Story from the Hendersonville Times-News:
ASHEVILLE — AT&T activated a new cell site in Asheville that will provide coverage in the areas of I-26, I-40 and I-240, as well as the surrounding commercial and residential areas of southwest Asheville. It is the first of five new sites planned in Asheville this year. In all, AT&T plans to add more than 90 new cell sites in the Carolinas by the end of 2009.
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From 2006–08, AT&T total capital investment in North Carolina was more than $1.2 billion. As part of its 2009 investment, AT&T plans to launch its 3G service in Asheville before the end of the year. AT&T’s 3G network is the nation’s fastest 3G network, according to recent data compiled by leading independent wireless research firms.
28 Comments
I was in Asheville over the Thanksgiving holidays, and I had 3G service in the Fairview area and downtown Asheville where I was staying.
I have the unique situation of owning both the ATT Aircard and Verizon Aircard for my laptop. I have been running speed tests through WNC, ETN, WSC and GA. Verizon claims to have most coverage (true) and ATT claims to have fastest speed which seems to be true. In over (20) places where I tested the ATT 3G was faster. I just tested here in Fletcher and this is it! ATT Aircard 3G with only one bar is: 2094 download / 1125 upload and Verizon with four bars is 1289 download / 280 upload. ATT upload speed seems to be consistently about four times faster in the areas I travel to. I can say that the 2094 ATT 3G speed in Fletcher is also very consistent with ATL, GSP and other large cities I’ve tested. I’m pleased and glad I was patient to wait so long for the ATT service upgrade. Bluezkat
We just got 3G in Asheville this week! Woohoo!
As of last night my phone has 3G in Asheville. Anyone else notice this change? I used to not get signal at all in my bedroom, and now I get 3G everywhere.
AT&T 3G is live as of this evening in Central Asheville.
3G is live! I am getting fast service in Asheville! WooHoo! (I tested downtown by courthouse and near Home Depot East.)
@bubby72:
I would consider purchasing your iPhone 3G [white 16GB]; Please let me know if the offer still exists!
Yesterday (Oct 28th) voicemail was pretty spotty. I think someone is doing a lot of work behind the scenes in order to turn these towers on. They *SHOULD* get a lot of coverage improvements (as well as capacity) as they add the new 3G frequencies. I also got the same line about 10/28 as the expected turn on date (about 3 weeks ago) that others have gotten.
So now we wait and see. But presently ATT has dramatically oversold the capacity here in AVL and they’d better get it functional or I can see some Bad Press™ kicking in.
I have had the Iphone for 1.5 years here and the past month my service in Asheville has gone from average service to bad coverage almost everywhere! I thought they were adding towers and 3g? I really regret getting the iphone here as their network is getting worse not better. Many dropped calls lately on both of our iphones.
This absoluely SUCKS!!!! September 25th, the end of September, October 25th, October 28th, the end of October…….. I would be shocked to see it by the end of 2009!!!
I love the iphone but AT&T is the WORST cell service I’ve EVER had!!!!!
My service was usually about 3-4 bars at home in Arden NC, over the past 3-4 months I no longer get service in the house and must go outside to get 1-2 bars. I do not have a land line so I must rely on my iphone. I can no longer rely on it!!!! When I call the 1-800 AT&T number they say "everything looks ok, not sure what the problem is, i sure dont see anything wrong from here. Did I answer all your questions?" Hell no you did not!!!!
October 31st and then to hell with AT&T and hello Verizon!!!! Anyone want to buy a 6 month old 3G white 16gig iphone for $100???? Maybe less……..
I have both the ATT Aircard and Verizon Aircard and have been doing my own independent survey on aircard speeds. What I have found is where ATT has 3G their speed is noticeably faster than the Verizon. This is especially true with upload speed. Seems the upload speed for Verizon is much slower than it’s download for some reason. ATT upload speed can be as much as four times faster than Verizon. Needless to say like others I am anticipating the ATT 3G in Asheville. Similar to the Johnson City example, I wonder why Rome, GA has blazingly fast ATT 3G when Asheville still has to drag behind. I’ve been patient this long so will hang in there!
