Mobile Networks

[KevinA 695]

Hi Folks

 

As I am about to come out of contract I thought I would get a members opinion as we are all over the country, although based in the south I do travel a bit with both work and car stuff.

 

Currently with O2 but always seems to be down on signal and decent data transfer.

 

Thanks in advance

 

Kev

[chillismoke 182]

I swapped this year from O2 to EE for that exact reason, they come out on top for reception and Internet (4G)

[AJ124 118]

With EE you will soon be able to receive calls/texts if you have a wifi connection but no signal. When Orange bought T mobile and became EE they gained a huge coverage boost. 

[Ztox 230]

Yea O2 are turd, I left Orange (EE) for them ages ago and regretted it instantly. Signal was so bad in most places and I seemed to be worst off than friends in any situation/location.

 

Always hear good things about EE but my personal favourite of all time is 3, who I'm currently with. I have great signal, my girlfriend is with EE and I never seem to be worse off. As far as I am aware it is a fact that EE have the better network but in my personal experience I haven't suffered because of it yet.

 

The biggest thing for me is that 3 (at least at the time I joined) were the only company that offer totally unlimited internet nowadays, at least on 4G. I stream a lot of stuff when I'm out and about and I don't need to ever worry about data usage. This is handy as I don't need all of my Spotify music synced to my phone, for instance.

 

Another thing 3 have is the 'feel at home thing' for when you are abroad in some countries which means without doing anything you can just carry on using your phone abroad for no extra cost and that includes the unlimited data. They sent me a text the other day when I got back from Ibiza saying I'd have been billed £20 odd had it not been for that lol (streaming lots of music in the hotel as well as other things).

 

For me, with my data usage, I'd only choose 3 at the moment. However, if internet allowance isn't a big concern of yours, in honesty I'd probably recommend EE first

[Quixote 35]

With EE you will soon be able to receive calls/texts if you have a wifi connection but no signal. When Orange bought T mobile and became EE they gained a huge coverage boost. 

 

Orange bought T-Mobile? It was a merger not an acquisition...which is why Deutsche Telekom will get a stake in BT as part of BT's acquisition of EE

 

EE have the most licensed spectrum meaning they should be able to offer the best experience.

I have a sim on 3 and one on EE and if on 4G then EE is better, but both are crap on 3G

3 do still have blackspots, but do have a wifi calling app to help with those (EE also support WiFi calling now)

 

 

Don't get a contract for more than a year as next year the operator landscape will go through major changes, and who knows how it will pan out...

BT buy EE -> EE will become $%^& because BT will slow everything down

3 buy O2 -> maybe 3 can reinvigorate the O2 assets and produce a better network

[rob275 1817]

i'm on 3 and have been for years. They are on par with EE these days imo, but they have more benefits.

[Tareim 343]

I was on 3 for ages due to the unlimited data however their black spots down south west was too much for me to continue so have swapped to 4g EE and don't regret it one bit

[Kodename47 446]

They are on par with EE these days imo

That's because they site share with T-Mobile and now EE.

[Mike 458]

Three here as well, solely for unlimited data... can't beat it!

[Quixote 35]

That's because they site share with T-Mobile and now EE.

 

Site share is not the same as spectrum or antenna...EE have the potential to dominate the UK market if they're astute in spectrum utilisation

Having said that, O2 & VF are pants

 

3 buying O2 will mean they could be the best bet for rural, but they're screwed in dense urban areas - just not enough spectrum to deliver decent service to a densely populated area.

[Keethos 842]

I was on O2 for a while but got really poor to no signal out in the sticks of Southam, so I went to Orange and got a bit better signal out there but for some reason, got really poor signal in my home (where O2 was very strong in the house). So then I changed to Giffgaff which have been alright, pay as you go but you can buy goody bags each month for example I pay £15 a month which gives you the benefits of a monthly contract (but you can opt out at anytime) such as unlimited text, 500 mins of talk and 3gb of data or depending on which goody bag you buy. Now Giffgaff piggy backs off O2 I believe which is fine again my my house but on the odd occasion, it will say I have H, H+ and even 4g at times but still get nothing coming through data wise which can be annoying.

[Omer86 40]

Comes down to your luck sometimes Kev! I'm also on Three for over a year, £15 a month everything totally unlimited. HOWEVER, they have written to me stating they will be moving everyone off the One Plan which i was on and that i can have a similar service for £27 and with only 4GB for tethering. Bit cheeky to say the least.

 

If you are considering Three then i suggest looking into ID Network by Carphone Warehouse, which runs off Three anyway. Some information here;

http://www.uswitch.com/mobiles/news/2015/05/id_unveils_uk_s_best_value_4g_contract_prices_network_launches/

 

I am looking at moving to the £20 a month sim only deal, save myself £7 a month for the same sort of usage i get now. Hope that helps! 

 

P.S the Three Feel at Home is good for 25GB of data abroad from what i was told by them.

[Kodename47 446]

Site share is not the same as spectrum or antenna...EE have the potential to dominate the UK market if they're astute in spectrum utilisation

3 tend to use a broader spectrum on most shared sites than EE in terms of 3G and they all share the same antenna systems which usually causes more issues with most of the new kit I see daily.

Being astute in anything is not something network planners are known for.... too much focus on cost over actual performance.

And yes, VF and O2 have a similar deal going on (we call itBeacon) and it's got similar issues,in the south at least.

[BigJames 15]

I switched from EE to O2 a little over a year ago. Been very happy overall although I do have some bad signal spots on my commute that meant (hands free!) calls would drop all the time in that area but had the same issue with EE.

O2 also have a Wifi calling app called Tugo if I remember correctly. Only gripe I have is 4G coverage with O2 isn't great here, but 4G in Northampton never has had good reception (at least the parts I live and work in).

[KevinA 695]

Thanks everyone,all sorted now with the phone I wanted.

[Omer86 40]

Which route did you go down Kev?