“Given our high smartphone numbers, double our closest peer, in both markets, we have large population centers, very sophisticated users with high expectations, and very high volumes,” John Stankey, president and CEO, AT&T Operations said during the call.

“For example, in the dense areas of New York City, there are periods during the week when nearly 70% of the devices active on the network are data-intensive handsets. So, raising performance levels in these two markets is the organization’s top priority. We’re putting all the resources available against the issue and we’re closing the gap.”

Okay, great. What does that mean? Between $18 billion and $19 billion in 2010 capital expenditures–approximately $2 billion of it for additional wireless network and back-haul investment, for one thing. For another, 2,000 new cell sites. Finally, the company is upgrading existing cell sites with fiber for better 3G speeds.

Now, a few more NYC-SF specifics from Stankey:

We’re adding third and fourth radio network carriers to maximize capacity on available spectrum. In Manhattan specifically, now that we have scalable cell site controllers in place throughout most of the island, we’re intensely focused on putting more radio capacity on the street. We’ll increase the amount of 3G spectrum and radio capacity by one-third in high volume areas of the island by the end of the first quarter.

While we are through the majority of our zoning challenges in the Bay area, we’ll continue to work the remaining issues we have in parts of the Financial District and a handful of other locations to final resolution. We’re adding cell towers; and over the coming months, we’re building and upgrading high-capacity antenna systems to boost performance in high-traffic areas like stadiums, convention centers, and public transportation routes.

So will be see significant improvement in both markets in the coming months? Perhaps. Certainly, AT&T is suggesting we can expect one. And, as Stankey noted this morning, “Today a dollar in wireless investment yields twice the capacity than it did a year ago.” Let’s hope so–especially in markets like New York and San Francisco.

PREVIOUSLY:

• Apple COO: Leave AT&T Alone
• If You Think AT&T Has Network Problems Now, Just You Wait
• AT&T 3G Improving–If You Can Get a Signal
• Admitting You Have a Problem Is the First Step, AT&T
• Usage-Based Data Pricing: The Solution to AT&T’s iPhone Problems?
• AT&T Ranked Last in Consumer Reports’ Best Cellphone Service Survey
• Apple Joins AT&T/Verizon Spat With New iPhone Ads
• AT&T Awarded Hug and a Box of Tissues in Verizon Ad Case
• Time to Cut AT&T Some Slack, iPhone Users?
• Thanks, iPhone: 2,000 Percent Increase in Bay Area Data Traffic Since 2008, Says AT&T
• Verizon to AT&T: Do Yourself a Favor and Shut Up
• Frosty’s Winter Litigation Wonderland: AT&T Demands Verizon Pull Holiday iPhone Ads
• Verizon Banishes iPhone to Island of Misfit Toys
• Verizon on AT&T Suit: There’s a Word for That. “Junk
• Verizon to iPhone Users: “Want Five Times More 3G Coverage? There’s a Map for That.”
• iPhone Owners Would Like to Replace Battery, AT&T

Not so fast. At a joint T-Mobile and Google media event Friday morning, Google’s director of mobile platforms, Andy Rubin, said Chrome OS isn’t a substitute for mobile operating systems like Android, which have to solve many problems unique to mobile phones, such as managing battery life and ensuring calls don’t drop as a user is moving between cell towers.

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For Sprint, which is suffering from declining revenue and a thinning subscriber base, the move is a quick-and-dirty way of cutting costs and freeing up resources to focus on innovation and remedying the real and perceived issues with its services.

“This is about improving our customer experience,” Steve Elfman, head of Sprint’s network operations, said during a conference call this morning. “While we get the benefit of Ericsson’s expertise…we can focus our attention on bringing great devices, great services, great applications to them….We’ll benefit from the current scale and efficiency and expertise of Ericsson, and this will keep improving over time.”