J C Doss the resident iPhone expert at Mobility Today came across this explanation as to why the iPhone is dropping calls

With everyone throwing blame and taking stabs in the dark as to what is going on with the iPhone 3G. Roughly Drafted Has said a source close to ATT has explained why:

Quote

“power control is key to the mobile and network success. If the UE requires too much downlink power then the base station or Node B can run out of transmitter power and this is what was happening. As you get more UEs on the cell, the noise floor rises and the cell has to compensate by ramping up its power to the UEs.” “If the UE power control algorithm is faulty then they will demand more power from the cell than is necessary and with multiple users this can cause the cell transmitter to run out of power. The net result is that some UEs will drop their call. I have seen the dropped call graphs that correspond to the iPhone launch and when the 2.0.2 firmware was released. The increase in dropped calls,” the source said, were the result of “dropped calls due to a lack of downlink power.”

And where as I usually need a simper explanation like, "Your iPhone is to Awesome for the network" This makes sense, it also would explain why it is a worldwide problem and not localized to one network. We may never hear the official word on this, but I think it wise to start telling your friends to upgrade. Go to the full article, it is a good read: Roughly Drafted

Via Mobility Today