AT&T has blamed issues with its network on smartphone users—sometimes pointing to iPhone users in particular—moving tons of data over its network. A new report from ABI Research says that Verizon and Sprint are moving much more data over their networks than AT&T, suggesting that its limited geographical coverage is to blame. However, AT&T says that the data and conclusions aren't very accurate.The ABI report, titled "US Mobile Operator Traffic Profiles," claims that Verizon and Sprint networks carried far more data in 2009 than AT&T. This is despite the fact that AT&T has more active data devices on its network, and also typically rates as one of the fastest 3G data networks in the US. ABI researcher Dan Shey cited two main reasons for this seemingly illogical conclusion: 3G data modems, and wider coverage areas.
Both Verizon and Sprint have far more 3G laptop modems and mobile hotspots, like the MiFi, in use on their networks compared to AT&T. "It is laptop mobile data connections that have the most impact on operator data traffic levels," Shey said in a statement.
The study also cited Verizon's and Sprint's wider 3G coverage areas as contributing to their higher levels of data traffic. Certainly, if devices can be used in more areas, then there is a greater potential for higher data use.
However, AT&T told Ars that the study has a number of flaws, and that its conclusions don't support AT&T's own research. AT&T spokesperson Seth Bloom pointed out that based on analysis of third-party data, AT&T actually carries about half of all mobile data on its network. It also has twice the number of smartphone customers as the next nearest competitor, and mobile traffic has increased 5,000 percent over the last three years.
Bloom told Ars that the study overestimates data use from laptop users, and underestimates the impact of smartphone users. The ABI report estimates that laptop users use 25x more data than smartphone users, though AT&T cited a Frost & Sullivan study that put that number closer to 5x. ABI also assumes that iPhones use about 2x-3x more data than the average smartphone, whereas AT&T's own data says that iPhones and other similar phones consume as much as 10x the traffic of other devices. It's worth noting, too, that most data modem plans come with a monthly data cap, usually 5GB, while most smartphone plans have no such restriction.
Finally, Bloom said, the numbers just don't seem to add up. "For example, Sprint claimed 48.1 million customers to AT&T’s 85.1 million at the end of the fourth quarter 2009," Bloom told Ars. "If AT&T serves 37 million more customers, and more smartphone customers than any other US carrier, how could Sprint possibly carry more mobile data traffic?"
The impact of the wider geographical area also seems overemphasized. For users that find themselves in more remote areas, that wider coverage is very important. But AT&T's 3G coverage covers a wide range of urban areas, reaching about 75 percent of the population, and its 2G EDGE network covers far more.
ABI Research did not respond to our requests for comment on AT&T's objections to the report's content, but Bloom told Ars that AT&T had not been contacted by ABI to provide any data for the report.
Which network actually carried the biggest number of megabytes hardly matters to the vast majority of consumers, however. With pricing largely the same between carriers, most consumers are either picking the network that has the best coverage and reliability in their area, or the one that has the device they most want.
Source: Arstechnica.com
