AT&T's CTO defends wireless network

AT&T's chief technology officer, John Donovan, is defending his company's wireless network, despite complaints about dropped calls and slow Internet access from frustrated iPhone users. Donovan, who gave a keynote speech here at the CTIA Fall 2009 trade show Thursday, said that despite what people might be saying about problems on AT&T's network, his company is focused on providing customers with an excellent wireless experience. "I'm not ignoring the criticism of our network," he told the audience. "I'm well aware of what's being said in the press, in blogs, and on Twitter. But I don't base my network plans on what I read on blogs. No one knows more about the wireless data customer experience than AT&T." Donovan said that AT&T has more customers using "integrated devices" than any other carrier in the U.S. In fact, in the second quarter of 2009 nearly 60 percent of AT&T's wireless subscribers bought an integrated Web device, he said. He said that wireless packet data has increased more than 18 times in the last two and a half years. And voice traffic on the AT&T wireless network has nearly doubled in that time. These customers and the increase in data traffic are putting strains on the network. Because data traffic tends to come in bursts and because it's often difficult to predict when and where subscribers will flood a given cell site with mobile Web usage, AT&T has had to rethink how it plans its network.