iPhone gulps AT&T network capacity

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: dewayne () warpspeed com (Dewayne Hendricks)
Date: June 17, 2009 11:03:46 AM EDT
To: Dewayne-Net Technology List <xyzzy () warpspeed com>
Subject: [Dewayne-Net] iPhone gulps AT&T network capacity

IPHONE GULPS AT&T NETWORK CAPACITY
AT&T's wireless network is having a hard time keeping up with the  
Apple iPhone, a top wireless analyst says. That's the reason AT&T  
isn't offering multimedia messaging and "tethering" options for the  
new $199 iPhone 3G S — lack of network juice, says Roger Entner, head  
of telecom research for Nielsen. According to Entner, the average  
iPhone user eats up around 400 megabytes of capacity each month.  
Average smartphone usage is 40 to 80 megabytes. Entner says the high  
usage is a testament to the power and popularity of the iPhone.  
"People really love that device and are using it intensively." And  
network demands are only going to increase as pricing on the current  
iPhone 3G drops to $99, he says. Part of the problem is due to  
iPhone's engineering. The device constantly checks back with the AT&T  
network, he says, making adjustments as necessary. The iPhone's  
"chatty" nature is one reason it performs so well. But the back and  
forth also eats up a lot of network capacity. When the iPhone 3G S was  
unveiled last week, Apple said it would offer both those features.  
"Tethering" allows a wireless device to serve as a broadband modem to  
provide over-the-air support for laptops, PCs and the like. Multimedia  
messaging, or MMS, enables users to attach video clips, audio files,  
pictures, etc. to text messages. But when the list of global carriers  
offering the features was unveiled, AT&T wasn't on it. AT&T says it  
plans to offer MMS "by the end of the summer," but it has so far  
declined to say when tethering might become available.

<http://www.usatoday.com/printedition/money/20090617/ 
iphone17_st.art.htm>

Courtesy of the Benton Foundation <http://www.benton.org>RSS Feed: <http://www.warpspeed.com/wordpress 
>




-------------------------------------------
Archives: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/247/=now
RSS Feed: https://www.listbox.com/member/archive/rss/247/
Powered by Listbox: http://www.listbox.com