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AT&T's Wireless Boss Speaks
About androids, auctions, and wireless broadband...
Engadget has a fairly interesting interview with Ralph de la Vega, CEO of AT&T Mobility. de La Vega chimes in on everything from Google's Android OS and the 700Mhz wireless broadband auction, to AT&T's HSUPA upgrades (mentioned here) and their selection of LTE as their next-gen broadband flavor of choice. On the company's reputation that they have an "extremely tight grip" on the open-ness of the mobile platform:
quote:
I think that my biggest disappointment is that we have not been out talking to people like I am talking to you about our philosophy. And that we have let some of us, get painted with that view, which is not true. If you look at the choices that our customers have today, it's an unprecedented number of choices. If you go to our stores you can get your choice of six operating environment systems. Every OS that has been made for phones, our customers have access too. If you look at the number of phones that we carry, it's like a hundred and fifty different devices that you can choose from.
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en102
Canadian, eh?
join:2001-01-26
Valencia, CA

en102

Member

150 devices ?

Every OS that has been made for phones, our customers have access too. If you look at the number of phones that we carry, it's like a hundred and fifty different devices that you can choose from
Yeah, let me guess... there's +10 Razr's: Black, Red, Blue, Platinum, Razr I, Razr m, Razr V3xx Black, Razr V3xx Red, Razr V3xx Blue, Razr V3xx Gold, etc.
Technically the same phone, different color

inteller
Sociopaths always win.
join:2003-12-08
Tulsa, OK

inteller

Member

yes, they use DirecTV math

it is the same as DirecTV saying they have 150+ HD channels.

Truth in advertising is woefully lacking these days.
DemonicLlama
Premium Member
join:2007-11-19
Arlington, VA

DemonicLlama

Premium Member

Re: yes, they use DirecTV math

Doesnt Directv rebroadcast the channel list in HD? Its not really there fault that the stations themselves are slacking.

Camelot One
MVM
join:2001-11-21
Bloomington, IN

Camelot One

MVM

Re: yes, they use DirecTV math

said by DemonicLlama:

Doesnt Directv rebroadcast the channel list in HD? Its not really there fault that the stations themselves are slacking.
Nah, the issue there is that DirecTV is adding up all of the local stations they offer, across the country, and counting those towards the "150 HD channels". Any given person only has access to the locals for their area though.

They do still have more HD channels than cable, but its nowhere near 150.

dmconwa1
@iauq.com

dmconwa1

Anon

Re: yes, they use DirecTV math

DirecTV says they will offer 150 NATIONAL HD channels and 1500 LOCAL HD channles by the end of 08'.

They're not adding the locals into that count. They currently are offering 77 national channels, and are promising 100 by the end of 07'.

This total includes premium HD movie channels (13), HD pay per view channels (13), national HD channels (42), regional sports networks (9).

They've listed (8) more national HD channels that are set to roll out at any time. They also have announced that they will be doing (8) more HBO/Cinemax channels which are supposed to roll out by the end of this year which would bring the total to (100).

This doesn't include their HD channels that are used for their sports packages like NFL sunday ticket.

I don't have any problem with DTV's math skills. I think they've been pretty straight forward about what they're offering.

As a DTV customer whose having to use Comcast in the interim as my new house isn't ready to be moved in yet, and I'm stuck using Comcast in an apartment currently I can say that DirecTV is hands down better than Comcast. The only thing that was good about Comcast was the install process, but that's to be expected in a pre-wired building. They're DVR is garbage. They're GUI is way outdated. Their HD doesn't look as good as my DTV did, and their hearlded On Demand service isn't anything special. Anything worth watching cost $5.99 so what's the point.
DemonicLlama
Premium Member
join:2007-11-19
Arlington, VA

DemonicLlama

Premium Member

Re: yes, they use DirecTV math

I am in an area where i have 3 choices. No cable/sat(which I lived without till a month before i headed off to college(thank god for videogames)), comcast, or satillite. We got DTV/directway and have had it for 6 years now and except for the sat delay We have been very happy with CS and picture quality(we do not have the HD service but have the full channel line up with all the extras).

attwireless
@taconic.net

attwireless to en102

Anon

to en102

3G comes to Albany, NY!

