AT&T Tunes Cell Towers to Help SXSW Geeks

] "ges_blogs/photos/uncategorized/2009/03/16/iphone_sxsw.jpg"><br></p><a href="/images_blogs/photos/uncategorized/2009/03/16/iphone_sxsw.jpg"> Frustrated iPhone rm Lavelle of New York flips bndrth between Wi-Fi and AT&T’s wireless network in the Austin Convention<br> Center on Monday.<br> <em>Photo: Jim Merithew/Wired.com</em> <p>AT&T tried to appease thousands of iPhone-wielding geeks and musics lovers in Austin, Texas, this weekend by tuning its c htowers to a better frequencts 3G cell network was performing.</p> <p>AT&T’sphone network was <tt.html">overrun by thousands of data-hungryone users</a> attending Austin’s<a href="https://www.wired.com/special_multimedia/sxsw2009">South by Southwest tech and music conference</a>, stranding many in the 20th ce y 2009" title="SXSW_2009" src="https://www.wired.com/images/index/2009/03/sxsw2009_bug.gif" style="margin: 0px 5px 5px 0px; float: left;"></a>AT&T engineers came out over the weekend to add capacity Ain’s network and "people should already see significant improvements," said AT&T Wireless spokesman Mark Siegel on Monday afternoon.</p> <p>AT&T engineers turned up the 850-Mhz spectrum of its towers in Austin on Sunday. The company is planning to move all of its 3G network to 850 Mhz in the coming months.</p> <p>While there was speculation that AT&T rolled out mobile towers known as COWS (Cell Towers on W ss it did for President Obama’s inauguration, Siegel says the company didn’t roll in any new towers, it just tuned the existing ones.</p> <p>But judging from Mond ets and following The New York Times ‘ bruising story fs AT&T should haveught in the clowns.</p> <p>For example, Caroline Giegerich, a New York City-based <a href="http://dailymarauder.com/">media professional,e inability for iPhone users to leave AT&T’s network due to the contract between AT&T and Apple.</p><k up,ould. In Austin, you’re Chris Brown and I’m Rihanna," Giegerich</a> <a href="http://twitter.com/Dail ar ts/1337438539">wrote</a>, referencing R&B singer Brown who allegedly assaulted girlfriend, pop star Rihanna in February.</p> <p> </p> <p>Asked on Monday in the convention center hallway if things had improved, Adam<br> Lavelle, who works for New York marketing firm iCrossing, said: "It lcks. I can just imagine an engineer sitting in some room somewhere saying: ‘How can there be so many fucking iPhones in one place?’"</p> <p>Giegerich and others might have had mAT&T’s mediaations depa nwhich itself tried to tell the geeks about its efforts via its own <a href="http://twitt ottnews/">Twitter feed</a> on Sunday.</p> <p>Unfortunately for AT&T, that would have required folks at SXSW had a working connection.< <Phone users constantly complain about AT&T’s data network, though the company says it’s pouring billions into building new cap yp> <p>The telecom giant says its 3G network covers more than 45,000 cell sites, 17,000 cities and towns and 40,000 miles of highway.</p> <p>AT&T’s combined voice and data network promises to let users make calls while downloading a presentation f tinternet — while other U.S. carriers have separate networks for voice and data so devices can generally only do one thing at a time.</ pfortunately for AT&T and iPhone users in the Austin area, that combined network means that any overload brings everything to lt.</p> <p>Photo: Jim Merithew/Wired.