The constant complaints about the iPhone’s 3G performance have always resulted in the finger of blame being pointed at AT&T, but as it turns out, some of the burden falls to Apple as well. The two firms teamed up to optimize network performance and behavior by the phone, and in doing so, got some decent results. Enterprise Mobile Today has the story.
AT&T has found a way to improve iPhone performance on its network, and its network’s overall 3G performance in general — and it didn’t involve billions in new infrastructure investment.
It simply had to help Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) tweak the iPhone to behave itself.
An article in the Wall Street Journal reported that “Apple rejiggered how its phones communicate with AT&T’s towers. As a result, the phones now put less of a load on the network for such simple tasks as finding the closest tower or checking for available text messages.”
AT&T (NYSE: T) CTO John Donovan said he and other executives visited Apple to give iPhone designers a “master class” in wireless networking and showed them how to create new technologies to limit the strain on the wireless provider. The report did not disclose exactly what kinds of changes were made, how they are implemented, or whether they are in place now.