AT&T: The iPhone's Achilles' Heel 77 comments
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By MG Siegler
When Om Malik of GigaOM said he was breaking up with his iPhone 5 months ago because of the failures of AT&T (T), I must admit, I thought he was overreacting. I was wrong.
Since I switched to AT&T from Verizon (VZ) just over 2 years ago to get the iPhone (which, of course, AT&T has exclusively in the U.S.), there have been no shortage of shortcomings by AT&T. But as of late, I’ve been noticing things getting much, much worse. And I’m hardly the only one. And so it’s time to call out AT&T on those failures. And plead with Apple (AAPL) not to renew its exclusive contract with AT&T when it expires next year.
In my mind, the most recent AT&T failure is completely inexcusable. Its visual voicemail system — which is the only way to be notified of voicemails on the iPhone — has been down for many users for days, if not weeks. And AT&T apparently didn’t bother to tell anyone. What does this mean? Thousands, or hundreds of thousands or maybe even millions of missed connections, that could be vital for personal lives, business and a host of other things. I’m simply dumbfounded by the failure.
Here’s how I found out about it. While I was coming home from the office Thursday, I all of a sudden got bombarded by visual voicemails. It was only then that I realized that I had not received one in a while. How long? Since sometime before July 3, apparently. Yes, 2 weeks without a single voicemail.
Even better is that not only did I get bombarded by these weeks old voicemails at once, but I still cannot listen to them. It has been over a day since the notifications finally came in, and visual voicemail is still down. I’ve had to manually call the AT&T voicemail service — not a huge deal, except that I’ve never done it before, so I didn’t know how, and that I didn’t receive any kind of notice that I had to do that.
Once I did that, sure enough, I had a range of voicemails from personal ones, to pretty important ones for appointments and work that I just totally missed, to a voicemail from my 90-year-old grandma, who probably thinks I’m avoiding her now. I’m not grandma, AT&T just is a complete and utter failure.
Oh, and did I mention that half of those missed voicemails don’t even show up in my call logs as missed calls? So who knows what else I’ve missed from people who didn’t bother to leave voicemails.
I’m so pissed off that I kind of want to call AT&T and demand that they call each of the people I missed calls from and personally apologize. Instead, I’m writing them this very public condemnation.
This is really, really bad any way you look at it. But it’s compounded by a host of other failures over the past several months and years on AT&T’s behalf.
Even since the iPhone launched on AT&T’s network, there have been reports of problems. But things really got bad with the launch of the iPhone 3G last year, when basically no one could activate their phones. Okay, so AT&T learned from that mistake, right? Nope — the same thing happened this year. And immediately after that post, AT&T contacted us to suggest that it wasn’t its fault, but when we asked for some sort of proof or statement to that effect, they did not get back to us. Yeah.
And let’s not forget the total failure of AT&T’s network during this year’s SXSW festival. AT&T tried to pat itself on the back for rushing to turn up the bandwidth — something which still didn’t really work all that well, and came far too late. Sure, there were a ton of iPhones in one place that were accessing the network, but AT&T has one job: To provide service to its customers, and it failed at it.
And it fails at it far too often. Depending on where you are here in Bay Area (I’m using that as an example because that’s where I live, but the problems are hardly confined to here), there is basically no AT&T reception. This is what Malik noticed all those months ago. And as more iPhones are being sold, it’s getting progressively worse.
AT&T promises that network upgrades are coming, but the fact is, the company has had over 2 years to fix these issues (that have arisen since the launch of the iPhone) and they have not. Hell, they can’t even get basic services like MMS and tethering working, even as their carrier counterparts in other countries already have them up and running. And now you can add visual voicemail to the list. Pathetic.
And something else that’s not talked about nearly enough is that the newest iPhone, the 3GS, is built to handle data download rates twice that of older iPhones. But it doesn’t. Why? Because AT&T’s network isn’t yet equipped to handle it. And won’t be for most places until 2011. There will likely be two more versions of the iPhone by then.
