AT&T Skates Through Web 2.0 Interview

So AT&T wireless chief Ralph de la Vega sat on stage at the Web 2.0 conference and was treated so nicely, you'd think that everyone adores AT&T's wireless service. Hmm. Everyone I know who has an iPhone complains about the ridiculous number of dropped calls. Not to mention spotty coverage in many U.S. cities. One audience member did bring up that he has problems in his neighborhood, and de la Vega, instead of admitting AT&T could do better, touted upcoming femtocell technology -- which basically seems to dump the solution on users. As de la Vega explained it, you'd buy -- yes, buy -- one of these small stations, plug it into a broadband connection, and it would create a small cell coverage area in your home or office, dumping the calls through the broadband network back into the phone network. How much will this cost? De la Vega didn't say, other than it would be "affordable."

How about that idea of making the AT&T network open, Ralph? No one asked. Interviewer Michael Arrington did ask about when AT&T will bring out an Android phone. De la Vega wouldn't say, though Arrington reminded him that backstage de la Vega said it would come out Dec. 3.

How's the economy affecting AT&T? De la Vega responded that traffic in stores is up 17% vs. a year ago and that AT&T's many cool phones are bringing in customers. He didn't say whether anyone who's dropping by is actually buying anything.

What might the debate about so-called white spaces mean to AT&T? No one asked. How about Sprint's Wi-Max, which had big news this week? No one asked.

The cookies during the break were good, though.

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