AT&T Makes Progress, Rebounds from Troubling Dropped-Call Reputation

A new campaign by AT&T flaunts the message that service in the San Francisco area has improved dramatically.

After receiving criticism from customers in the Bay Area and nationwide, for that matter, over the past few years  AT&T invested more than $2.2 billion in the region between 2009 and 2011, according to the San Francisco Business Times. This helped achieve a 35 percent decrease in Bay Area dropped calls.

AT&T added about 1,000 cell sites, including approximately 40 new or upgraded sites in San Francisco, AT&T spokesman John Britton said in the article. He added that improvements will continue to be needed as customers find new ways to use their smartphones and other mobile devices.

AT&T frequently asserted that service problems arose after an increase in network traffic, due largely to its massive amount of iPhone sales. Cities with large towers and skyscrapers often experience the worst problems.

And despite the dramatic increase in data traffic by about 20,000 percent in the last five years AT&T says it is catching up with demand.