And even where AT&T is testing the new faster network, in Chicago, there is apparently no data transfer speed difference, tests performed by Gizmodo have confirmed. Again, nice job AT&T.
As someone who writes about the iPhone a lot, I often get asked by people if I think they should get one now or wait to see if it ever gets on another carrier. That answer becomes easier everyday: If you can, wait.
As great as the iPhone is as a mobile computing device, it is still first and foremost a phone. But with AT&T’s shortcomings, it has basically turned the iPhone into an iPod touch. So why not just buy one of those? After all, you can get much of the actual working functionality, without having to pay a high monthly bill.
AT&T’s exclusive deal with Apple is set to expire next year, and they’re trying to extend it right now. I will say right now that if Apple does re-up with AT&T it will easily be one of the most disappointing things it has ever done. And I think ultimately that would prove to be a huge blunder from a business perspective.
I understand why Apple went exclusively with AT&T at first (though it had first offered the device to Verizon, which turned it down) — it got a pretty sweet deal, and was able to use it to put it in a position of power over the entire industry. And I even understand why they re-upped the first time — to get an even sweeter deal (the subsidy from AT&T for each phone sold). But now AT&T is a liability for Apple that will inhibit its huge potential for growth in the U.S.
Apple no longer needs AT&T. Thanks to its huge success, it can dictate its own terms to other carriers now, and ensure it controls the iPhone ecosystem — its top priority. Verizon, as the nation’s largest carrier, is likely to give it the most resistance. But that resistance is futile. The iPhone will eventually be on Verizon, on Apple’s terms. It’s just a question of when.
If that’s by the end of next year, many of us will be happy campers. I don’t care what I have to pay to break an AT&T contract, I will do so in a heartbeat.
If it’s not next year, will I consider switching carriers and getting another phone? Yes. As I indicated, I’d be happy carrying around an iPod touch and having some other phone — even a crappy one — that actually works. Or more likely, I’ll just unlock the iPhone and use it on another carrier. At this point, I don’t care how much that costs, I just want a working phone.
But I don’t think I’ll have to do that. Because I truly believe that Apple has to know that it needs to expand its carrier roster in the U.S. to continue growth. And if I were a betting man, I would bet on that happening next year.
Let’s all do what we can to ensure that happens — to ensure Apple gets the message. Every time there is one of these ridiculous AT&T failures, tweet about it, blog about it, write Apple about it, or scream about it. Do whatever you can, but don’t just sit there and take it any more.
It’s time to send a message, since AT&T can’t provide us with ours with any sort of reliability.
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This article has 77 comments:
Let me just give one: I stopped the $5 texting thing with VZ 3 years ago. Just discovered, at a VZ store, that VZ turned it back on 20 minutes later and has been charging me $5 a month ever since -- without detailing it on the bill! Go ahead and complain about some lost emails. I lost dollars! VZ paid back only 2 years' worth, after admitting their mistake. I'm happy with AT&T, folks -- er, happier!
"Apple no longer needs AT&T. Thanks to its huge success, it can dictate its own terms to other carriers now..."
If AT&T sucked, as you say, at service, the IPhone wouldn't have had the sales and support, then sales again ( because of the former )
That's having it both ways, with forked tongue.
I've had nothing but excellent service, response from AT&T as a U-verse customer. They are world class and that's why Apple's current quarter will have blow-out numbers. It's also the reason ---shameless plug coming up---why I have positions in TQNT because it has a lot of real estate in the IPhone. win-win-win.
Bottom line for me is that a Verizon iPhone would be a crippled pile of crap.
I am pretty convinced that complaints about the AT&T network are legitimate for places like New York or San Francisco, where population density and iPhone penetration exceed the network's current capacity. Ditto for temporary high demand situations like SXSW in Austin. I have had experiences at music festivals of not being able to even send a text because the network is so over-utilized.
