Verizon (in red) and AT&T (in blue) 3G Coverage
desperate:
- Being filled with, or in a state of despair; hopeless.
- Reckless abandon in the pursuit of an extreme desire.
Re-read number 2 again, if you will. I’ll wait.
Thanks. That definition perfectly defines AT&T’s recent legal action against Verizon seeking a temporary restraining order against Verizon’s latest round of commercials; commercials in which Verizon points out that they have five times the amount of 3G coverage throughout the United States. In reading the original complaint and Verizon’s answer, one is left to wonder how AT&T ever thought that they might prevail in court; my short list of possible scenarios began with “pay off the judge” and went downhill from there.
Essentially, AT&T claimed that consumers would be confused into thinking that they could not make phone calls anywhere that there was no 3G coverage. With the holiday (buying) season rapidly approaching, AT&T hoped to put a little coal in Verizon’s stocking. This “reckless abandon in the pursuit of an extreme desire” backfired, however.
Verizon’s well reasoned response pointed out that everything in their ads is true (and, incidentally, is undisputed by AT&T). They do have five times the 3G coverage, and the ads never say that calls cannot be made in non-3G areas; in fact they generally depict users obviously using data functions (and becoming irritated when not in a 3G area). The response contained the now oft-quoted summary: “The truth hurts”. Despite the legally informal prose, this hits the nail on the head squarely – AT&T absolutely looks desperate to hide the truth; their 3G network is absolutely five times smaller.
However, the big white elephant in the room that apparently both sides have forgotten is:
Who cares?
AT&T’s coverage may be five times smaller, but it’s present where it matters most – where most people live. Just as in the initial cellular rollouts some twenty-odd years ago, the carriers built where the people were; wisely spending dollars where there were people to spend them (and revenue to both recoup investment and fund additional expansion). In places like Billings, Montana, cell service didn’t even exist for some years after New Yorkers were already debating the risks of brain cancer. Similarly, AT&T built their 3G coverage starting with the major population centers. The vast majority of cell phone users spend the vast majority of their time within an hour’s drive from home; so it makes sense to prioritize infrastructure development where the most people live – which is precisely what AT&T has done.
In reviewing my business travel in the time since I bought the iPhone 3G, I cannot think of anyplace I went to that did NOT have 3G coverage. In fact, the only place that I can even determine that I went to and did not have 3G coverage was a lonely stretch of I-75 and I-10 in northern Florida – and I didn’t even notice; I was busy driving. However, I could have absolutely made a phone call if I needed to, and surfed with – gasp – Edge at a reduced speed if required. I hardly think I was inconvenienced, and quite frankly, the fact that I can get 3G coverage in Petroleum County, MT (pop. 493) doesn’t influence my purchasing decisions. To be a bit indelicate, I don’t think such matters weigh heavily on the minds of the fine citizens of those and dozens of other similarly-unpopulated places.
Verizon 3G Coverage Map of Petroleum County, MT.
AT&T has now countered with a more meaningful ad, highlighting two differences between the two networks that really do make a difference: The ability to talk and surf simultaneously (read “the ability to receive a call while surfing instead of having it go to voicemail without ringing”) and the faster 3G speed. These absolutely get my attention much more so than 3G coverage in places I likely will never visit.
In the end, what matters the most to a consumer is if the product or service does both what is required of it and what is promised by it. For me, the iPhone and AT&T’s 3G coverage does that – both where I live and where my stateside travels have taken me. Verizon’s larger 3G footprint adds nothing to that – a message that AT&T should probably use to salve the corporate sting it is now feeling.
Note: The opinions stated herein are those of the author alone, and do not necessarily represent the views of the entire Just Another iPhone Blog team. However, the author is really, really, really sure that they agree. Trust him.
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{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
AT&T network is crap. I live in the bay area and I'm lucky to get a data signal than to complain about 3G speeds. If you want to get technical wired.com did a test several months ago with 12,000 data sets. They tested 3G networks of Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile & Sprint. The so called "Fastest 3G Network" came in last and Verizon was first.
