA/UMTS
--
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pnh102
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said by en102 See Profile :

AT&T needs to improve its 3G capacity.
Have there been many complaints about AT&T's 3G service, outside of its general range, outside of issues reported with the iPhone 3G?

I wonder if the iPhone is highlighting a larger problem with AT&T or if this is just a problem with the iPhone.

FWIW I have 2 3G phones (an HTC 8525 and Samsung Blackjack 2) and when we use AT&T's 3G service everything works just fine.
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en102
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Re: One wonders about at&t...

As spectrum and use vary from market to market, so does the issue. Some markets may have +65MHz of spectrum to use (eg. parts of Texas and Florida), while others have to deal with much less, and try to fit the relatively large 3G spectrum requirements in and not kill off GSM users at the same time.
A minimum for 3G is 10MHz (5MHz paired).
In an area such as L.A., currently providing 10MHz of 3G + 35MHz of GSM... another 10MHz will bring an almost 50/50 balance between 3G and GSM... Ok for 3G, but lets hope that there's nearly 50% of the devices on 3G, or there will be some crying on the other side.
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pnh102
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Re: One wonders about at&t...

Interesting. Thanks for the detailed explanation. This sounds like a problem that might "solve itself" per se as the more GSM handsets that AT&T replaces with 3G devices would push AT&T to replace GSM-only cells with 3G cells.

In the mean time... maybe the people who use the iPhone in the areas you describe should try jailbreaking and T-Mobile.
--
"At the moment of conception."

en102
Canadian, eh?

join:2001-01-26
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Re: One wonders about at&t...

Why... EDGE on AT&T or EDGE on T-Mobile... no advantage
T-Mobile's 3G runs on a unique 3G spectrum 1700/2100 (not the global 2100MHz listed on the iPhone).
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pnh102
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Re: One wonders about at&t...

said by en102 See Profile :

T-Mobile's 3G runs on a unique 3G spectrum 1700/2100 (not the global 2100MHz listed on the iPhone).
Duh. I totally forgot about that. I guess those people will be SOL.
--
"At the moment of conception."

djdanska
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Re: One wonders about at&t...

Unless your one of those people who think that the 3g iphone has the ability of tmo 3g.

»www.howardforums.com/showthread.···=1422321

Anythings possible!

pnh102
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Re: One wonders about at&t...

said by djdanska See Profile :

Unless your one of those people who think that the 3g iphone has the ability of tmo 3g.
Some might say I am insane. But even I am not crazy enough to purchase a iPhone of any flavor.

Not at full price anyway. If I can get a working original one on ebay for $10 I would consider it.
--
"At the moment of conception."

ifarrell

join:2000-08-10
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said by en102 See Profile :

AT&T needs to improve its 3G capacity.

AT&T doesn't care.
They know they've got iPhone Users locked into their two year agreement. So it'll be at least another year before they might do anything.
In the mean time, they'll just rack in the cash laughing their asses off.

en102
Canadian, eh?

join:2001-01-26
Valencia, CA

Re: One wonders about at&t...

I agree... fund future upgrades with current contracted customers (iPhone).
--
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pnh102
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Re: One wonders about at&t...

said by en102 See Profile :

I agree... fund future upgrades with current contracted customers (iPhone).
People have been able to use poor quality service as a way to get out of their contracts without paying an ETF though, even after the 15 or 30 day trial period (I forget what it is for AT&T but I have it linked in my previous posts).
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ptrowski
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Re: One wonders about at&t...

said by pnh102 See Profile :

said by en102 See Profile :

I agree... fund future upgrades with current contracted customers (iPhone).
People have been able to use poor quality service as a way to get out of their contracts without paying an ETF though, even after the 15 or 30 day trial period (I forget what it is for AT&T but I have it linked in my previous posts).
It can be done, but it takes some time.
My wife and I drive the same routes to work, and would sometimes have 10+ calls where one of us could not hear the other person, so we would hang up and redial. The coverage map on AT&T's site showed no gaps, even down to the most detailed areas.

When I called in, they had alot of the calls as user terminated instead of dropped, which TECHNICALLY they are user terminated since we could not hear the other person. I asked them to note why we would hang up, then dial the same number back so many times if the connection was fine. That got through to them.

They did a site survey along the routes we took, and we stopped hanging up when the calls were one way and let it drop on it's own. After about 2 months they were stumped as to why it would happen, and offered to let us port the numbers out without an ETF.