However, isn't this indicative of a technology that is advancing faster in some places than in others? I don't think that AT&T has some evil, nefarious plot to deprive users of their optimum iPhone experience. I think that they are just struggling to keep up and that it takes massive investment and long lead times to add capacity in the range of what is required. It's clear that Apple is pushing AT&T to take risks and invest where they otherwise would not.
And I'm sorry, I just don't buy that Verizon or Sprint are so much better if compared fairly with AT&T. Keep in mind that AT&T has something like 8 million bandwidth-hogging iPhones (my unconfirmed estimate) on its U.S. network. These users are browsing like no mobile users have ever done, they are e-mailing pictures, they are downloading apps, they are constantly sending location and data from apps up to the network. There is no comparably data-intensive device on Verizon or Sprint. I don't care how many e-mails you send with a Blackberry or how much you use your HTC or Samsung Instinct, it simply does not compare. There is very simply no mass - 8 million or so - of devices on Verizon or Sprint or T-Mobile using the bandwidth that iPhone does.
So, in summary, it's more complicated than the complainers would admit, and it's fair to call it growing pains. I'm pretty sure that any technology that's worth advancing has key periods where the user demand exceeds the industry capability, and this spurs innovation.
All this kicking and screaming should have a very beneficial effect on the United States wireless network capabilities, and that's a good thing.
And, with the exception of a few features (MMS, tethering), I can now do everything in the heartland of the U.S. that I was hearing that these futuristic phones in advanced countries have been doing for years. And more, much more.
By the way, tethering is out there and it's easy. Look for it, and expect that AT&T will add it in September. The current users who are doing it on the sly are testing their network capacity for them and AT&T will undoubtedly look carefully at data usage patterns in June and July to see what they need to do.
Best $135 I have spent when I paid the termination fee to escape AT&T.
AT&T had better learn how to run a wireless company real fast or all our company business will shift to another carrier. It's not Apple ot the iPhone...it's the former Ma Bell!
AT
no one has cancelled or changed carriers due to poor service as the article write states he encountered.
the only complaint comes from heavy-texing son who wants picture texing that is not available...
Plus they are second to none when traveling
After breaking a t-mo contract to get an iphone last October, I had to go back because AT&T hardly functioned as a phone, and I felt like an a** for spending money on a 3G plan and always connecting at Edge, or worse speeds.
For disclosure, I'm in NYC, and when I left NY, in particular in Florida, it worked brilliantly. But, it astounds me... I'm in New York Freakin' City, and I can't get inbound phone calls, or calls that don't drop? Crazy. And, no reason for voicemails to be delayed 12 or more hours before delivery. That has nothing to do with network robustness or speed. That's simply a failure.
And, for those people who tell me I'm too picky, if I can get a T-mo phone connection, I can get an AT&T one... I can't get a T-mo signal where I live in NYC (Tribeca) either, but I have a phone that supports UMA, so from home, make all my calls over wifi with unlimited minutes for just $10/month. Without UMA, I'd have gone to Verizon.
If Verizon get the iPhone, say hi to me. I'll be the guy camping out overnight at the front of the line.
David
Someone who doesn't understand that Verizon is rolling out LTE shortly and has fiber access to the majority of their cell sites while in many cases AT&T is still trying to back haul over T1s. An upgrade to HSDPA while in theory is good does nothing to address the fact that AT&T is behind Verizon in network buildout.
On Jul 19 09:19 PM Roger Hornsby wrote:
> HSDPA 7.2 which will double the download speed is a software upgrade
> that will start this year, not in 2011 as you state above. Once
> again, a tech journalist who doesn't understand what they are writing
> about. Sigh...
On Jul 19 09:45 PM boomeranging wrote:
> I live in central Ohio and just about everyone I know has left T-Mobile,
> Sprint, Verizon and switched to AT&T
>
> Plus they are second to none when traveling
AT&T removed one line from my discount plan that comes from my employer.
