Internet, Cell phones, what are we getting for our money?
Well I haven’t written a Tech column in awhile, so this morning while going through some stories I noticed that AT&T wants to limit your usage of its data network. The problem is that if you have an Iphone you already are paying a premium for data service so what gives. It seems that 3% of the Smartphone users are using a good percentage of the bandwidth, which seems a little odd to me. Whatever the reason is their 3g network can be slow at times just retrieving Email, Twitter and Facebook which should all use very low bandwidth. Streaming video barely ever works reliably unless you are using it on a standard wireless (WiFi) connection. My point is that I always try and find a standard WiFi connection which means I am not using their network. So am I getting my money’s worth? Well I think I am the Iphone is pretty much more a computer than a phone and AT&T is subsidizing it, and I don’t think most business people are abusing their network.
Another Internet speed issue I ran into lately was when one of my clients upgraded to Comcast business broadband which has speed upward of 30Mb. When I went to speedtest.net the fastest speed I could achieve was 10Mb so after calling Comcast I determined that it was an older Sonicwall Firewall causing the problem. So if you are paying for extra speed I would recommend that you test it at speedtest.net first, and then call your Internet provider if you’re not getting the bandwidth promised. If they say its fine you may want to see if you have any older equipment in your network that could be causing the problem.
If you are having issues make sure it is the Internet provider’s equipment or problem before calling them out otherwise you could be charged. This being said if you think you have eliminated all the causes on your end demand that they come out and take a look. AT&T is the worst for not sending someone out or passing the blame back to you so if you have an IT resource make sure that person is there during any appointments. Comcast on the other hand seems to be very responsive and will come out as soon as you ask them too.
Being a small business means that you need to be in constant contact with your clients and we usually invest in technology to be able to do this more effectively. So make sure you are getting your money’s worth and check up on your cell phone plans, and Internet providers occasionally.
AT&T considers incentives to curb heavy data usage article
WFTB – Michael Lawson
Loading ...
Great post. I will read your posts frequently. Added you to the RSS reader.
I use a complex combination of a lone incoming POTS line, an Asterisk powered internet phone system and an iPhone for personal use. Actually, I think I may consider drafting an article about implementing DIY IP telephony with the Asterisk and other open source systems. Thoughts?
I think the data pricing structure ATT offers for the iPhone is really not that great, but of course so long as the hardware is locked to ATT, we won’t have much choice. I read a handful of tech blogs, and there have been rumors that Apple was considering making the iPhone available on Verizon when their agreement with ATT is up, but the current info seems to indicate now that it will be TMobile. This make sense on the hardware side, since both carriers use GSM, and Verizon is CDMA.
I will say my experience with 3G data on CDMA providers has been better (and was available sooner) than with ATT. EDGE speed was tortuous after using my Treo on Sprint, but I was willing to make the sacrifice because it was mitigated somewhat by having WiFi, and the iPhone hardware/software was miles ahead of Palm OS at the time. I really thought they would never get past Palm OS 5, and the Pre was an as yet unrealized dream. After a decent experience with the Treo 650, the 700 and 755 were frustrating failures for me.
ATT 3G is better, but still not great, coverage is spotty, especial in rural areas. I travel a lot and I have noticed that in certain spots in NYC the 3G data speed is great, and others places not so much.
To their credit, ATT has implemented 3G quite quickly, and really the future is 4G (LTE, 3GPP, IMT) is the future of data on domestic GSM networks.
Oh, and after RTFA, I have to agree to a certain point with ATT’s argument. Using their 3G network for heavy streaming of video and audio, I think, should rightfully incur charges.
The CDMA carriers (Sprint/Verizon) confronted this issue already when they rolled out 3G; people realizing back then that in some cases, their 3G data could be faster than their 1.5Mbps ADSL, and would hack their phones to use as modems for torrent downloads, etc. While one should theoretically have the right to use one’s device, such scenarios are really an abuse of the service, and both Sprint and Verizon changed their ToS agreements a few years back to allow for surcharges for network abuse. It is natural to expect ATT to follow suit. Why do you think they waited so log to roll out MMS? And tethering is still not available without jailbreaking.
What I expect is ATT will roll out tiered pricing for data, similar to the tiers we have with landline broadband service, and that once the network is more built out, data prices will drop.
Oh and to cap it all off, this post from Fake Steve Jobs sums it up nicely:
“Little tip for you guys — when you’re in the middle of finally admitting that your product sucks, this is not the best time to also start talking about finding new ways to make it suck even more. Alas this is what we’ve come to expect from AT&T, where a lot of these guys seem to believe that they’re still Ma Bell and can just do whatever the hell they want. Just out of curiosity I looked up Ralph de la Vega’s biography, and sure enough, he’s a Bell System lifer.” — Fake Steve Jobs
http://www.fakesteve.net/2009/12/yet-another-reason-to-hate-att.html
I love fake Steve Jobs, I was able to tether without Jail breaking with the previous OS. 3G is great for music but I always try and use WiFi for video. I just don’t get the demographic that is using all the bandwidth I doubt it’s business users?
I have used a combination of vonage and skype for my own phone needs and recently aquired a Google Voice number which I’m playing with.
I had the no-jailbreak tether hack installed as well (and it was really handy when I was stuck in Chicago at a conference with no access to WiFi over the summer) , but the OS 3.1.2 update killed it, of course.
What I refer to in my first response was an Asterisk PBX system. This is something that I think is great for small and micro businesses because you can handle multiple lines, mix POTS and IP telephony, have multiple extensions with voicemail etc all for a fraction of the cost.
I am familiar with Asterisk, but I don’t want to be in the phone biz. It’s bad enough supporting Smart Phones, their interfaces change so much and the store personnel are no help. When you get clients that have a mix of IPhone, Blackberry, Droid etc… It can get complicated. At least with computers you can log in remotely, my friend Greg just tried to get into the IP business phone market and it was a disaster. Unlike the Internet which people get annoyed with when it’s down, people expect their phone systems to be up no matter what, even without electricity, so I steer clear.
Well, no denying the fact that an open-source IP PBX system, as with any open source environment, is not for everyone. I was fortunate to have someone who was an expert (Greg Smith from Perceiva.com) help me set up my system, and with a couple of tweaks, was able to configure my server to allow for remote login when I needed help.
There are also a number of pay-client and Asterisk-based hosted PBX systems out there (such Packet 8). A savvy customer can find something suited to their skill level. I have been using our Asterisk system for about 4 years now and there were a couple of hiccups along the way (mostly from power failures that required resets or problems with the DSL modem getting cooked) but by and large it has been self-maintaining and trouble free.
and and to get back on topic: Fake Steve is sponsoring Operation Chokehold is response to ATT:
http://www.fakesteve.net/2009/12/att-chokehold-is-irresponsible-and-pointless.html