Submitted by Bob Bhatnagar on
Verizon Wireless leans heavily on its reputation as the most dependable network in the US. The company is betting this reputation that it will flawlessly launch millions of iPhones onto its airwaves without any of the snafus that faced AT&T. Some are starting to wonder if Verizon is really as bulletproof as it seems.
Various reports from around the country have cited network problems of various stripes affecting Verizon for hours, even days in the case of some BlackBerry owners. The company is aware of the problems and is working on correcting them, but the news comes at an awkward time for America's largest cellular carrier.
Some of the outages have already been fixed, and Verizon has said the problems have nothing to do with testing for the iPhone 4 rollout. Malfunctioning equipment was to blame for downtime on the east side of Manhattan. Users in Virginia were forced off the grid for a few hours this afternoon. A nationwide system upgrade is said to have knocked out voice and data services in various parts of the country, including some states in the Northeast, although this may only affect BlackBerry devices.
No wireless carrier wants to bring additional attention or scrutiny to their network issues. Verizon has staked its entire marketing scheme on a successful iPhone launch. Millions of the company's over 93 million subscribers will become iPhone owners overnight. The true test will be on February 10 and the days beyond, when Verizon's network engineers will have to prove themselves worthy of the challenge.
Comments
Anonymous replied on Permalink
Verizon service was down in the Reno, NV area today (February 2nd) between 8 AM and 11 AM
Verizon DSL DC replied on Permalink
The iPhone 3G rollout seems to be affecting the entire Verizon network. My landline DSL connection in the DC area has been a mess ever since last Thu when they started taking orders. Slow connections, rate limitations, outages... I don't think they're handling it well and they certainly aren't owning up to it. Took several hours this morning running the support gauntlet several times to get to a tech dispatcher for a 2nd visit "sometime today or tomorrow" since the last visit didn't resolve it... and it was pretty thoroughly established that it's not my equipment. From numerous forum posts and my own experience it's pretty obvious they're slammed with serious issues.
I realize it's not the first time an ISP has handled a new service rollout ungracefully. As a network engineer, messy 'upgrades' and firefighting unforeseen problems is all part of the job. So I guess I'll just have to weather it.
Meanwhile, I'm stuck at dialup speeds while Verizon's net is in chaos. Don't say I didn't warn you if you eat a hefty termination fee jumping ship from AT&T, or otherwise find Verizon's 'unlimited' service attractive. Might want to hold off on that.
Anonymous replied on Permalink
I've had problems with my Verizon Droid Incredible since I-phone came online. I keep losing network connections. Unable to connect to the internet. The status bar keeps going from 3G to 1X. I live in the Sacramento CA area.
Anne replied on Permalink
Switched my Iphone for new one and moved from AT&T to Verizon, suddenly I have many carrier problems - go off-line frequently and have to call *228 every time to get it back up. Terrible - worse than AT&T!!