AT&T 3G Network Upgrades Lead to 2G Downgrades

Poor 3G service on the iPhone was (and still is) a point of contention. Some have pointed to AT&T's nascent 3G network, others to the iPhone itself. Whatever the explanation, building out the AT&T network can't hurt, can it? Well, it could be hurting --- 2G phone service, anyway.

According to Open for Business (OFB), AT&T is quietly downgrading its EDGE / 2G service from the stronger 850MHz band to the 1900 MHz band. Lower frequency = greater range and a better ability to penetrate buildings, after all. They want to increase the range and efficiency of their 3G network, and it penalizes 2G, well ... that's old technology, right?

This ought to go over really well (insert sarcasm here) with some current AT&T customers. For example, none of the AT&T BlackBerrys except the new BlackBerry Bold are 3G. Also, the original iPhone uses EDGE. Also, 3G data plans are more costly per month. Good for AT&T, but bad for consumers.

In fact, it ought to go over really well with a lot of 2G cell phone owners, as their phones may now have poor service in areas they used to operate just fine in.

According to OFB, his phones were affected, and AT&T offered a one-time $200 credit to his account, and he would have to replace his three phones (at his expense) and pay a total of $30 extra per month for 3G data service. Not exactly a good deal, is it?

OFB received this response from AT&T:

AT&T’s executive director of analyst relations, Mark Siegel, “categorically” denied to OFB that AT&T was advising customers to dump 2G equipment such as the iPhone for 3G versions. In a follow-up message, Siegel added that the company was not requiring anyone to switch to 3G equipment. Although that is technically true, customers in affected areas are all but required to upgrade due to the dramatic signal strength drop over the last few months.

In fact, quite a few people turn off 3G to get better battery life and better signal strength. Now the strength aspect seems to be going by the wayside. Additionally, it is fair to penalize those with 2G / EDGE phones, especially if they are still in-contract.

Some have indicated this might constitute a material change in service, which would allow subscribers to get out of their contract, assuming AT&T agreed, of course. There'd have to be a heck of a lot of noise made by consumers before anything like that happened, though.