Verizon BlackBerry glitch casts doubt on iPhone launch

Posted:
in iPhone edited January 2014
Though Verizon's executives have emphatically asserted that execution of the upcoming iPhone launch will be flawless, a recent glitch in BlackBerry data traffic on the network could be cause for concern, a new report claims.



Customers on the Verizon Wireless network had reported having trouble connecting to the Internet on a BlackBerry support forum since last Tuesday, Reuters reports.



However, Verizon downplayed the issue. "There is no outage, and there hasn't been one," said spokesman Jeffrey Nelson. "Our engineers discovered that a small number of customers in a limited geographic area had technical glitches that resulted in their email being delayed up to an hour," he said.



According to Nelson, the issue was fully resolved on Tuesday, though he declined to provide details on how many customers were effected and where the glitches occurred. Reports of service trouble were first picked up by The Los Angeles Times, which noted that many of those affected were from California.



Research in Motion, which routes BlackBerry data traffic through its own servers, claimed its service had been operating normally.



News of the BlackBerry glitch comes as Verizon is being closely watched in anticipation of the Feb. 10 launch of the iPhone 4. Analysts and potential customers alike are waiting to see whether Verizon will experience the same network woes that AT&T has undergone since it began carrying the iPhone in 2007.



Intermittent downtime of the Verizon website on the day of the CDMA iPhone announcement drew concern that the carrier, which touts its reputation as a network with excellent service, might not be ready for millions of new iPhone users.



During an earnings call on Tuesday, Verizon executives told investors, "We are not going to have any flaws on the execution of the iPhone launch." According to Chief Financial Officer Francis Shammo, the carrier has invested heavily in its 3G infrastructure in preparation for the iPhone. "We've bulked up our 3G capacity again in advance of our iPhone launch," said Shammo.



The largest wireless network in the US has also hired over 3,000 new customer service representatives and provided extensive training on Apple's products in advance of the highly-anticipated launch.



Verizon sees the "iPhone opportunity" as a potential for growth to "explode over the next several years." The carrier expects smartphone penetration among its customers to reach 50 percent by the end of 2011.



Verizon COO Lowell McAdam confirmed Tuesday that the company's $30-per-month unlimited data plan will be available for the iPhone 4 at launch, but will eventually be phased out. The network will instead switch to a tiered pricing system similar to that of AT&T. Verizon is also offering a $20-per-month tethering plan that allows customers up to 2GB of "personal hotspot" WiFi tethering with up to five devices.



Reports emerged on Wednesday that AT&T has quietly been offering an unlimited data plan to customers who are thinking about switching to Verizon.



AT&T switched to tiered pricing in June of last year. According to the carrier, 98 percent of its smartphone customers use less than 2GB per month.



Though the Verizon iPhone will not go on sale until Feb. 10, Verizon customers eligible for an upgrade can preorder the smartphone on Feb 3. Corporate customers have reportedly received emails informing them that they can begin placing preorders at 3am Eastern.



The preorder launch for the AT&T iPhone 4 last year was a debacle. Sales were temporarily suspended after unprecedented demand overwhelmed AT&T's and Apple's servers. Reports of a security breach also surfaced, with some customers claiming they were being shown information that wasn't theirs.
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Comments

  • Reply 1 of 32
    given the interest in the iPhone on the Verizon network, hopefully the company will be able to address, within a reasonable amount of time, the issues that may arise from the increased traffic.
  • Reply 2 of 32
    the grass isn't always greener.....
  • Reply 3 of 32
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    "We are not going to have any flaws on the execution of the iPhone launch." According to Chief Financial Officer Francis Shammo



    Never say never - may be a hard lesson he will learn.
  • Reply 4 of 32
    I haven't been able to receive e-mail or access the internet on my Verizon Blackberry since Saturday afternoon. It's now Wednesday. I don't consider the "small" problem resolved at all.



    One of the few customers...
  • Reply 5 of 32
    3,000 new workers? That seems excessive.
  • Reply 6 of 32
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Damn_Its_Hot View Post


    Never say never - may be a hard lesson he will learn.



