Oh, it is [somewhat] Apple's fault...
August 28th 2008
RoughlyDrafted (via News.com) reports that an AT&T source says a combination of poorly written software on the iPhone and a sometimes sketchy, sometimes overwhelmed network conspired to produce connectivity issues for users worldwide.
"In UMTS," the source said, "power control is key to the mobile and network success. If the UE [user equipment] requires too much downlink power then the base station or Node B [base station] can run out of transmitter power and this is what was happening. As you get more UEs on the cell, the noise floor rises and the cell has to compensate by ramping up its power to the UEs." [Continue reading]
"If the UE power control algorithm is faulty then they will demand more power from the cell than is necessary and with multiple users this can cause the cell transmitter to run out of power. The net result is that some UEs will drop their call. I have seen the dropped call graphs that correspond to the iPhone launch and when the 2.0.2 firmware was released. The increase in dropped calls," the source said, were the result of "dropped calls due to a lack of downlink power."
There's more and, though a tad complex, it all makes sense once you digest what the RoughlyDrafted "source" has to say. Further, this information jibes with earlier rumors that the underlying problem was related to software control of the 3G iPhone's antenna.
This explanation could be a load of jargonized BS designed to obfuscate the issue, but it's at least been fashioned cleverly enough.
What's your take?