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/07/3g-speed-t...
How much did ATT pay you to write this piece?
Nothing yet, but I'm open to negotiations.
Actually, when I visited San Francisco last year, it was my Verizon aircard that gave me all kinds of trouble. The iPhone was flawless. <shrug>
Read through the comments on that Wired article. I’m not defending AT&T at all. I hate that I’m paying so much money for sub-par service, but I’d be comfortable stating that NO test has been done that accurately shows who is fastest. Living in the US, we are screwed. No matter what. ALL the carriers are terrible and they ALL are twisting numbers around to make themselves look better. It doesn’t matter which carrier you end up using, there are major problems with them all. I haven’t used Verizon myself yet, but I was a LONG time user of Sprint. AT&T has better coverage some places than Sprint did, but overall call quality is much lower. However, Sprints customer service is absolutely terrible and because of that, they will never see another penny from me. So far I have not had any negative customer service experiences with AT&T, but I have no doubt someday that day will come. Then I’ll give another carrier a try. It may sound petty, but in my opinion there is much more to a service than the numbers that are shown on paper and in ads. In MOST places I ever am, I get extremely good 3G speeds with AT&T (1.5 or higher). There are multiple carriers for a reason. Everybody wants different things and what they get is very different depending on their location and their lifestyle. Blanket statements such as AT&T sucks, or Verizon is faster, or Sprint has the worst customer service without any limiting factors to such statements are inherently false and simply a waste of time. Everybody has different experiences and makes decisions based on those experiences. A nationwide test with no real limiting factors in regards to ANY of the above mentioned aspects of service is, in my opinion, completely worthless.
I personally feel the real problem is not with the various networks, but with the contracts. We should be free to try a service, find out it does not fit our particular needs, and switch. Unfortunately, I completely understand the carriers position on this. People, in general, suck. They would abuse such freedom and constantly swap carriers to take advantage of promotional deals, phone subsidies, and many other factors that the carriers are more or less forced into providing in order to remain competitive. It is truly a chicken-and-egg situation where currently the carriers lose either way.
I had a different experience. I was a Sprint customer for 10 years, on PalmOS Treos for the latter years. I had nothing but good experiences with Sprint's Customer Service, and would have gladly stayed with them, had I not been seduced by the iPhone. Ultimately, PalmOS cost Sprint a customer, I'd really had it with the Treo and was happy to consider, then purchase the iPhone.
Yes, like most people here my service is terrible. I live in New Milford, CT & I only get an EDGE connection. Thank God for WiFi b/c I would prob. be on Verizon if it was not for AT&T having the exclusive agreement with Apple. For what I pay every month to AT&T I should be getting a freaking 3G connection. All I have to say is AT&T is sooooo lucky they have the iPhone!
I agree with the author's experience — I virtually always have 3G coverage wherever I go. I live in the hinterlands of Alabama and have AT&T 3G throughout the immediate area. In the past few weeks I have traveled to to Boston, Nashville, Oxford (Miss.), Atlanta, Birmingham (AL), Greensboro (NC), Las Vegas, and Washington, DC. 3G service was always there and connect speeds were not an issue at any time. I saw the "E" only a few times during this entire period. Maybe things are really bad in some regions, but I just haven't experienced that at all. (I do find their customer "support" laughable, but that's another issue!)
I will actually level that as my biggest complaint against AT&T – I miss 24 hour customer support from Sprint. I almost fell over the first time I called AT&T and found out that they keep the cellular equivalent of banker's hours.
I also agree with the author. I live outside Washington DC and travel mostly up into south central PA, NY/NJ, and Mass. Over the past year, I can't remember the last time I didn't have a 3g connection. The one time I did notice I had switched over onto an Edge connection, in the mountains of WV, I still got my e-mail and was still able to look up directions to where I was going. For me, it just works.
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