AT&T Working to Upgrade Network After Ranking Last in Customer Satisfaction
The Consumer Reports wireless customer satisfaction will be released this week, the results are in. Here’s how the top 4 stack up:
1. Verizon
2. T-Mobile
3. Sprint
4. AT&T
AT&T winding up in dead last comes as no surprise. AT&T has a strange relationship with the iPhone in that it is both its savior as well as its downfall. the one hand, the Apple iPhone is the top rated smart phone according to Consumer Reports, but AT&T is notorious for dropped calls, network congestion and poor service, especially in metro areas such as New York City and San Francisco. The problem: too many iPhone users hopping on the 3G network with their unlimited data plans.
Interestingly, 98 percent of AT&T iPhone users responded that they were happy with their phones despite the network problems. Meanwhile, only 79 percent of AT&T users with other phones – such as the BlackBerry Bold 9700, Samsung Mythic a897 and the HTC Tilt 2 – responded the same way.
To remedy this issue, AT&T took action earlier this year by promising to roll out HSPA 7.2Mbps in select cities, such as Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles and Miami as well as deploying “additional backhaul capacity to cell sites” which will support LTE. (LTE being the 4G standard for mobile broadband, expected to be up and running in 2011). In New York, AT&T gave its network a band boost in the 850 MHz spectrum and plans to add 68 additional cell sites throughout the area. Plus, AT&T plans to make more wireless WiFi hotspots available to lessen the load on the 3G network.
Many iPhone rumor mongers see AT&T’s flagging stature in the wireless world as a sign that the iPhone may move to greener pastures at Verizon soon – however, Apple would have to adapt the iPhone to work on the CDMA network, which might require a major overhaul.
For now, AT&T can thank the iPhone for helping it hang in there – for better or wor
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Tags: AT&T, Consumer Reports, iphone