AT&T Wireless Self-Destructs

[Mike Temporale]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.cio.com/archive/041504/wireless.html' target='_blank'>http://www.cio.com/archive/041504/wireless.html</a><br /><br /></div>"AT&T Wireless's mistakes offer valuable lessons for CIOs. For one, it's unwise to freight major system upgrades with external complications. AT&T Wireless's CRM upgrade was hamstrung from almost the very beginning by rumors of outsourcing deals and future layoffs. These rumors generated pervasive morale problems that hurt the productivity of project staff. Second, it should be understood that complex projects require flexible deadlines. AT&T Wireless undertook a difficult upgrade that affected roughly 15 systems just before it was faced with an immovable deadline-the federally mandated Nov. 24 number portability date. Finally, it always pays to have a plan B. Without one, AT&T Wireless was forced to move forward even as it became apparent that its upgrade would not be completed in time."<br /><br />Christopher Koch details what went wrong at AT&T Wireless. I know a lot of you are with, or have switched off of AT&T Wireless. There are many lessons to be learned here. The biggest lesson in my opinion is "Don't piss off your customers".

[ShivShanks]

Hopefully Microsoft is now rethinking the decision of AT&T being the premier Smartphone showcase operator. What a disaster AT&T has been. Come on Microsoft hurry up and get other operators (whom people still want to be with) to offer Smartphones.

This article basically confirmed my theories that it was AT&T itself which dug itself into a hole. The sad part is that instead of imploding they were able to set Verizon and Vodaphone on bidding war and get a much better price for selling out than otherwise possible. I'm sure some of the top management instead of being chastised for what they did to AT&T Wireless, instead made a lot of money off the deal. This should a required case study in business schools on how you can ruin a well to do business with bad decisions.

[aristoBrat]

Hopefully Microsoft is now rethinking the decision of AT&T being the premier Smartphone showcase operator. What a disaster AT&T has been. Come on Microsoft hurry up and get other operators (whom people still want to be with) to offer Smartphones.
Did MS "pick" AT&T to be a premier operator, or did the other operators simply decide to sit out the first round of Smartphones?

[randalllewis]

AT&T Wireless WILL be a case study in business school one day. It was formed from the old Cellular One, a company that never made a profit but never stopped growing, like many other tech companies in the 90's. When the McCaw family sold CO to AT&T, there was no Verizon or Cingular, the company certainly had a chance to become the dominant cellular provider. The AT&T name alone had to be worth something.

But the company seemed to be outmanuvered on a regular basis. And service- ARRGH! I remember when I signed up with AT&T a couple years ago. When I asked about coverage in our area, I was told it was the best because I live near Redmond, AT&T's headquarters. "We get all the latest technology and fastest filling of any holes in coverage." I can still remember that line from a tech person I talked with back then. I loved my Nokia 6310i phone, so I kept putting up with all the holes I seemed to discover and AT&T was always good about credits for dropped calls.

When I added the MPx200 phone to my account late last year, it was the beginning of the end. While it is a cool phone, the MPx does not find signals as well as my old Nokia did. The "no service" message showed up in places where the Nokia would work.

I could have gone back to the Nokia full time, but by then I was so mad at AT&T that I just wanted out. By this time, I could take my number with me and so I went.

I am sure Verizon has problems, but after 60 days I haven't found any holes in this area and their customer service has been wonderful.

[ShivShanks]

"We get all the latest technology and fastest filling of any holes in coverage."

LOL! Actually AT&T was the last to upgrade to the newer generation technologies. They were using old generation TDMA on which they had good coverage but basically useless for data and other advanced services. They decided on upgrading to GSM the last and that too due to monetory incentive from Japan's NTT DoCoMo otherwise they were going to go the much superior CDMA route. The decision to go with GSM itself was really stupid since that meant that they wouldn't have an easy transition and it would be that GSM would have bad coverage till they were able to transition the 800MHz band TDMA over to GSM.

While it is a cool phone, the MPx does not find signals as well as my old Nokia did. The "no service" message showed up in places where the Nokia would work.

Thats because for a long time AT&T has had only GSM 1900 MHz which has bad coverage due to the fact that it was always going to be a stopgap till TDMA could be moved over to GSM 850 MHz. Basically they never clearly told their customers this and instead of transitioning TDMA quickly to GSM 850 they kept dragging their feet over it (not to mention GSM 850 equipment also not being fully available). Basically it was always going to be a mess going from TDMA to GSM in the US and still AT&T went ahead with it due to money from NTT DoCoMo.

