temporus | AT&T Wireless sucks

Really. Truly. Why is it that whenever I'm in Manhattan, I get shoddy coverage with my AT&T phone? I was in NYC yesterday for a Lotussphere Roadshow, and throughout the day I had crappy coverage while I was there in the building. Then, even when I was out on the street trying to make a call or two, I still had very poor coverage. I'm not just talking that it was hard to hear out on the busy Manhattan streets, sure that's one of the failings of a Blackberry that as a phone, I find them less than ideal as far as hearing the unit without an earbud. But the line was choppy and staticky. Come on. This is fucking Manhattan. 48th and Broadway. Last time I was in Times Fucking Square, and I had the same kind of issue. Now, maybe you think it's my phone. I'd be tempted to agree, but as my supervisor was with me, and he has AT&T and a completely different unit, and was getting the same crappy performance, I'm left to feel that it's the carrier not the unit. As a further bit of evidence, I turned the wireless on for my Kindle, and got clean 4-5 bars with no problem virtually everywhere I was, even when I was getting 1 bar or no service from AT&T. Last time, thinking it was the device, I also had my wife's phone, which is not a blackberry but a simple Motorola, and even that couldn't reliably get coverage.

I can understand spotty coverage almost anywhere. I can understand not getting signal in an elevator. I cannot accept that there should be coverage and spotty service on the streets of midtown Manhattan. Nope. Sorry. That's just pathetic.

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Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Date: 2008-03-05 06:15 pm (UTC)

From:

edhorch.livejournal.com

no subject

That's why I won't use those family plans. I'd rather lose the discount but have carrier diversity (

reillye has AT&T, I have Sprint). You've got to be WAY out in the sticks to not have coverage from either carrier.

But you're right--to not have good coverage in one of the busiest spots ON EARTH is inexcusable. What I'm wondering is whether there really was a poor signal, or the local cells were just overloaded, so it was trying to lock on to more distant cells that still had capacity.

Date: 2008-03-05 06:37 pm (UTC)

temporus.livejournal.com

We didn't plan to have a single carrier. My plan is through work, hers is not. I would have went with Verizon, since that's the corporate standard, and overall coverage is better. But I do just enough international travel that its worth having the international plan with AT&T. (Those units will work internationally, which is why I have it.)