More and more reports are continuing to flood in from U.S. iPhone 3G users about problems with 3G connections and speeds. The problems tend to come from large metropolitan areas, but one informal survey points to the Los Angeles and San Francisco Bay Area.

According to BusinessWeek, the problems may be faulty firmware in a communications chip supplied by Munich-based Infineon. Moreover, BusinessWeek added, its confidential sources backed a report released earlier this week by Nomura Securities analyst Richard Windsor that pointed to the firmware.

An Infineon spokesperson declined to address the iPhone issue directly. However, defended Infineon’s technology, saying it works fine in other 3G phones. According to the spokesperson, those 3G chips are used in Samsung handsets and the company is not aware of such problems there.

Recently, Apple is reportedly working on a firmware upgrade to fix the problem. USA Today has reported that the fix could be available via iTunes as early as next week. However, Apple has not commented.

In an email, according to Tim Bajarin, principal analyst with Creative Strategies, historically, Apple does not respond to something like this automatically just because there are reports of problems. If there is merit to the issue, the company works overtime to fix it and usually, at the point of the fix, that is when its respond.

Eventually, Bajarin expects Apple to make things right with its 3G customers. He added, Apple prides itself on its customer-service reputation and he would be surprised if they do not go the extra mile to make sure anything that affects that image will be corrected as fast as possible.

On the other hand, another theory is that Apple programmed the Infineon chip to require a stronger-than-needed 3G signal. Therefore, some users are being knocked down to slower networks even though there really is sufficient 3G bandwidth.

Alternatively, it may be that AT&T has not built out its 3G network adequately to handle the traffic. That, apparently, is what Apple Store employees have been telling upset customers. However, technology analyst firm Nielsen IAG says the problem is global that Apple has had the same problem in every market where the (3G) iPhone is sold. According to Roger Entner, a senior vice president at the firm, it is probably the device.

Other useful sources:
iPod and iPhone Case Roundup
Apple’s iPhone: A New Phone with Software Problems Bug

Thank you for visiting DoubleDT.com