HOWEVER: I have never been anywhere except a basement level elevator that I didn't have service. I have been all over the Big Island Hawaii in virtually every knook and cranny. I live in the South and can jump on an ATV with some pals and I'll be the only one with service when we get any distance off road.
California, Florida, DC, and everywhere in between.
I too have had VOICE MAILS dumped on me all at once but these are from people that don't need me RIGHT THEN. I am on call with my job and I also support several I.T. networks that demand quick service. No one has ever had to wait 15 minutes in 13 years to reach me when I knew it was important.
Absolutely no one I know can come to my house with any other carrier and make that claim. If I travel with them or have to call them while they travel we usually have the "I need to switch to AT&T" conversation.
The real story is that it is no longer in Apple’s best interest to stay in an exclusive arrangement with AT&T Mobility. Apple needs to expand its customer base for its own content business. AT&T Mobility needs to transition its business to a content driven model and it currently needs a push from the likes of Apple.
There is another story and that involves Nokia. What Apple needs to worry about is Nokia.
Culture: These companies come from a regulated environment. All of the Ma Bell spin-offs believe that they are doing you a favor to accept you as a customer. They all walk in lockstep together with their contracts.
Technology: They are still shocked by the acceptance of mobile devices vs. POTS.
Ala carte: When Web-enabled phones first came out in the 90s, everything was included. Now everything is ala carte.
Legal: All of their contracts are contracts by adhesion. You are damned if you are an individual. There is no negotiation - unless you are a big company.
Billing: Even though they could install fraud detection (like a credit card company, sometimes) they would rather put the onus on the billed customer to "check your minutes." If your line is hijacked, how do you know it is being abused? Answer - "it's your responsibility to check your minutes." That's why I left Verizon.
Technology: Typical answers: "We don't support that feature." "Most of our customers want that."
I have gone from being a bleeding edge user (Kyocera 8035 of the 90s) to a person who just wants a phone that doesn't drop a voice signal. Whatever happened to external aerials?
Their slogans should be "Billing clients in ways they never imagined."
I am a previous VZW customer and found ATT to be just as good if not better.
I hope Apple leaves ATT just so that there would be some competition between carriers.
1. Techies never did understand networking or network provisioning.
2. Yes, they are probably struggling to provide service in some areas due to demand. This also would explain dropped calls or exclusion of some aps because of thier bandwidth requirements.
On Jul 19 05:14 PM spearsall wrote:
> I have AT & T and a Nokia E71, because the iPhone didn;t have
> the battery life I required. Love my Nokia, hate AT & T. I
> have lost more calls on this network on any 2 months period than
> I did with Nextel in 7 years. Sure Sprint Nextel only works well
> on highways...but I've lost calls on I90 in Chicago or driving down
> the NY State Thruway.. Voice mails have been lost. Voice mail has
> been late for 2-3 days, then dumped on me just like the above issues.
>
> AT&T had better learn how to run a wireless company real fast
> or all our company business will shift to another carrier. It's
> not Apple ot the iPhone...it's the former Ma Bell!
>
> AT
VZW is no better in terms of network or customer service. I experience dropped calls on both. T-Mo in DC is pretty good, I hardly get any dropped calls (must be low subscribers).
T needs to solve the backhaul issue, the latency goes through the roof and throughput goes way down, lots of time outs...
APPL went with the biggest platform (GSM) to start with to get scale and build the ecosystem. Will they go with CDMA Rev A or wait until LTE comes out to get on VZW? My bet is they wait until LTE... Oh, and the LTE folks haven't yet figured out circuit switched voice support yet.
I wrote the following email to Randall Stephenson, CEO of AT & T, after contacting their customer service as well as posting my laments on their networking web site:
"Mr. Stephenson:
I am contacting you direct since I have been unable to obtain satisfactory answers to my question about the lack of service in the area to which I recently moved.
