This weekend was a big deal for Auburn's iPhone users. AT&T's 3G network has finally arrived on the Plains.
"The 3G expansion at Auburn is part of AT&T's plan to add roughly 40 new cell sites throughout Alabama in 2009," said Sue Sperry, Spokesperson for AT&T Alabama. "In 2006 to 2008, AT&T invested more than $1.2 billion in its wired and wireless network. The investment in its 3G wireless broadband network is part of AT&T's ongoing effort to build the broadband networks - both wireless and wired - that will create jobs, fuel economic growth and enable customers to access the content, applications and services that matter most to them."
But 3G is not a new development and took some time to reach Auburn.
When asked if the absence of the 3G network was an inconvenience, Brad Hughes, a junior in international business, said all it takes is a little perspective.
"While we sometimes get frustrated with technology taking extra time, we simply need to remind ourselves that it's going to space," Hughes said. "Give it a minute."
Sperry said 3G is the fastest mobile broadband network in the nation.
"The demand has grown in the Auburn-Opelika area, and AT&T is responding to that," Sperry said. "Our goal was to build and deploy 3G at Auburn in time for the new school year."
3G presents advantages for college students.
"College students are increasingly mobile and are using data communication both on and off campus," Sperry said. "The increased use of 'smartphones' and other mobile broadband devices are very popular with students."
Earley also said she is not dismayed at 3G's late arrival in Auburn.
"Considering that my hometown doesn't even have cell service, I am certainly not disappointed," Earley said.
Both Earley and Hughes noticed the 3G network was available on Friday afternoon, Aug. 21.
"Having 3G in larger cities such as Mobile, Montgomery and Birmingham, one can get used to only waiting seconds to get needed information," Hughes said. "Sometimes it took minutes on the old EDGE network."
When asked if the presence of 3G might persuade more Auburn students to purchase iPhones, both students agreed it is a positive marketing tool.
"I think you should get an iPhone anyway," Earley said. "If you see how easy it is for people to communicate on iPhones, added in with how affordable they are becoming, I think 3G becomes just another selling point for an already great product."
Hughes, who spent a summer working for AT&T as an iPhone specialist, points out that, without the capability of the 3G network in Auburn, students with 3G iPhones couldn't use the advantages of the newer model. Now they can.
Sperry points out some useful features available for use now that 3G is in Auburn. Videosharing is a service that allows users to share live video over wireless phones while carrying on a voice call. What is new about these features is that they use simultaneous voice and data capabilities, made possible by HSPA/UMTS (High Speed Packet Access/Universal Mobile Telephone System) technology that AT&T's 3G network is based upon.
Even listening to music on the go, an activity that Apple helped pioneer with the release of the iPod years ago, is more advanced with 3G.
AT&T Mobile Music allows one-click access to music-related content. Sperry calls it "the most comprehensive music subscription service of its kind in the U.S."
To use 3G, all iPhone 3G and 3GS users need to do is upgrade to the new operating system that was released this summer.
"Demand for broadband continues to grow as new applications emerge and customers embrace them, leading to data traffic on our network growing more than 50 percent year over year on average," said Randall Stephenson, AT&T chairman and chief executive officer.
Now that 3G is available in nearly 350 U.S. metropolitan areas, AT&T is focusing on more plans for 2009.
These include making existing coverage more reliable and adding more than 2,100 new cell sites across the country.
The company also plans to expand 3G service to 20 new markets in 2009.
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