While many major metro areas struggle to get 3G, Albany, NY has gotten a 3G upgrade from AT&T in part to a 250 million dollar Upstate NY upgrade. The small capital city of Albany will see speeds from 500kbps up to 3Mbps using the new system and if your device is compatible with HSPDA then you theoretcially can achieve 14Mbps connections if the network is uncongested. This 3G coverage extends 30 miles outside the capital city. A HUGE improvement for AT&T. They will now start to upgrade the entire east coast with 3G service.
As said by an AT&T engineer.

inteller
Sociopaths always win.
join:2003-12-08
Tulsa, OK

inteller

Member

6 different OSs?

So lets see....

Windows Mobile - 8525 et al
PalmOS - Treo 680 (they still have that in stores?)
Symbian - Nokia N95 et al
BlackberryOS...?

I only count 4 and that is stretching it with PalmOS.

DotMac4
Shill H8r
Premium Member
join:2007-10-26
Huntington Beach, CA

2 edits

DotMac4

Premium Member

Re: 6 different OSs?

OS X for iPhone

inteller
Sociopaths always win.
join:2003-12-08
Tulsa, OK

inteller

Member

Re: 6 different OSs?

oh yeah I forgot about that overhyped turd.

so that is 5....still not 6.

DotMac4
Shill H8r
Premium Member
join:2007-10-26
Huntington Beach, CA

DotMac4

Premium Member

Re: 6 different OSs?

Windows Mobile 5 and Windows Mobile 6 (eg Pantech Duo/Moto Q)

Perhaps in his head those are 2 OSes.

inteller
Sociopaths always win.
join:2003-12-08
Tulsa, OK

inteller

Member

Re: 6 different OSs?

yeah, well maybe that's the reason that talking sphincter hasn't let his underlings release the WM6 upgrades for the Blackjack and Treo 750.

DotMac4
Shill H8r
Premium Member
join:2007-10-26
Huntington Beach, CA

3 edits

DotMac4

Premium Member

Re: 6 different OSs?

That wouldn't make the bloodsuckers any money. They want people to buy a new phone along with another 2 year contract.

But that's probably a good thing 'cause Windows Mobile is the worst mobile OS on the planet and would just make bad into worse.

inteller
Sociopaths always win.
join:2003-12-08
Tulsa, OK

inteller

Member

Re: 6 different OSs?

oh really, well maybe its the worst in your world, but it still has more market share than the sliver OSX has.

DotMac4
Shill H8r
Premium Member
join:2007-10-26
Huntington Beach, CA

DotMac4

Premium Member

Re: 6 different OSs?

AOL has a lot of subscribers too...the number of idiots they can suck in has little to do with how good it is.
KevinYeaux
join:2007-04-07
Hammond, LA

KevinYeaux to inteller

Member

to inteller
Maybe he's referring to Android?
majortom1029
join:2006-10-19
Medford, NY

majortom1029 to inteller

Member

to inteller
Some of the razr's are based on linux arent they?

RiseAbove
Premium Member
join:2004-01-30

RiseAbove

Premium Member

Re: 6 different OSs?

said by majortom1029:

Some of the razr's are based on linux arent they?
Yeah but ATT won't use them because they are open source which means customers could exploit them and not have to pay ATT for services. ATT does not care for open software or informing customers that they can do certain things to enhance their phone. If you aren't paying at the ATT troff they want nothing to do with you.
b10010011
Whats a Posting tag?
join:2004-09-07
united state

b10010011

Member

Well he did say "it's like"

said by Corporate Drone :

If you look at the number of phones that we carry, it's like a hundred and fifty different devices that you can choose from.
See, he did not say it's a hundred and fifty different devices, he said it's like a hundred and fifty different devices.

Two different things.

inteller
Sociopaths always win.
join:2003-12-08
Tulsa, OK

inteller

Member

Re: Well he did say "it's like"

yes, kinda like he's like an asshole with a necktie.

hobgoblin
Sortof Agoblin
Premium Member
join:2001-11-25
Orchard Park, NY

hobgoblin

Premium Member

Re: Well he did say "it's like"

said by inteller:

yes, kinda like he's like an asshole with a necktie.
Very interesting interview...much more interesting than this comment!

Hob

Clecrupt
@comcast.net

Clecrupt

Anon

Philosophy

Oh, I think the color is the right mix. Maybe Sherwin Williams will call it 'Slim' purple. Or the color of AT&T's logo 'Aristocratic' blue. Or perhaps 'watchtower' black from their 'campanile'.
gaforces (banned)
United We Stand, Divided We Fall
join:2002-04-07
Santa Cruz, CA

3 edits

gaforces (banned)

Member

Whats the upload at now?

