If AT&T Is So Bad..

[kdarling]

Why do they 70 million customers and keep adding new users while other so carriers keep loosing millions of subscribers?

Of the big US four, only Sprint is losing subscribers. ATT, Verizon, T-Mobile continue to gain at Sprint's expense. The prepaid resellers like Virgin also suck away new customers from everyone.

Verizon continues to usually have the most profit, and least churn, despite customers who moved to ATT for the iPhone... because they have the most postpaid subscribers (the best kind).

ATT has taken a profit hit for a couple of years, because of giving out 900 million dollars in (mostly) iPhone subsidies.

 

[kas23]

Last time I checked not all AT&T customers are using iphone and AT&T was there before the iphone and they will still be there after they lose their iphone exclusivity.

Here's a good article.

http://gigaom.com/2009/04/22/why-att-is-desperately-addicted-to-the-iphone/

No one ever said that everyone on AT&T is using the iPhone or that they would disappear without the iPhone. My point was that AT&T's phenomenal growth over the last couple of years has been due to the iPhone. Just as you pointed out with the other carriers, their relative strength is measured by their new subscribers plus their churn rate. AT&T has had a very low churn rate and has gained many new subscribers (as the others lose subscribers) due to the iPhone.

If it was Verizon who put out the iPhone, AT&T would have a much higher churn rate and would be losing customers to Verizon.

 

[army91c]

Let me ask you this...If AT&T set MMS free for the iPhone and lets say half of your MMS's didn't arrive to their recipients you'd still be complaining even though you had MMS. AT&T is upgrading and testing their network so that doesn't happen. It's pretty much a lose-lose situation for them. Either they come out with it and it doesn't work right, and people bitch, or the upgrade the network and make us wait and people will bitch. I think they made the right choice by making sure it works right...not just works.

My point is they should of been upgrading and testing their network before. Did they just find out about the new iPhone having mms when the rest of the world did? Prob not... they most likely knew a long time before 3gs was released. No excuses means NO excuses.

 

[WeatherGuy]

They probably started when Apple informed them that the phone would be MMS capable. It's not like a nationwide network can be upgraded overnight. It takes planning, money, manpower and resources. Just be patient.

 

[kas23]

They probably started when Apple informed them that the phone would be MMS capable. It's not like a nationwide network can be upgraded overnight. It takes planning, money, manpower and resources. Just be patient.

What about the 22 other international carriers that were ready? Sure, one could say these are much smaller, managable markets, but they also have a lot less resources than AT&T (a billion dollar corporation) and still were ready. these same international carriers also provided semi-decent work-arounds until Apple was ready to introduce MMS. What did AT&T offer their customers? Viewmymessage.com, which is the equivalent of a slap in the face.

And I highly doubt AT&T found out MMS was coming on the very same day in March (during the Keynote) we, the consumers, found out about it. AT&T must have known months before that. Additionally, if MMS has to be individually manually activated, why/how was it working for the thousands of people testing the 3.0 betas?

 

[QCassidy352]

Too many AT&T dead zones and far too poor penetration of buildings. I find myself looking at a "No Service" message for 50% or more of my work day. Not acceptable.

just goes to show that it's all about region. AT&T has wonderful service where I am (Boston) and great building penetration while my t-mo blackberry goes dead if it's more than a few feet from a window.

Having had those two and verizon, I think all are fine. I have no complaints with AT&T's coverage, and I actually find their customer service people to be uniformly nice and helpful.

 

[Warbrain]

Because they're not so bad. Besides these forums bring out the complainers. I've not had any problems.

This one says it says it all.

 

[megapopular]

Why do they 70 million customers and keep adding new users while other so carriers keep loosing millions of subscribers?

A lot of it boils down to AT&T not locking down their devices, and... the iPhone. As earlier said, droves of new customers are coming to AT&T and a lot of people are switching to get an iPhone. The more that people pick one up, show it off to their friends, the more people will be apt to buy, too. The video function and upcoming MMS will make AT&T even more attractive. Honestly, though, the iPhone is extremely important to AT&T. I don't see them going to any other carrier besides Verizon. I still wonder if Verizon would loosen their legendary stranglehold on devices to allow the iPhone to stay unbranded. We'll see!

 

[TroyBoy30]

att has always had the best coverage where I live, so I have always been with them. Almost 15 years now and no problems or major complaints!

 

[ucfgrad93]

Because they're not so bad. Besides these forums bring out the complainers. I've not had any problems.

Agreed. In my experience, at&t isn't so bad. That's not to say at&t is perfect, no wireless carrier is in spite of what you may hear about Verizon.

 

[dccorona]

Why do they 70 million customers and keep adding new users while other so carriers keep loosing millions of subscribers?

all these people with so many dropped calls, and I'm willing to bet most of them are in terrible service areas

I have lots of problems with dropped calls, calls not coming through, texting issues...IN MY HOUSE, where I steadily get 0-1 bar (meaning no service most of the time)
Up at the top of my street, where I get full bars, everything works perfectly

people dont realize that you need service to get service

 

[Hankster]

People who complain are the ones who are in low service areas, it happens. There is not one carrier that has perfect service EVERYWHERE. If ATT has BAD service they would be like Sprint (where they are losing people by the minute).

 

[joeshell383]

Why do they 70 million customers and keep adding new users while other so carriers keep loosing millions of subscribers?

Stupid question. Your question would be like these ones:

If Windows 98/Me/Vista was so bad, why did it set sales records and remain the number one operating system in terms of marketshare?
If the RAZR was so bad, why were over 50 million units sold?
If China is so repressive, why do people still live there?
Why don't poor people just get better paying jobs?

 

[CalMin]

I think they are fine. The customer service reps are too scripted and not trained to think

My favorite was t-mobile, who seem to have San Diego well covered. I get a Verizon phone for work and it sucks - my house is a dead spot rendering the phone useless.

 

[Ronnoco]

I have no complaints with ATT. I came over from VZW. I hated their crippled phones. Signal is about the same here in coastal San Diego which is very good to excellent. AT&T customer service is far better IMO. I'm a satisfied ATT customer.

 

[Jay26]

I have no complaints with ATT. I came over from VZW. I hated their crippled phones. Signal is about the same here in coastal San Diego which is very good to excellent. AT&T customer service is far better IMO. I'm a satisfied ATT customer.

I recently came over from VZW, too. I must say, VZW had better service and call quality in my area, but at&t service it still good here. The only reason I switched was for the iPhone. Although VZW had better service in my area, I like having new technology and good choices for phones, and it's not like at&t is horrible.

The great thing about cell carriers and phones is that I can switch in a couple years (or less if I want to pay ETF) if I want a change. I guess the ultimate decision came down to this - I'd rather have a great phone with good service than a good phone with great service. Please keep in mind, I'm judging this based on where I live, so you might have a great phone with great service if you're with at&t.

 

[Gin Gin]

I'm new to the iPhone, the 3G S is my first. Before that I've just had "dumb" phones. I've had AT&T for years though, since the Cingular days. AT&T has great coverage around here (Chicago suburbs) & 5 bars inside my house. So I did not switch providers to get the iPhone, was already happy with AT&T. Plus we get a discount on my service through husbands job & even got $100 off my shiny new 32gb 3G S through his company's AT&T rep. (That's the only reason I got it.) So yeah, I'm happy as a clam!

 

[agkm800]

ATT has taken a profit hit for a couple of years, because of giving out 900 million dollars in (mostly) iPhone subsidies.

I understand AT&T loses about $300 per new iPhone account right off the bat for subsidy. But, how much do they make per iPhone account for next 24 months? How would AT&T do without iPhone?

AT&T taking a profit hit because of iPhone subsidies sounds very odd.

 

[beamer8912]

I understand AT&T loses about $300 per new iPhone account right off the bat for subsidy. But, how much do they make per iPhone account for next 24 months? How would AT&T do without iPhone?