When we looked at Verizon's plans, there was just not enough to make us move. Just a note that it can be done with some persistence.
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pnh102
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Re: One wonders about at&t...

said by ptrowski See Profile :

After about 2 months they were stumped as to why it would happen, and offered to let us port the numbers out without an ETF.

When we looked at Verizon's plans, there was just not enough to make us move. Just a note that it can be done with some persistence.
That's good that this worked for you. At least there is some glimmer of hope for people locked in as you once were.
--
"At the moment of conception."

fcisler
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join:2004-06-14
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Companies like AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, etc can actually get some major fines for lying about coverage areas.

I don't know who specifically, but if you are listed as in a covered area and do not get service - call.

My boss' house was listed as covered. You could not get service at the end of his driveway. A couple calls to AT&T and they had a truck out there to do a site survey. The tech had no signal....surprise. 3 days later my boss' whole property was lit up. I know of two other people with similar situations.

ptrowski
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Re: One wonders about at&t...

said by fcisler See Profile :

Companies like AT&T, Verizon, Sprint, etc can actually get some major fines for lying about coverage areas.

I don't know who specifically, but if you are listed as in a covered area and do not get service - call.

My boss' house was listed as covered. You could not get service at the end of his driveway. A couple calls to AT&T and they had a truck out there to do a site survey. The tech had no signal....surprise. 3 days later my boss' whole property was lit up. I know of two other people with similar situations.
They did mentioning doing a site survery and checking each tower. I wonder if that was what happened.

Dogfather
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edit:
August 25th, @01:24PM

Doesn't matter who is at fault, it's Apple's responsibility

If it's AT&T's problem, Apple has a duty to get AT&T to fix it just as Apple recalled some of Sony's MacBook batteries.

ninjatutle
You can keep the "change"

join:2006-01-02
San Ramon, CA

It will never be fast enough

People will always gripe.

Dogfather
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Re: It will never be fast enough

It's not about any speed problem, it's about various connectivity problems.

ptrowski
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said by ninjatutle See Profile :

People will always gripe.
My gripe is you did not read the article.

N3OGH
Will it all be Obama's fault now?
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Re: It will never be fast enough

My gripe is with people griping.

/gripe

ninjatutle
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join:2006-01-02
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Re: It will never be fast enough

Two gripes don't make a right.

Titus Pullo
I came, I saw, I slept

join:2004-06-26
·Embarq

Tune up the band

wrapped in the flag to excuse the poor performance of networks here vs overseas. Perhaps I can save a few posts:

"Commies"
"Pinkos"
"Who cares?"
"Leave if you don't like it"
"Five items $5 @ Arbys"
"Apple paid Wired how much?"

Feel free to add on ...
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gopnick

join:2005-01-07
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yipee

And here come the MS fanboys, ready to say this is a Jobs conspiracy....
EPS

join:2008-02-13
Hingham, MA

Re: yipee

If you say anything bad about Apple you must be a Microsoft fanboy? How do those two connect? I mean, isn't much more likely that the ones complaining would be the HP, lenovo, or Dell fanboys? A lot of Mac users now buy Windows thanks to Boot Camp and the Intel transition, and Microsoft Office is still the most common Mac office software suite as far as I know.

Mike
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I hate the term fanboy.

I prefer the terms dimwits, zealots, or jagoffs to describe these people.

/off topic

ptrowski
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Re: yipee

said by Mike See Profile :

I hate the term fanboy.

I prefer the terms dimwits, zealots, or jagoffs to describe these people.

/off topic
Even worse is fanboi.

Mike
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Re: yipee

Anything "boi" I want them to dive into napalm to swallow the cyanide pill I put at the bottom. I hate the internet sometimes.

ptrowski
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Re: yipee

said by Mike See Profile :

Anything "boi" I want them to dive into napalm to swallow the cyanide pill I put at the bottom. I hate the internet sometimes.
Agreed 110%.

ThirdShifter
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Re: yipee

ATT 3G works just fine from me. Pretty fast as well. I think this whole obsession with iphone 3g is absurd. THere's plenty of flaws on HTC.s pocket pcs, blackberry's and everything in between. The only reason why we're alking about iphone and 3g is beyond me.

Maybe a complete and detailed research should be done on 3g in USA using different devices would yield a much more significantly meaningful result.

JhonnyRoKKet

@acsalaska.net

said by Mike See Profile :

I hate the term fanboy.

I prefer the terms dimwits, zealots, or jagoffs to describe these people.

/off topic
you don't know how much I agree with you on that!!
Binary

join:2007-12-29
Creston, WV

Did you know

that iphone can survive 60 feet drop?
Forums » Mapping the iPhone's Global Network Performance


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