AT&T said its customers in New York City can expect better 3G network connectivity now that its upgrades in Manhattan, the Bronx, Brooklyn and Queens have been completed.
AT&T’s 3G network in New York City is bogged down with the sheer volume of iPhones and other devices connecting to its mobile broadband voice and data services.
AT&T said the network upgrade included the addition of new layers of frequency, also known as “carriers,” to more efficiently manage available spectrum and increase 3G capacity. The additions have been applied to nearly all cell sites in Manhattan and in other areas as needed throughout the Bronx, Queens and Brooklyn.
In order to further reduce network congestion, AT&T also added a layer of 850 MHz spectrum to deploy more radio capacity and enhance in-building coverage throughout the city.
As of the first quarter of this year AT&T claimed to have seen two consecutive quarters of voice quality improvements in New York, according to internal measurements. In Manhattan, quality improved 47 percent quarter over quarter, according to AT&T.
AT&T also recently installed a Wi-Fi hotspot near Times Square as another means of easing congestion. AT&T said if the Times Square hotspot proved to be effective, it would deploy similar hotspots elsewhere across the nation where its network is overburdened, which could include San Francisco.
AT&T said wireless data traffic on its network has grown more than 5,000 percent from 2007 to 2009, largely due to the use of smartphones.