    Agreed. We'll see what happens when the time comes. There was a ship that was claimed unsinkable, but yet it sank on its first voyage.
  • Reply 7 of 32
    To capture this quote from the report as a rebuttal to all those Android fans who commented in these fora that Verizon would never advertise or make a fuss about the iPhone coming to their network?



    Quote:

    During an earnings call on Tuesday, Verizon executives told investors, "We are not going to have any flaws on the execution of the iPhone launch." According to Chief Financial Officer Francis Shammo, the carrier has invested heavily in its 3G infrastructure in preparation for the iPhone. "We've bulked up our 3G capacity again in advance of our iPhone launch," said Shammo.



    The largest wireless network in the US has also hired over 3,000 new customer service representatives and provided extensive training on Apple's products in advance of the highly-anticipated launch.



    Verizon sees the "iPhone opportunity" as a potential for growth to "explode over the next several years." The carrier expects smartphone penetration among its customers to reach 50 percent by the end of 2011.



    Nope, between the lack of Verizon iPhone ads and this quote, no one is EVER going to know that the iPhone is on Verizon. Nope, nope, nope!
  • Reply 8 of 32
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by cjy56 View Post


    I haven't been able to receive e-mail or access the internet on my Verizon Blackberry since Saturday afternoon. It's now Wednesday. I don't consider the "small" problem resolved at all.



    One of the few customers...



    It's a sign. You need to get rid of that crap.
  • Reply 9 of 32
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by ghostface147 View Post


    3,000 new workers? That seems excessive.



    How about 3000 new servers?
  • Reply 10 of 32
    Hate to think Verizon is going to shoot itself in the leg. However I wouldn't doubt it either, Once I see the launch, then I'll be convinced that they can handle it. Launching the iphone with unlimited data as well as a personal Hot Spot is really pushing the issue.

    By the way, it's going to take a few weeks to evaluate the launch. We should have a better conclusion by the end of March.
  • Reply 11 of 32
    kolchakkolchak Posts: 1,398member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by LewysBlackmore View Post


    To capture this quote from the report as a rebuttal to all those Android fans who commented in these fora...



    Please stop using that word. It comes off as at least mildly pretentious. If it served any useful purpose, that would be fine, but "forums" is not only correct, it's noted by virtually every English-language dictionary as the most widely accepted plural form. <End pedantry>
  • Reply 12 of 32
    I personally have no plans on switching, but I hope the new Verizon iPhone 4 users (whether switchers from AT&T or not) don't have any problems because Verizon's network melts down the way AT&T's did. I also hope the CDMA iPhone 4 doesn't have any problem with dropped calls or reception issues in traditionally problematic areas. If Verizon does suffer a network meltdown at launch or service quality issues with the iPhone 4, I guess it'll be a vindication of sorts for AT&T.
  • Reply 13 of 32
    hirohiro Posts: 2,663member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Kolchak View Post


    ...<End pedantry>



    Good! We could do with less of that on the fora.
  • Reply 14 of 32
    Verizon is totally going to be eating crow on the day of the iPhone pre-order. And then again on the day of the iPhone launch. You heard it here first. Verizon sucks, and they are not even close to being prepared for this event. I mean, let's be honest here -- their website went down on the day that they ANNOUNCED the iPhone, and that was just an ANNOUNCEMENT. What a joke!
  • Reply 15 of 32
    daharderdaharder Posts: 1,580member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by scotty321 View Post


    Verizon is totally going to be eating crow on the day of the iPhone pre-order. And then again on the day of the iPhone launch. You heard it here first. Verizon sucks, and they are not even close to being prepared for this event. I mean, let's be honest here -- their website went down on the day that they ANNOUNCED the iPhone, and that was just an ANNOUNCEMENT. What a joke!



    No... Just No!
  • Reply 16 of 32
    This might seem a little far fetched but roll with me for a minute. I've been a Verizon Blackberry customer for the past two years, A Crapberry Storm owner to be exact. Even though I have had it up to here with my phone and can't wait to get the iPhone, what I can say is that my phone's reception and internet has had zero problem's for the last two years that I've had it. It has actually been the only high point of my blackberry experience that i've never had any connection issues except when RIM would have the occasional server issue. But ever since the first day that Verizon's LTE service went live, I rarely ever have full bars on my phone anymore, i'm constantly updating my phone's roaming capability to force it to find towers, and having email and BBM issues. And not just my phone, but my wife's blackberry also. I live in Seattle Washington and this morning I was trying to get on Facebook on the web browser and I was getting an error message to the tune of I didn't have sufficient data to access the site at the time, even though I had full bars.



    This is the part that I find funny, I haven't heard of any Android owners complaining of these issues. Could it be that Verizon is kinda purposely screwing with blackberry customers' connections just a tiny bit to get them to give up the platform on their network and buy an iPhone??? Not enough to have them leave Verizon period, but just enough to make them think it's the phone and not the network. In my mind I think it's possible. If they started doing it right when they launched LTE, that would give them a whole two months to do it subtly enough to push the remaining already disgruntled Blackberry owners into hating their phone so much that they believe it was their own idea that they should upgrade.



    From what has been being reported lately it sounds like Verizon is kinda fed up with RIM not bringing anything of value to the table. And to add fuel to that, out the the entire line of new Blackberries that have been revealed in the last two weeks, not one of them announced was a CDMA version, they were all GSM.



    I don't know, what do you guys think? Am I crazy?
  • Reply 17 of 32
    realisticrealistic Posts: 1,154member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by TechManMike View Post


    This might seem a little far fetched but roll with me for a minute. I've been a Verizon Blackberry customer for the past two years, A Crapberry Storm owner to be exact. Even though I have had it up to here with my phone and can't wait to get the iPhone, what I can say is that my phone's reception and internet has had zero problem's for the last two years that I've had it. It has actually been the only high point of my blackberry experience that i've never had any connection issues except when RIM would have the occasional server issue. But ever since the first day that Verizon's LTE service went live, I rarely ever have full bars on my phone anymore, i'm constantly updating my phone's roaming capability to force it to find towers, and having email and BBM issues. And not just my phone, but my wife's blackberry also. I live in Seattle Washington and this morning I was trying to get on Facebook on the web browser and I was getting an error message to the tune of I didn't have sufficient data to access the site at the time, even though I had full bars.



    This is the part that I find funny, I haven't heard of any Android owners complaining of these issues. Could it be that Verizon is kinda purposely screwing with blackberry customers' connections just a tiny bit to get them to give up the platform on their network and buy an iPhone??? Not enough to have them leave Verizon period, but just enough to make them think it's the phone and not the network. In my mind I think it's possible. If they started doing it right when they launched LTE, that would give them a whole two months to do it subtly enough to push the remaining already disgruntled Blackberry owners into hating their phone so much that they believe it was their own idea that they should upgrade.



    From what has been being reported lately it sounds like Verizon is kinda fed up with RIM not bringing anything of value to the table. And to add fuel to that, out the the entire line of new Blackberries that have been revealed in the last two weeks, not one of them announced was a CDMA version, they were all GSM.



    I don't know, what do you guys think? Am I crazy?



    NO, but somewhat paranoid.
  • Reply 18 of 32
    poochpooch Posts: 768member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by AppleInsider View Post


    Customers on the Verizon Wireless network had reported having trouble connecting to the Internet on a BlackBerry support forum since last Tuesday, Reuters reports.



    maybe it's because they've been trying to connect to the internet on a blackberry support forum. maybe they need to try and connect from some other type of forum?
  • Reply 19 of 32
    hudson1hudson1 Posts: 800member
    For all of you having trouble with your Blackberry (and all others, too), watch this.....



    http://www.flixxy.com/my-blackberry-is-not-working.htm
  • Reply 20 of 32
    Someone is really reaching for a story here. Verizon had some BB technical issues (no mention of Android or other operating systems/phones), therefore the iPhone launch is in "doubt".



    A bit sensationalist, don't you think?
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