Commentary

AT&T App Hits The Spot

AT&T Mark the Spot app

The iPhone app AT&T released Monday for reporting dropped calls, no coverage, poor voice quality and other service complaints is already proving a hit. The Mark the Spot app as of Tuesday ranked No. 10 among free titles in the App Store just behind Facebook -- not bad company (though, it is a sort of dubious honor for a complaint box).

AT&T says it will use the "crowdsourcing" information collected to help improve network performance and prioritize investments in its infrastructure. Earlier this year, John Donovan, the carrier's chief technology officer acknowledged the challenges AT&T has faced handling the surge in data traffic from bandwidth-hungry iPhone users. AT&T ranked last among the four major U.S. carriers in the annual wireless service satisfaction survey by Consumer Reports that came out last week.

The company Monday highlighted some of the steps its taking to upgrade its network in 2009 including adding 2,000 sites and doubling wireless spectrum in hundreds of markets nationwide. But the service won't improve overnight.

Deep Focus CEO Ian Schafer expressed iPhone users frustration in a recent Twitter post asking, "Can we all (at least those of us with iPhones in NYC) hold an intervention with AT&T?" The Mark the Spot app may be the next best thing. Giving exasperated customers a convenient tool for submitting complaints is a smart move by AT&T, empowering users to do something, albeit in a small way, to register their dissatisfaction and provide data to help improve service.

In that, it could turn out a better investment or resources than the money AT&T has spent recently suing Verizon Wireless over its 3G coverage ads and hastily assembling its own ad campaign responding to the Verizon barrage. If the app's popularity doesn't end up slowing down its network even further, that is.

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