While it was widely speculated that the 3G chip installed in the iPhone was the cause of some ill-fated owner’s connection problems, some new data coming from Wired.com is stating the exact opposite.  A study is showing that AT&T and other wireless carriers around the world are to blame for the issues, not the device itself. 

A new and comprehensive global survey of more than 2,600 iPhone users was conducted by Wired.com, which asked iPhone users to enter their iPhone data on an interactive map- a total of 1,638 US-based users participated, accounting for the majority of participants, according to InformationWeek.  The study included users who reported having no problems at all, as well as users that were having several problems including not being able to access 3G at all. 

"The most ‘0′ results for 3G download speeds came from US participants- presumably those dropped from the 3G network," Wired said. "In the United States, 63 participants reported ‘0′.  Altogether, globally, there were 80 ‘0′ figures reported."  This shows that a majority of the problems are coming from US-based iPhone owners, and most likely has a lot to do with the fact that the US has a relatively under-developed 3G network of towers when compared to well-established networks in Europe and other parts of the world.  Interestingly enough, the fastest 3G speeds reported were those of Germany and the Netherlands.  "Wired.com’s survey of iPhone 3G users suggests that widespread data speed problems have more to do with carriers’ networks than with Apple’s handsets," said Wired.com on its Web site.

It looks like the main problem is stemming from users in large metro areas that have a substantial load on local 3G networks and towers.  In San Francisco, for example, users are reporting that even when connected to the city’s 3G network, the speed differs minimally from EDGE.  The infrastructure just isn’t in place to handle the load from an onslaught of popular 3G devices- especially not in large urban areas. 

With all the preparations and time AT&T had before the iPhone 3G launched, you’d think they would have planned better for a strain on its 3G network.  AT&T, and other worldwide carriers, are going to have to optimize their 3G networks to be able to handle a new generation of devices.  Older devices have been carrying 3G for a long time now, but no device has held the internet-based functionality that the iPhone provides, so it puts that much more strain on the networks.  Since AT&T is the exclusive carrier for the iPhone, it’s not making things any easier as well. 

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Entry was posted on Tuesday, August 26th, 2008 at 8:50 pm under News, Opinion, iPhone.  Print This Post

Read more entries by Justin Montgomery.
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