Over a year after admitting its NYC service sucks, AT&T has apparently made good on plans to improve cell phone service for the Big Apple. Crain's reports, "As part of an initiative implemented long before last week's merger deal with T-Mobile, the No. 2 wireless carrier will soon announce a series of just-completed upgrades to its broadband service in the media capital."
Where can people expect better service? "Improvements have been made to cell sites up to West 72nd Street and East 86th Street in Manhattan, and in parts of Brooklyn and Queens. A 'fourth lane' has effectively been added to what had been a three-lane highway for 3G, or broadband, traffic, explained Mike Maus, AT&T's executive director of network services for New York. That extra lane means fewer dropped calls, faster downloads and better performance during peak-use periods, he added...The upgrades also allow reception farther inside buildings." In other words, if years of crappy service haven't propelled you to switch carriers, wait a few more weeks!
AT&T claims that there were 50% fewer dropped smartphone calls last year. Still, the irony of its Gates-inspired ad hasn't been lost on us. AT&T New York president Hal Lenox laid out the telecom's big plans, "First we catch up, then we anticipate and plan for the future. That's what this is all about." We'll see—and enjoy this Daily Show segment about what competition means for AT&T:
