AT&T’s CTO John Donovan revealed at Goldman Sachs Communacopia that iPhone 3G users are using lower data than the carrier expected. Talking about the iPhone he said “we view that as the tip of tremendous customer change in how they consume their content and applications.” He further added that the carrier anticipated a 5X growth in data consumption over the 2G iPhone, but it’s been closer to a 3x jump.
According to John customers’ expectations are growing and AT&T has to increase bandwidth and network capabilities before demand outpaces reliable delivery. He explained that about three years ago video traffic was negligible on AT&T’s network, but today it is over 40 percent and is rising. Donovan mentioned that to meet and keep ahead of the ever rising network demands, AT&T has been updating and improving its 3G infrastructure in areas of high iPhone 3G concentration.
We think, the reason behind lower than expected data usage by iPhone 3G customers is that many new iPhone customers are buying the device because of the hype surrounding it, and are not using the device to its full extend. In fact, we know few people who have downloaded and installed less than 5 apps from the App store and rarely check email using their iPhone. They mostly use the iPhone for its phone and iPod capabilities.
[Via mocoNews]