Its now the 29th…….no 3G in Asheville yet. Has anyone been experiencing even worse coverage/dropped calls/no service/searching….. problems lately though??? The last few days have been so bad for me and another friend that I considered going back to Verizon. But was going to give AT&T a little longer to get with it. So anyone else with problems??
28th is here… Where is our 3G service?
I heard the same thing.. October 28th
Word is in…
" I am showing 3G towers to be activated on 10/28/2009. That is if mother nature is kind to us. Also I am showing additional towers to be switched on as well. A couple of those towers will be switched on late November – early December. Just hang in there."
I was told the end of October by ATT staff on Hendo rd. I have another inquiry to them to make sure they are still on schedule. will post back results soon.
I got an email from ATT’s Charlotte office saying that 3g is on schedule for the Asheville area by the end of the year.
Yeah, Iphone owners are more plentiful in town, but us G1 users are far cooler, and want the 3g more.
I was told as well, face to face, by the manager at the AT&T store on S Tunnel, that AVL will be 3G by the end of October.
I hope to gog they aren’t spreading rumors, because the Edge network here is awful. My iPhone is useless for anything web-related unless I’m on wifi.
No, I have the Iphone 3G and I still don’t have 3G connectivity. I was told that Asheville would get it at the end of October.
Did AVL get the 3G as rumored on Friday, Sept. 25th? I haven’t heard anything? Anyone have better service now? I am in E. AVL and want an iphone, but I currently cant get AT&T service at my home.
I have both the ATT Aircard and Verizon Aircard for my laptop. I got the Verizon to test because the ATT is so slow in Fletcher. Anyway, I’ve been travelling the SE on business and testing both using Speakeasy.net and found some very interesting results. For example:Bristol, TN – 2760DL – 1126UL for ATT; 2138DL – 223UL for Verizon. Where ATT has the 3G it is blistering fast. Verizon also has some fast areas too. But the most noticeable difference is the upload speeds (Bristol example). The ATT upload speeds are much faster than the Verizon and in some cases are almost as fast as the download. The Verizon upload speeds all seem to be at about 200 to 300. I had thought about cancelling my ATT service but now will hold out to see how well it does in the Fletcher area, especially the upload speed comparison to Verizon which is 280 at my house. Good luck!
i have the iphone 3G and I love it. except for the fact that I live in Asheville. Asheville doesnt have 3G because its a complete hick town with nothing to do. AT&T isnt going to invest all of that money in a craphole like this. duhhhhhhhh.
Although i never figure we will get it, An AT&T representative officially announced that within the next 2 months, Asheville will have 3G. However i live a little more East, If the surrounding areas does not get it, then i am still screwed.. Just kinda sucks than ALL of Verizon’s Coverage is 3G, and hardly ANY of AT&T’s is.. Sucks even worse that i have iPhone 3G S and cant even use the full capability of it.
Spoke with AT&T yesterday (business customer service) and they said that there was no construction slated for Asheville this year.
Are you SURE we’re getting 3G here?
It’s possible that their records didn’t show it, but given the economic climate, we’re the ones who’d get cut first…
I just wish I could have a good signal at my house between Weaverville and Marshall, NC, and not be holding a Verizon phone when I do have it. We need a couple more towers in that area and will let AT&T put a tower on my property. Just drop me a line.
To add insult to injury, Johnson City, Tennessee DOES have 3G coverage.
it is so pathetic that AT&T has not had 3G capability in asheville. i love the iphone and so does the rest of the universe it seems. but, without 3G network it really sucks. this just shows how far down on the list of priorities asheville is with this technology and what AT&T really thinks about its customers in asheville and environs…..and…lol…. the city and county elected officials seem to think we are some sort of technology mecca……definitely not so!