It seems like my wife and I, both of us own iPhones, have entered Dark Territory insofar AT & T is concerned. We purchased our cell phone in Issaquah, Washington back in August and Septermber 2008 after receiving satisfactory service from your company in Las Vegas, Portland - OR, and Seattle since November 2006. We especially liked the fact that you offer roll-over minutes on your program. Verizon had been our carrier for twenty years prior and did not respond to my inquiry as to why did not offer a similar rate program for their cell service.
My complaint with your company is that your customer service is more interested in telling me chapter and verse according to AT & T policy rather than dealing with me as a valued customer. Both customer representatives, whom I am copying with this email, kept apologizing profusely for not being able to help me keep AT & T as my carrier in Montana. The policy and the contract I signed was explained to me in every detail, something your sales people at the your store neglected to do, and offered to set up an account for us with Verizon Wireless. I objected to that only because it will make my iPhone useless other than as a mini-laptop with no access to email etc.
My real complaint is that your marketing strategy has only now become very obvious to me. You are only interested in providing service in areas where you are a direct carrier. The hardware used towards that purpose has become secondary and as your exclusive with Apple is expiring soon will not be your main driving force to obtain profit for your stockholders.
Thanks for listening to me and would appreciate a response (hopefully positive) back from you as soon as possible.
Bob van der Valk
Terry, MT 59349
(971) 678-2975 cell (this number might be cut off any day by AT & T)"
I received a call back almost immediately from Justin K. (last name withheld) in the Office of the President. He was able to get me the answer I was looking for within two days after calling their customer service department several times. When you violate your agreement with AT & T, they will give you 90 days from date of notification to either get your act together or change carriers. They will allow you to cancel without penalty but you are not allowed to keep the phone number.
I asked Justin to convey a message to Mr. Stehenson from my wife and myself. Put up a sign at each border crossing into Montana with a drop box next to it that says "iPhones are not allowed in Montana. Please drop them in the box. They will be returned on your way back home". I also have a new slogan for the State of Montana "Big Sky Country" they can use "No iPhone Country" instead. Good bye from Montana where it is legal to carry a gun on your hip but iPhones are outlawed by AT & T.
Americans can be really stupid. They want MORE minutes for less and can't use them properly due to lack of service!
If Apple switches from ATT they need to maintain GSM capability even if they add CDMA because GSM is a world standard for when we travel.
Americans need to demand that REGULATORS & PUCs set a standard of access and back it with rate tariffs that match delivery.
finance.yahoo.com/news...
www.pcworld.com/articl...
Todd Diroberto
I've been reading comments and see that overall, iPhone users have a pretty good experience. I know the carriers capabilities and devices well, having been in the industry for many years. My choice? VzW and Windows Mobile. I can do virtually everything with it. Voicemail's never out. The network is rock solid. Never a service or billing issue that's not quickly remedied. So, if VzW gets the iPhone, would I bite on that? No. I'm a Windows Mobile cheerleader. I can do things with that device that most iPhone users might dream about. I've been tethering for a few years, too. While I don't use Slingbox yet, I do use CarryDVD and download movies that way.
On Jul 19 03:40 PM ktwalrus wrote:
> I dropped AT&T for my iPhone 3G when they refused to allow the
> SlingBox player to be used on the data network. Earlier, they had
> blocked apps that supported tethering. In my opinion, the network
> should be neutral as to what traffic/apps it supports. If AT&T
> wants to limit the use of their data network, they should put a usage
> cap on it. But, don't say that I can stream YouTube videos but not
> TV.
>
> Best $135 I have spent when I paid the termination fee to escape
> AT&T.
Re: Verizon and Apple. Back in the 1950's, when Walt Disney was developing the Disneyland and DisneyWorld complexes, he approached Bank of America and was snubbed. Subsequently, Walt got his pound of flesh. BankAmericards and VisaCards were not accepted at Disney until after Walt died. I suspect the cost of that mistake to Bank of America was in the many hundreds of millions of dollars.