"AT&T says that the company will be upgrading their wireless broadband network in October and November"

Have they started the upgrades? Or did they mean October and November of 2009, 2010, 2011, etc ?

Or is that just when they start to deploy in selected markets?

bolt
End of the line DSL sucks.
Premium Member
join:2003-11-11
Charlestown, IN

bolt

Premium Member

From interview...

"When I go back to my office, I have a Q sitting on my desk and my biggest difficulty is making the switch because they each work a little bit different. And so, I punish myself to learn them..."

Awww...boo freaking hoo. It must be tortuous.

inteller
Sociopaths always win.
join:2003-12-08
Tulsa, OK

inteller

Member

Re: From interview...

yeah he probably has a WM6 Blackjack and Treo 750 sitting on his desk too.

fuck ATT.

RiseAbove
Premium Member
join:2004-01-30

RiseAbove

Premium Member

Such a liar

This guy is such a liar it isn't even funny. Symbian wasn't buggy its the fact that Att wanted the wifi ripped out of the e61 and the N75 had to have DRM built in so they could make sure to make all the money possible. How do I know this? becuse I work for the god forsaken blood suckers. Funny how he talks about Symbian because I think the n75 has even been phased out so it doesn't even exist on the radar nor do I see them bringing it back because of all the things you could add to it to exploit the ATT network. Of Course Nokia will be worried about the Euro market first, I mean if you treat them like such crap and destroy all the really smooth phones they bring to you I would stop worrying about that corporation also. I mean if ATT had their head in the ballgame they would be sporting the N95 the minute it came out. But no the phone has to many things that would easily be used outside of the ATT network so they blocked it and didn't want to carry it. Give customers choices? Yeah right ever been in a sales meeting? That company wants to make sure your choices are in their little diagram and can easily be exploited.

Also sure you can buy a phone at full retail but good luck trying to get it activated with out a contract. According to him it sounds like you can I haven't met an RSC or CSR that would do that. You can bring your own phone from overseas, yet every rep will then make you sign a contract. It's the most ass backwards system I have ever seen. Instead of moving toward a more European model ATT and all the other providers continue to do the stupid game of contracts and locking people down. It will take the government forcing them to change before anything happens and changes are if ATT continues to pay the right people things will never change.

When it comes to the 700 mhz they should partner up with Google and develop some really kick ass equipment and make that bandwidth a full blown cheap mobile internet and deploy it everywhere. Why not work with one of the premier companies in the world and help develop that spectrum? It won't happen though because ATT isn't that forward thinking or realistic. Their leadership basically watches Verizon, then 6 months later puts out the exact same ideas. Like this interview they are full of such hot air it's not even funny.

AT&T- "your world slowly and stupidity delivered."

Noah Vail
Oh God please no.
Premium Member
join:2004-12-10
SouthAmerica

Noah Vail

Premium Member

ATT+Cingular=The Love Child of Stalin and Sgt.Bilko

AT&T: Any customer we can't sell to the NSA, we'll destroy with Cingular's Patented Customer Service.

I spent a year screaming at Cingular, in an ugly terminal font, about their endless broken promises of the HSDPA rollout.

Cingular had stagnated it's HSDPA deployment in ~14 cities with no enaction at all in the South East (with the exception being the late coming of Atlanta), a stronghold for them.

After 18 months of no updates to the coverage maps (while letting us know it would be available on our teeth soon), they eventually stopped responding all together. When that only fanned the flames, the mods started deleting selected (fully appropriate) posts.

Meanwhile, all those with an immediate need for wireless broadband jumped onto EVDO as it was available HERE and NOW. By the time any amount of Cingular's vaporware eventually materialized, EVDO had already proven itself and RevA was being quickly deployed.

What the nitwits at Cingular refused to understand,
is that it is insulting to not answer a direct question; especially after the 5000th asking.

It is doubly insulting to provide something
that IS NOT THE ANSWER to our direct question,
and expect us to bobble our heads
as if it was what we wanted all along.

It was the clincher that brought Cingular onto my short list of disreputable companies (along with AOL and Best Buy).
I will go to great lengths to keep my customers away from AT&T, because they went to great lengths to acquire Cingular's legacy.

NV