Consumerist Says AT&T Site Won't Sell iPhone In NYC, Citing Network

cowp writes "A Consumerist tipster couldn't get AT&T's website to sell him an iPhone when he shopped using an NYC ZIP code, but could when he tried other cities' ZIPs. Consumerist asked an AT&T CSR and seems to have gotten confirmation that this is carrier policy: 'Yes, this is correct the phone is not offered to you because New York is not ready for the iPhone. You don't have enough towers to handle the phone.' Considering Apple's gadget is currently the most popular handset in the US, its exclusive carrier's inability/unwillingness to support the device in the country's largest market is pretty huge news. If this proves true, I'd expect curtains for AT&T's exclusivity deal when it comes up for renewal." If you're in NYC, can you confirm or deny this outlandish-sounding claim? Updated 20091227 1:03 GMT by timothy: Headline, now corrected, inaccurately named Apple rather than AT&T. Mea culpa.

Comments

This has been an issue for quite awhile.

[palegray.net]

There's been a lot of coverage indicating problems with iPhones in New York, including one Gizmodo piece saying a 30% dropped call rate is apparently normal.

Re:This has been an issue for quite awhile.

[Khyber]

Bullshit.

I called Wells Fargo before my last cross-country trip - They immediately locked me from $2,000 daily limit to $200, I got stranded because I filled up for gas and then had not enough left for the rest of the day to cover my hotel expenses - I had to sleep in my car in the freezing cold in a fucking parking lot.

And when they said they raised it back up - they lied. They cut it down to $150.

Of course, as soon as I got back, I withdrew all of my money and made a very loud statement in the lobby to all of the customers present. I think two followed my suit.

You tell them you're going around the country, they'll lock your shit down so you don't make THEM off-balance. They're the ones playing dirty with your money. What, you ain't seen the bailout?

Re:This has been an issue for quite awhile.

[644bd346996]

Yes, the South Korea that wanted strong (128-bit) encryption back when IE was the only browser worth mentioning, but 128-bit encryption couldn't be exported. They implemented their own encryption scheme as an ActiveX pugin, and open source browsers have been really slow about implementing a compatible form of that encryption system.

To me, that sounds like a country that was quite tech savvy, but got screwed by US politics.

Re:AT&T's service is crap

[ColdWetDog]

Interestingly, here in rural Alaska we get at least 20% dropped iPhone calls. After a particularly annoying one (I was within 200 yards of the tower, line of sight, over water) I complained to the local AT&T rep and the FCC.

About 2 weeks later, I got this nice call from an AT&T droid who says he was asked by the FCC to look into this. After a few pleasantries, he suggested 1) Making sure the battery was charged (OK), 2) Turning off 3G (already done, don't have 3G here in the boonies) and getting closer to the tower. I explained that if I got any closer to the tower on the last dropped call, I'd have to marry it.

His final suggestion was to take it up with Apple, maybe I needed a new handset.

I suppose it's something of a start but AT&T isn't going to solve very much of the problem this way.

Re:AT&T's service is crap

[Bananatree3]

"His final suggestion was to take it up with Apple, maybe I needed a new handset."

Go back to the FCC and resubmit your complaint. Obviously AT&T simply read you the script to meet the barest of "compliance" requirements...by sending you to some script reader in a call center. They won't do jack shit until the FCC requires them to. Or, you're able to find someone within the local ranks at ATT that are willing to listen to you, not just some corporate weenie.

Re:I'm a little confused here...

[digitalchinky]

It's like a ghost town compared to a few Asian cities. Light traffic, hardly any people, clear air, you could almost eat off the concrete. :-)

I live in Manila, we have 10,500 people per square kilometer across the metro on average, though some of the slum areas are as high as 40k - and yes, they all have cell phones - we send 140 billion text messages a year, the entire country is bathed in 3.5G, surprisingly you can actually get the juicy speed goodness anywhere at any time too, so the telco drones must be doing something right.