Wired study blames carriers for poor iPhone 3G reception

by Stevie Smith - Aug 26 2008, 13:00

A recent survey of some 4,200 global iPhone 3G owners has suggested that persistent complaints connected to poor mobile reception with Apple’s smartphone should perhaps be directed at the iPhone’s carriers rather than the handset itself.

With disgruntled iPhone users around the planet continuing to struggle through connection and signal strength issues, tech magazine Wired.com and its Gadget Lab have conducted a study to assess exactly where blame needs to be assigned.

Results of the survey were posted yesterday, indicating that significant region-to-region differences in the effectiveness of the high-speed 3G network are likely the source of recent performance inconsistencies -- rather than a core issue linked to the iPhone handset itself.

The Wired study saw participants measuring their local 3G performance before then entering the gathered data onto an interactive map. While much of the submitted user data was disregarded due to it being incomplete, the study was able to glean some 2,636 usable data points, which Wired then plotted onto a Google map of the world.

In terms of its results, the study revealed a marked difference on the 3G network when comparing its effectiveness in both the United States and Europe, reports CNNMoney.

Specifically, iPhone 3G users in Germany and Holland apparently enjoy the best average download speeds for the network, equating to around 2,000Kbps, while the United States actually returned the most “0” survey results for those users completely unable to pick up a 3G connection.

Other regional elements from the survey saw European users of the T-Mobile service reporting the fastest 3G download speeds -- with an average of 1,822Kbps. It is worth noting at this juncture that Europe has the most mature 3G networks, while the United States only introduced 3G in 2004.

Following Europe’s leading performance, Canadian carriers Rogers and Fido tied for second on the download average chart, both offering an average of around 1,330Kbps.

Despite its relative network immaturity exclusive U.S. carrier AT&T posted an equal third performance of around 990Kbps, along with Australia’s Telstra, Japan’s Softbank and Sweden’s Telia.

The slowest download speeds were attributed to Australian carriers Optus and Virgin, which offer users an average of 390Kbps.

Looking even closer at its results in terms of geographical placement, the survey also found that while Manhattan’s Rockefeller Center and upper Fifth Avenue enjoy strong 3G connection, large parts of New York City suffer patchy reception.

According to Wired.com, the gathered data is “a strong indicator that performance of the mobile carrier’s network is affecting the iPhone 3G more than the handset itself.”

And, if the problems do reside with the iPhone’s 3G carriers, Wired notes that Cupertino-based Apple Inc. isn’t likely to conjure up a quick fix software update to deal with it anytime soon.

Indeed, before Apple can address the issue, “it needs to wait for all of its carriers to optimize 3G network behavior,” concerning the number of towns covered, how they are positioned, and how much 3G bandwidth each tower can support.

Around the Web