You know what I love the most about the AT&T application that allows you to report a problem with the AT&T network? When there's an actual problem: a dropped call, a call that will not go through, no signal at all, etc., you can't get the network to work properly to use the application to report it. So you wait until you get to a location where you get functional service again. Therefore, when the GPS data is transmitted with your trouble report, it's not the location where the problem actually happens. So, I guess all of the areas around network problem spots get really good service! The problem spots don't improve at all.
At least $5 billion, and perhaps as much as $7 billion. That's what it would cost AT&T to match Verizon's current level of investment in network infrastructure and, presumably, match its performance.
According to TownHall Investment Research, AT&T (T) spent about $21.6 billion on its wireless network from 2006 through September 2009. Meanwhile, Verizon (VZ) spent $25.4 billion. That disparity in investment, says TownHall Investment Research analyst Gerard Hallaren, has caused AT&T's network to perform poorly compared with Verizon's, particularly as it struggles to meet the data demands of devices like Apple's (AAPL) iPhone.
Making matters worse, AT&T invests more in its wired infrastructure than in its wireless network. Though 57 percent of the company's operating income comes from wireless and only 35 percent from wired services, wireless gets only 34 percent of the capital expenditures, while wired receives 65 percent."
[Source: AT&T's Mottoes: "Profit Over Performance" and "We've Got You by the Calls".]
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