AT&T taking a profit hit because of iPhone subsidies sounds very odd.

You're right, they're not taking a hit. I remember AT&T's quarterly report a month or so ago....6% of their customers were iPhone users, that 6% made up 20% of their profits.

It's not hard to make back that $300 when the cheapest plan for the iPhone is $80+ a month. (And don't even try to justify AT&T giving you $80 worth of service)

 

[Cinemagic]

AT&T is not terrible, but far from their advertised claims. I have had several carriers. AT&T is the same as all the rest in terms of overall coverage and service. Yes, some people may find spots where one carrier has better coverage than another, but nationwide, they're all about the same.

My biggest gripe with AT&T is that they claim "fewest dropped calls". My personal experience is this is simply not true. "Widest coverage", this also is not true. I have a problem when a company advertises falsehoods. AT&T's advertisements are simply not true. Verizon may be no better, I don't know. But I have AT&T.

My second complaint with AT&T stems from the additional fees for the iPhone when additional fees for similar service is not charged or other phones. Why does AT&T not currently allow MMS only from the iPhone?

AT&T does have decent customer support. The quality of their service and signal is very good in my area. If T-Mobile were allowed to also have the iPhone, I'd still stay with AT&T.

 

[rjohnstone]

My second complaint with AT&T stems from the additional fees for the iPhone when additional fees for similar service is not charged or other phones. Why does AT&T not currently allow MMS only from the iPhone?

What "additional fees" are you speaking of?
You would pay the exact same amount if you had a Blackberry or any other PDA phone with a data plan.

The MMS issue is most likely due to the way AT&T implemented services for the iPhone.
We all know AT&T fully supports MMS for every other MMS capable phone they sell, so it has to be they way the implemented the service for the iPhone.

 

[kdarling]

AT&T taking a profit hit because of iPhone subsidies sounds very odd.

My apologies, I thought it was clear that I was talking about their short term profit hit because of subsidies, because I said it was for a couple of years.

Until ATT gets paid back, it's not money in their hands, and this affected their earnings.

 

[samcraig]

For those using the argument that ATT should be up to speed like the other carriers have a baseless argument. The bottom line is - they are DIFFERENT networks. Different user base. Different infrastructures and were created at different times. I have not done the research -but How old is the rogers network vs ATT's? And is it possible that the newer network was already built with MMS in mind vs an older one which needs to be "retro-fitted". Or perhaps the newer network didn't take mms into consideration and the older one is more capable and easier to upgrade.

Point is - unless you know the infrastructure, history and specs of all the "players" you're complaining about and against - you have no frame of reference and are just ignorant. And no - I don't mean ignorant as an insult, but by the true definition of not having knowledge.

 

[thep33t]

I had 3 hours of no internet access and about 30 mins of phone downtime last Wednesday. Called up ATT to see what was up. I wasn't asking for money back, or complaining, just wanted to make sure my recent JailBreak was the cause. They only gave me $40 back on my phone bill for the inconvenience. Let me tell you, a HORRIBLE company, would never do business with them again.

*edit*

also i only get 3g service 1/2 the time at my house in the boonies, such a sad day. I should switch to a GREAT company like verizon, they are the Christ you know?

 

[-aggie-]

I had 3 hours of no internet access and about 30 mins of phone downtime last Wednesday. Called up ATT to see what was up. I wasn't asking for money back, or complaining, just wanted to make sure my recent JailBreak was the cause. They only gave me $40 back on my phone bill for the inconvenience. Let me tell you, a HORRIBLE company, would never do business with them again.

*edit*

also i only get 3g service 1/2 the time at my house in the boonies, such a sad day. I should switch to a GREAT company like verizon, they are the Christ you know?

Uh, you live in the "boonies" and blame AT&T for not getting 3G? Wow!!

Oh, and if you want to call Verizon the Jesus network or something like that, that's fine, but calling them the Christ, I think, will anger a lot of people on here.