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Trying to Help AT&T Get Better in Boulder

Last week I complained about how miserable I was with AT&T. I love my iPhone, but the AT&T service (both data and voice) is abysmal here in Boulder. All my Blackberry friends on Verizon are happier, so I decided to try a Droid on Verizon. After 24 hours I bailed and went back to my iPhone – the Droid just isn’t ready for prime time IMHO.

Thaddeus Arroyo, the CIO of AT&T Services, is on the National Center for Women & Information Technology board with me and saw my tweet (apparently via Facebook) whining about AT&T. He reached out to me immediately and asked if he could help in any way. I sent him a long note which has resulted in a call tomorrow with the senior regional area support executive.

So – I’ve got my issues and can clearly articulate them, but I’m looking for a longer list. If you are a Boulder-area AT&T / iPhone user and you are having trouble with voice or data, please leave a comment here with some details for me to share.

December 14th, 2009 Categories: Technology

Bart

There is an app now to help ATT identify trouble spots called 'Mark the Spot' Download it and lets all give them tons of data in Boulder
http://intensedebate.com/people/bfeld Brad Feld

I’ve been using it. The irony is that you can’t actually mark the spot until you are back in a “spot” that you can connect!
Pingback: The Barking Seal » Blog Archive » Wake up AT&T: Prayer is not an effective capacity planning and service assurance method
http://twitter.com/showtunes @showtunes

Hi Brad,

Thought I'd check in to see if you plan to make another post as a follow-up or if we should be monitoring the comments section for updates from your conversations with AT&T.

Happy Holidays,
Kevin

http://intensedebate.com/people/bfeld Brad Feld

I’ll do another post soon.

http://www.facebook.com/drogers David Rogers

Check out my faux Onion headline:

AT&T breaks up another perfectly good couple

"He always sent my calls right to voicemail", states the area woman. "I swear to jesus I'd get a text around 7pm asking if I wanted to have lunch. AT&T makes me look like a bigger asshole than I actually am." states the local area man..
http://intensedebate.com/people/bfeld Brad Feld

Ok – that’s a good one!
Eddie

I only read the first comment, but have a similar experience with calls being dropped driving in and out of Boulder. But even stationary I get dropped calls. I was sitting in my house, where I get 5 bars and dropped three calls in a row with my friend on a landline. Sitting at my desk, I normally have no problems. It doesn't seem to be connected with WHERE I am. I just get dropped calls all the time for no reason at all. Driving, walking, sitting down. Two minutes into a call after I just spoke to someone else for an hour with no problem. Why? This makes no sense to me.
http://twitter.com/Avalancheshane @Avalancheshane

Often have issues with service in Boulder, particularly with 3G. Often my phone won't ring and can't place calls unless I switch to Edge, and even so I experience frequent drops even if not driving…
http://twitter.com/tmoshea @tmoshea

I will echo all of the comments here and add that I just got off the phone with "Ashley" in customer care via the 888-388-6480 service line. This was a follow-up conversation following my having been sent a replacement SIM card from AT&T to attempt to address my high level of dropped calls. I'm still nursing a Palm Centro, in part because I am not under contract to AT&T any longer and had a stash of 2000 rollover minutes until AT&T 'expired' them last month.
http://twitter.com/tmoshea @tmoshea

The new SIM card makes no difference and AT&T remains oblivious to the well documented (here) and anecdotal (talk to AT&T sufferers in Boulder) fact that their service is intermittent at best. The excuse Ashely offered was to the effect that 'our records don't indicate that there are any significant numbers of people experiencing the dropped calls you mention.'

I suggested she visit Feld.com (or drive down 36 and attempt to maintain a phone call into Denver).

AT&T = Fail.

Dear Verizon, please prepare for the onslaught of converts when iPhone exclusivity ends and AT&T goes the way of Sprint.
http://www.facebook.com/opensignals Bill Carroll

Just received this message from Nicole Kennedy, Social Media Manager, AT&T:

We always appreciate feedback from our customers, in fact if you are still interested I can look into connecting you with our network folks for a ride along so you can show us exactly where you are experiencing issues. If that is not convenient for you, send me the addresses and I can forward them on to our network team.

———–

So, who's interested in participating and either riding along or providing the locations where calls are being dropped?
http://www.maiainternetconsulting.com Liz Hamilton

Wow, thanks for all the feedback about At&T I was just about to head out to buy a new phone because I thought my Verizon coverage in Nederland/Boulder was lacking and heard AT&T was the way to go, but not after reading this, I think I will stick with Verizon – thanks!!!
http://x13.com Peter Galvin

Because I fully expect ATT to drop a call on my iPhone 3GS 16gb which is only ONE week new, on the drive out of Boulder going up highway 36 at Davidson Mesa at the crest of the hill, I ALWAYS tell people that I will call them back when they drop. The tough thing is that I have also tried going EAST from Foothills up Table Mesa toward McCaslin in hopes that my call won't drop, but the cut the road makes through the rock formation there drops calls too. There are several places through Boulder that seem to consistently drop calls. Another one is south on 47th street, south of Jay road in N. Boulder. It seems odd that calls drop so close to the tower, as I thought that there was an AT&T tower at NE corner of Jay Road and 28th street. (in the back of the church parking lot.) Does anyone know of a Boulder Map which shows detailed coverage info or shows where the towers are (The Dream would be to ONLY drive routes through BOULDER that are LESS LIKELY to drop important phone calls.) I have had AT&T for over a decade, and it used to be that I could drive from N. Boulder, south on Broadway, and south on highway 93, and ONLY drop a call at the highway 93 merge onto I70 at golden (ALWAYS DROPPED THERE), and then pick the call back up when continuing south on C470 to South on Wadsworth, past Chatfield Dam near the Lockheed Martin plant. Now, that might represent 5 or 6 REDIALS…and associated apologies for me using a cell service that just isn't as reliable as others out there.

