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.

[dov_0]

This from the most technological advanced country on the planet.....

AT&T happy to take customers money, not willing to spend millions for a working network.

I didn't see any mention of Japan in TFA?

Spin

[TheRaven64]

Can we stop saying things like 'the most popular handset?' When we're talking about a market where no single handset has more than about 1-2% market share, saying 'the most popular' is entirely meaningless.

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.

This is exactly why I have an iPhone

[Man On Pink Corner]

Not because it's the best phone available, which it might or might not be depending on who you ask, but because there's a guy in Cupertino with a black turtleneck, a borrowed liver, and a really shitty attitude who owns the exact same phone I do, and who has the power to make it suck less.

Even if he has to stare down AT&T to do it.

What other phone manufacturer can go to bat for their customers like that?

Re:Fix the headline?

[zentechno]

http://www.att.com/ --> Wireless --> Shop/Cell Phones --> PDAs and Smartphones --> iPhone 3G. Opening the (last) iPhone link in another tab prompts me for my zip, followed by "not available in your area", *then* refreshing the list of phones in the previous tab *removes* iPhone from the listing.

Re:AT&T's service is crap

[rec9140]

"AT&T's service is crap"

correct.

BUT...

You could be standing under the tower and your phone not work.

Its called site geometry you actually could have a dead spot in certain areas that are very close to the tower and even in plain sight, including directly at the site.

Just because you see one tower, its not ONE cell site. Depending on the location and the needs for that are it could be upto 6 sites depending on the sectorization used at that location. Most are 3 at a minimum, 120 degree sectorization. As you move into the urban area, and to meet other coverage needs it can go down to about 60 degrees.

this applies to all RADIO systems, which cell phones are nothing more than radio systems.

A Few Good Men

[Toe, The]

Maybe that CSR just watched A Few Good Men.

AT&T: You want coverage?
Consumerist: I think I have the towers.
AT&T: You want coverage?
Consumerist: I want the iPhone!
AT&T: You can't handle the iPhone!!

Re:iPhone vs everything else

[Mister Xiado]

I'd say a good 97% of all dropped call complaints on AT&T come from iPhone users. Not that I keep score, but every time I hear "customer is getting poor signal, dropped calls", I immediately think "another damn iPhone call". I'd assume unlocked iPhones work well, because odds are, they're not connected to UMTS towers much of the time. It's the phone. It's been trash since day zero, when Apple didn't supply AT&T with any documentation on the original iPhone until five minutes before launch, making for a lot of fun for everybody trying to activate the hockey pucks. Did you know that all the Visual Voicemail breakdown crap this past summer was from Apple pooping out repeated failed updates, jamming up iPhones that hadn't even been updated? Check Settings, General. If you have "Profile" listed there, surprise! Delete the corrupted AT&T profile and watch your messages roll in after two minutes. Also, anybody who knows how cell phones work knows better than to expect uninterrupted calls while driving. You're playing tarzan between towers. There isn't always a long vine in reach. Unless you're doing 120.