I wonder if there were things said during the Verizon refusal to carry the iPhone that we will never know. Verizon may never get back into the game. And as the Palm Pre just discovered, Apple has developed into a world power by delivering great stuff. It may be five to ten years before the other smartphone makers catch up, if they ever do...the rate that AT&T is adding new customers speaks for itself.
And the network coverages here will get better for all the carriers. Europe is so much smaller that the United States that comparisons to them are not really useful.
On Jul 20 12:30 PM Terri wrote:
> Check out this new company that will be releasing new phones in a
> couple of months that will blow the i-phone away!!!! go to www.mygvbiz.com/terris...
> and check it out!
SBC was a horrible "baby Bell" that routinely did not understand their own industry.
It took 3 years and finally a collector to produce a contract with SBC.
As long as SBC is the carrier of choice I will never own an iPhone.
On Jul 19 03:40 PM ktwalrus wrote:
> I dropped AT&T for my iPhone 3G when they refused to allow the
> SlingBox player to be used on the data network. Earlier, they had
> blocked apps that supported tethering. In my opinion, the network
> should be neutral as to what traffic/apps it supports. If AT&T
> wants to limit the use of their data network, they should put a usage
> cap on it. But, don't say that I can stream YouTube videos but not
> TV.
>
> Best $135 I have spent when I paid the termination fee to escape
> AT&T.
Their customer service is terrible, even crooked.
Watch your bill closely for unexpected charges.
Don't even think about phone customer service.
If you have a Verizon store close by, going in and having a beat-down with the store manager is the only way to get temporary relief.
"resistance is futile"
Of course, another part of this may be that I use my phone to talk... not to take pictures, send e-mails, or surf the web. I believe it is highly possible that your problems with the service revolve more around the phone than the provider.
twitition.com/ca49r
Im the only vote so far, hehe.
I am currently using T Mobile. Not exactly stellar service but rather decent customer service.
AT&T represents the epitomy of corporate arrogance in my opinion and will ultimately enjoy the same fate as other Iconic corporate bastions such as General Motors, Chrysler, and AIG.
In this climate one would do best by under promising and over delivering.
That's my two cents!!
However, in hindsight, that would have stoked the Obama Administration furnace of Anti-Trust inquiry of iphone deal.
Remember, AT&T cellular is a ghost system not the strong one in the past
On Jul 19 10:56 PM David Bressler wrote:
> I agree with many of the comments about Verizon being expensive with
> poor customer service, but needed to put my vote in for the author.
>
>
> After breaking a t-mo contract to get an iphone last October, I had
> to go back because AT&T hardly functioned as a phone, and I felt
> like an a** for spending money on a 3G plan and always connecting
> at Edge, or worse speeds.
>
> For disclosure, I'm in NYC, and when I left NY, in particular in
> Florida, it worked brilliantly. But, it astounds me... I'm in New
> York Freakin' City, and I can't get inbound phone calls, or calls
> that don't drop? Crazy. And, no reason for voicemails to be delayed
> 12 or more hours before delivery. That has nothing to do with network
> robustness or speed. That's simply a failure.
>
> And, for those people who tell me I'm too picky, if I can get a T-mo
> phone connection, I can get an AT&T one... I can't get a T-mo
> signal where I live in NYC (Tribeca) either, but I have a phone that
> supports UMA, so from home, make all my calls over wifi with unlimited
> minutes for just $10/month. Without UMA, I'd have gone to Verizon.
>
>
> If Verizon get the iPhone, say hi to me. I'll be the guy camping
> out overnight at the front of the line.
>
> David
I'm surprised though that the free marketers are complaining so much. AT&T's behavior is a glaring example of how well unrestrained commerce works. Its the very picture of FU Capitalism success!
It's a joke.
I took my wife for ten days last month, coached her in turning it off and on, and she still ended up with an $1,100 bill.
What a mess. Bring on Verizon, PLEASE!