I wonder if there would be a way to have an interactive google map that folks could tack a pin in places where calls are dropped…and optionally share their cell phone hardware i.e. which phone being used, and location. To help provide the ATT engineers with a live hot spot map maybe in red showing high concentrations of drops. Which hopefully would give them the actionable data they need to have them fund more towers in the right places to fix the highest priority issue map locations.

Incidentally, I cannot have a business conference call from our offices in DENVER near 16th street mall and curtis street (which incidentally is a short walk from the ATT store. Because I can only get a signal to hold for about 6 or 7 minutes on a fully charged iPhone 3gs both 32gb and 16gb models. We are up on the 23rd floor, and maybe that is the problem. We look down on the clock tower over there…

Does anyone have any success stories to share? I love using the hardware…
jamie

multiple dropped calls, delayed voice mail delivery, unable to dial out, text / voice messages vanish, can't connect to voice mail, overall it is terrible service. I went to the at+t store, they gave me a new sim card, and when i mentioned that everyone i know that has an iphone thinks the coverage is terrible, the salesperson got all defensive and said that he'd "never had any problems with his iphone." then suggested that i head to the apple store for a diagnostic test. unbelievable. having come from verizon, this is a joke, and probably an illegal one at that.
ahmet

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http://www.RenaissancePiano.com Trevor

I've been similarly frustrated with AT&T's service in this area. I will admit that they did make a huge improvement in about October '09, network-wide in the Front Range, and that I now get strong 3G coverage in all kinds of places I didn't before.

Still, though, there are annoying issues, like call drops on certain roads every day, and outgoing call failing 5 times in a row, even when my iPhone shows 5 bars of 3G. Go figure.

I have become a big fan of AT&T's Mark the Spot app, which allows me to report to them, via the iPhone's GPS and Maps, exactly where I have call problems and what the nature of the problem is. If you don't have the app yet, I'd recommend it. Go to the App Store and download it now, since the more of us that report problems, the sooner they'll be able to correct problems in chronic spots.
http://www.avrupafatihi.com Galatasaray

i don't like helping people:P
Larry Heck

Hi Brad,

My attorney sent me to your blog to peruse your collection of seed document links. I couldn't help but comment on your and other Boulder denizens search for solutions to the "I love my iPhone, but I hate AT&T saga".

Not sure anyone is following this thread anymore, but here are some Seattle Area AT&T + iPhone and AT&T + iPad coverage solutions.

Here's my latest "Rube Goldberg" inspired solution set, as of 4-15-10:

1. Last week I bought an iPad to solve the small display problem which periodically hinders my use of the 120+ apps on my beloved, now worn out iPhone. Like you I won't give up my iPhone!

2. To solve the AT&T 3G problem which the iPad will no doubt share with my iPhone, I am exchanging the Verizon Wireless USB dongle I now use for online access for my dell laptops with a matchbox-sized Verizon Wireless-supplied "MiFi" device (wireless router + 3g access point) which purportedly will allow up to 5 of my wireless devices access to the Verizon3G network, including my iPad. I plan to "velcro" this device to the iPad. Hopefully, this means no AT&T 3G service required for 3G access by my iPhone/iPad! This comes at no additional cost to me as long as I stay under my 5GB/mo download limit.

3. To solve my AT&T dropped call problem, I capitulated. I found and re-activated, on a month-to-month basis, my old Verizon Motorola "Q" phone. I'll keep the iPhone, but reduce it's data plan. When I can't get service, I'll use my old Verizon phone for voice only communications.

Anyone have a better set of ideas!

Larry Heck
heckj516gmail.com

http://intensedebate.com/people/bfeld Brad Feld

God – it’s so crazy that we are resorting to this kind of stuff to fix the crappy AT&T service. Someone there should be listening.

Tyler

My wife and I have AT&T. We want to upgrade to iPhones but with the service being so bad we are debating whether to change providers all together. Get horrible service, it comes in and out, and usually if we lose service we have to turn our phone off and then back on to try to get service again.
Pat

My phone does not work in my house either. It is insane as I have a local software company and we have iPhones as we do development but we may have to move to Verizon for our wireless as both me and another cofounder cannot use our phones in our house.
Edd

i installed the ATT micro cell in Dillon, CO where the proverbial mountain almost totally blocks any coverage at my home. The micro cell works flawlessly and provides service within about 150 ft. range which satisfies my needs. I was fortunate to have a skylight directly above the location of the micro cell so it could connect with satellites to enable 911 service. The only drawback that I notice doesn't affect me…just my non-ATT friends because, understandably, the ATT micro cell only connects to a maximum of 5 ATT customers only at one time. I have been asking ATT for this for years!

Trying to Help AT&T Get Better in Boulder

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