Wireless carrier AT&T is the only operator in the United States to offer its users the possibility to enjoy Apple's iPhone iconic device, yet it seems that this might actually be a problem for the company. AT&T's network has been criticized quite a few times before due to call drops and slow Internet speeds, all of which are reportedly the result of the intense use iPhone owners make of their devices.

“They don’t even realize how much data they’re using,” said Gene Munster, a senior securities analyst with Piper Jaffray, cited by New York Times. Moreover, the NYT also shows that any iPhone owner uses 10 times more network capacity than other AT&T smartphone customer. This state of facts results in the aforementioned call drops, in delayed text and voice messages, as well as in very slow download speeds on the carrier's network.

“More than 20 million other smartphone users are on the AT&T network, but other phones do not drain the network the way the nine million iPhones users do. Indeed, that is why the howls of protest are more numerous in the dense urban areas with higher concentrations of iPhone owners,” NYT notes. This is not the first time these issues emerged, and they are suggested to also be the cause for the delay of iPhone MMS and tethering functionalities.

Even so, AT&T has already announced that it is working on enhancing the capacity of its network, and that it plans on spending $18 billion on its networks this year, most of which will be used for upgrades and expansions. There are a wide range of cities that need better AT&T network capacity to meet the growing demands of the carrier's users, and it seems that it will be only next year when the upgrade process is to be completed.

On the other hand, the network problems AT&T faces when it comes to its iPhone users are also expected to harm its reputation. The carrier has already been sued over the MMS functionality of the iPhone, which should become available this fall, and it seems that most of those who won't buy the Apple device chose to do so because of the carrier. Even if AT&T manages to upgrade its network as needed, notes NYT, it might just be too late for some of its iPhone users.