The visual clues of this disaster were all present upon walking into the Apple Store: hordes of young clueless neophyte poseurs somehow managing to be all exactly alike--off kilter hair, metro sexual icky tight-fitting clothing, retro grade shoes, a tatoo here, a nose pin there. In other words, complete ignoramuses--most of whom wait happily to have their Apple product repaired for the umpteenth time. That's Apple's market.
It's a total embarrassment when adults fall for such pathetic design and engineering and even worse--hype. But hey, Apple has thoughtfully provided us with a sharp edge on our MacBook Pros with which to slit our wrists. Good grief what a dopey design.
Red-faced with anger and shame, eagerly anticipating a return to Wintel.
I work in the San Fernando Valley in L.A., CA. I barely get reception, usually none to one bar of connectivity in my office. Every other cell user in here gets 4-5 bars.
I will not renew once this service ends, and I may just dump it and go elsewhere beforehand. So it's hardly just iPhones, the company is a turd all the way around.
On Jul 20 11:09 AM Bob van der Valk wrote:
> This article and the one previously written by MG Siegler were very
> timely. I too have been having issues with my wireless service from
> AT & T but not for the same reasons. In fact not receiving my
> phone messages is the least of my problems although I now have my
> home phone set up as my base for doing business.
>
> I wrote the following email to Randall Stephenson, CEO of AT &
> T, after contacting their customer service as well as posting my
> laments on their networking web site:
>
> "Mr. Stephenson:
>
> I am contacting you direct since I have been unable to obtain satisfactory
> answers to my question about the lack of service in the area to which
> I recently moved.
>
> It seems like my wife and I, both of us own iPhones, have entered
> Dark Territory insofar AT & T is concerned. We purchased our
> cell phone in Issaquah, Washington back in August and Septermber
> 2008 after receiving satisfactory service from your company in Las
> Vegas, Portland - OR, and Seattle since November 2006. We especially
> liked the fact that you offer roll-over minutes on your program.
> Verizon had been our carrier for twenty years prior and did not respond
> to my inquiry as to why did not offer a similar rate program for
> their cell service.
>
> My complaint with your company is that your customer service is more
> interested in telling me chapter and verse according to AT &
> T policy rather than dealing with me as a valued customer. Both
> customer representatives, whom I am copying with this email, kept
> apologizing profusely for not being able to help me keep AT &
> T as my carrier in Montana. The policy and the contract I signed
> was explained to me in every detail, something your sales people
> at the your store neglected to do, and offered to set up an account
> for us with Verizon Wireless. I objected to that only because it
> will make my iPhone useless other than as a mini-laptop with no access
> to email etc.
>
> My real complaint is that your marketing strategy has only now become
> very obvious to me. You are only interested in providing service
> in areas where you are a direct carrier. The hardware used towards
> that purpose has become secondary and as your exclusive with Apple
> is expiring soon will not be your main driving force to obtain profit
> for your stockholders.
>
> Thanks for listening to me and would appreciate a response (hopefully
> positive) back from you as soon as possible.
>
> Bob van der Valk
> Terry, MT 59349
> (971) 678-2975 cell (this number might be cut off any day by AT &
> T)"
>
> I received a call back almost immediately from Justin K. (last name
> withheld) in the Office of the President. He was able to get me
> the answer I was looking for within two days after calling their
> customer service department several times. When you violate your
> agreement with AT & T, they will give you 90 days from date of
> notification to either get your act together or change carriers.
> They will allow you to cancel without penalty but you are not allowed
> to keep the phone number.
>
> I asked Justin to convey a message to Mr. Stehenson from my wife
> and myself. Put up a sign at each border crossing into Montana
> with a drop box next to it that says "iPhones are not allowed in
> Montana. Please drop them in the box. They will be returned on your
> way back home". I also have a new slogan for the State of Montana
> "Big Sky Country" they can use "No iPhone Country" instead. Good
> bye from Montana where it is legal to carry a gun on your hip but
> iPhones are outlawed by AT & T.
>
>
I can not even remember a time when i had a single dropped called on Verizon, even the mountains of Vermont.
Please end deal with At&t