AT&T adopts wait-and-see approach to iPad data demand

The industry has 90 days before the new Apple iPad is available to consumers in the dual-mode configuration that will allow access not only via Wi-Fi hotspots but also on 3G networks, starting with the AT&T network in the U.S.

Because the iPad represents a new type of device—a consumer friendly tablet that fits somewhere between a smartphone and laptop in functionality—it comes with a big unknown and that is: what types of network access and data usage behaviours will it generate. The industry will have to wait until enough units are purchased and used in the market to have answers to these questions.

AT&T, which has been plagued by network performance problems and public-relations fallout associated with its inability to handleiPhone data traffic, seems to think it will be able to handle iPad data consumption. The company’s executives said in a conference call yesterday that they fully expect that iPad users overall will prefer Wi-Fi for network access, not 3G, and therefore they don’t expect it to burden the network like the iPhone has. Three of the six iPad models that Apple will sell, in fact, run Wi-Fi only. If AT&T’s expectations are wrong, however, and iPad products drive more traffic over its 3G network than it expects or can accommodate, the company says it is prepared to implement changes in the service model to shift more iPad data usage onto its Wi-Fi networks.

AT&T operates more than 20,000 Wi-Fi hotspots in its service territory and the company is therefore in a better position than most operators to take advantage of the opportunity technology gives to offload traffic from 3G to Wi-Fi . The company considers its AT&T Connection Manager, which is designed to automatically steer a device to connect to an AT&TWi-Fi hotspot when a hotspot is in range, to be a strong tool for managing data traffic.