[ShivShanks]

Hopefully Microsoft is now rethinking the decision of AT&T being the premier Smartphone showcase operator. What a disaster AT&T has been. Come on Microsoft hurry up and get other operators (whom people still want to be with) to offer Smartphones.
Did MS "pick" AT&T to be a premier operator, or did the other operators simply decide to sit out the first round of Smartphones?

I suppose it could be. But Verizon was also a launch partner of sorts, however I did not see MS and Verizon promote Smartphones that much compared to the MS and AT&T combination. Notice that both Microsoft and AT&T Wireless have headquarters in Redmond so thats also one factor. I could be wrong but thats the feeling I got. After all there are others who have offered PPC Phone edition so it shouldn't have been that difficult getting some of them to offer a Smartphone. Not easy, but could and should have been done if they wanted Smartphones to take off well in the US. AT&T is history in any case now and hardly an option IMHO. So that leaves only Verizon and its overpriced option.

[James Sonne]

I'm glad I've stuck with AT&T. Now that they've merged I feel confident that I'll have the best GSM network coverage of any provider, at least where I frequent most often.

[ShivShanks]

I'm glad I've stuck with AT&T. Now that they've merged I feel confident that I'll have the best GSM network coverage of any provider, at least where I frequent most often.

Just one question. How do you feel about the fact that Cingular doesn't have a single Pocket PC or WM Smartphone based device in its portfolio (nor did it have any plans of introducing them prior to the AT&T deal)? They are exclusively focused on the Blackberry device and even now are taking out full page ads in The New York Times touting that. What does this tell you about their commitment to any Microsoft technology? Not to mention that they are owned by Telcos who have been traditionally hostile towards Microsoft. SBC was a prominent prosecution witness against Microsoft in the Antitrust trial.

Mark my words. Cingular will support the WM Phones for a while to not antagonize any new customers. But once they swallow AT&T WS fully, they will slowly let WM rot away by not introducing any new models and not giving the platform the support it needs. As for best GSM coverage, well it will mostly be GSM 850 and then you lose all the advantages of GSM in terms of mass market and being able to use it in other parts of the world etc etc (there are *very few* quad band GSM phones). In any case GSM would still not be able to hold a candle to CDMA in terms of coverage and data services. On top of that all the pathetic situation AT&T WS is in now I can only wish you all the best if you are planning to stick with AT&T.

[aristoBrat]

They are exclusively focused on the Blackberry device and even now are taking out full page ads in The New York Times touting that.
Funny Cingular should be pushing BlackBerry as T-Mobile US just got an BlackBerry-related award for "for providing its BlackBerry customers the ability to utilize e-mail and Internet in 50 countries and make phone calls in 130 countries."

GSM/GPRS -- slower, no easy upgrade path, but it just works. today. ;)

http://www.geek.com/news/geeknews/2004Mar/bpd20040409024667.htm

[James Sonne]

I'm not really concerned with their lack of support for hardware. I plan on buying my next cellphone sim-unlocked and just popping my current SIM into the new phone. It doesn't matter to me if the provider explicitly supports the hardware I use.

And if Cingular does do something I don't like in the future then I'll be able to switch to T-Mobile by then as their service will have finally reached my area (it's really dodgy currently). Until then, my service plan suites me perfectly for my usage characteristic and I'm happy with the price.

[aristoBrat]

And if Cingular does do something I don't like in the future then I'll be able to switch to T-Mobile by then as their service will have finally reached my area (it's really dodgy currently).
T-Mobile added 3,300 new sites last year and is projected to add 4,00 new ones this year, so ... hopefully your area will get more coverage. :)

[Jon Westfall]

I'm admittedly biased against AT&T Wireless for some really horrible stories of service I've experienced with my girlfriend's phone the last few years. I use T-Mobile and can't wait to switch her to it. As for Cingular not offering Pocket PC's - As I know, they aren't like some other carriers (such as Sprint) that has a "no phone on our network we didn't sell) policy. So nothing stops someone from unlocking an XDA or XDA II and using it on their network (I don't believe they use 850 do they?)

AT&T wireless needs to do some serious changes in their rate structure if they want to stay afloat. An unlimited data plan would be a good start.