14 DAY TRIAL // Cupertino-based company Apple unveiled to the world roughly two weeks ago the iPad, its first tablet device, and announced that it would become available for purchase with 3G connectivity options on board too, and that AT&T would be the US carrier to have it available. While this is one move that might have been expected, considering that Apple and AT&T have been partners for a long time now, it seems that concerns upon the strain that the iPad might put on the carrier's network have been already raised.
As most of you might already know, AT&T has been criticized countless times before for the poor connectivity on its 3G network due to the use of Apple's iPhone on its airwaves. The carrier itself stated a few times that any iPhone user consumes on average up to 10 times more bandwidth than any other smartphone user, and it seems that the inclusion of the iPad on its lineup might increase the usage even more.
“With the iPad pointing to even greater demand for mobile broadband on the horizon, we must ensure that network congestion doesn't choke off a service that consumers clearly find so appealing, or frustrate mobile broadband's ability to keep us competitive in the global broadband economy,” is what Phil Bellaria, director, Scenario Planning, and John Leibovitz, deputy chief, Wireless Telecommunications Bureau, note on a recent blog post.
Apple is expected to make the iPad available for purchase in two different versions, one of which will boast both Wi-Fi and 3G connectivity options, and it seems that FCC too is concerned that the presence of the 3G-enabled iPad on AT&T's lineup might affect the performance of the network even more. Considering that the use of the iPhone on AT&T's 3G network already resulted in various issues of the airwaves, it does not come as a surprise that the iPad is believed to enhance the problems.
Even so, Apple's position is next to AT&T, according to Cnet, “As you know, AT&T has acknowledged they're having issues in a few cities and are working on a plan to correct them. We have personally viewed these plans, and we have high confidence that they'll make significant progress in addressing them,” Apple Chief Operating Officer Tim Cook said recently. However, the iPad hasn't been launched yet, and we'll see how things are only when it lands on the market.