Submitted by Bob Bhatnagar on
Early reviewers were impressed with the improved upload speeds on the iPhone 4 after launch day. Everything has changed starting this weekend, with users around the country complaining that uploads are now having trouble keeping at 100 kilobits per second. Previous reports clocked the new HSUPA chipset uploading at over 15 times this speed.
Sending photos and posting videos becomes difficult with such a slow connection. AT&T has been accused of capping upstream bandwidth without notifying customers, however new information points to a possible software problem. AppleInsider reports that AT&T is working on a fix.
The wireless carrier has not commented on the matter, although its telephone representatives have been busy dealing with the problem. AT&T still enjoys an exclusivity contract with Apple to provide wireless service for all iPhones in the US. Analysts have predicted that the contract could be over as soon as January 2011.
HSUPA is capable of upload speeds up to 5.76 megabits per second when working properly. Reports of slow upload speeds have filtered in from all over the country, with highly populated regions and several major cities affected. The holiday weekend may have slowed AT&T's capabilities to deal with the issue, since many employees were probably off.
The iPhone 4 was measured to upload files an average of 11 times faster than the 3GS by Gizmodo. They found that while download speeds were similar, the improvement in uplink speeds was consistent and significant, normally at least five times faster that the 3GS.