News Mobiles / 3G / crap data / iPhone

[old.user4556]

There's been a spread of comments on threads here about mobile data speeds on various networks including coverage etc. - I saw this article and thought I'd post it for info.

BBC - dot.Rory: The 3G traffic jam - where next?

 

[dysfunction]

I read this the other day.

If you look at the ofcom 3G coverage map it shows O2 is shockingly sparse in comparison to the others...

http://www.ofcom.org.uk/radiocomms/...and/cellular/3g/maps/3gmaps/coverage_maps.pdf

 

[Raven]

O2 are terrible. If I cared about having the internet on my phone I would change provider.

 

[Aada]

O2 sucks arse in some areas.

3 are good for 3g i always had 3g signal
with them.

 

[DaGaffer]

I read this the other day.

If you look at the ofcom 3G coverage map it shows O2 is shockingly sparse in comparison to the others...

http://www.ofcom.org.uk/radiocomms/...and/cellular/3g/maps/3gmaps/coverage_maps.pdf

You need to overlay a population density map to determine that. You'll probably find 02 is a good as the others in areas where people are actually using 3G (which sounds like a tautology I know).

 

[dysfunction]

If I travel in the UK I would get 3G in more places from the other networks, especially Orange, than I would from O2...looking at that coverage map from ofcom

 

[MYstIC G]

If my phone works where I use it, I don't give a shit about colouring in on a map.

 

[Chilly]

3g is still shockingly bad inside anyway - til that's fxed by a change in spectrum it wont ever be as useful to me as I want it to be.

 

[GReaper]

The networks should've planned for it.

Phone manufacturers are releasing some great phones which make the mobile Internet a pretty good experience. It's probably fair to say that Internet usage is a huge growth area for the networks, I think O2 said that traffic was doubling every 4 months.

I'd personally like to see some regulations on the sales of contracts which involve mobile networks. It's hard to test the coverage of a network unless you go and get another phone to test with a PAYG sim card for a week, using it from all the places you'd normally go to - hardly convenient. There are far too many people who buy contracts which are getting longer and longer (24 months, wtf!), with them getting stuck with a pathetic service and can't do anything about it.

Force all networks to sell every phone unlocked at the point of sale, if someone needs to use another sim card due to pathetic coverage from their current network then they shouldn't be restricted if they aren't near the end of their contract. Also allow anyone to cancel a mobile contract at any point during their contract for the proportional cost of the phone itself and not the contract (eg. £500 phone, 9 months of 18 months = £250 to finish the contract), instead of forcing people to pay for the remainder of the contract. This would also force networks to provide the same phones in PAYG/upfront options, otherwise people would start contracts and instantly stop them in the first month.

If the networks can't provide a decent coverage, they shouldn't be allowed to force people into contracts where they can't get a service.

 

[nath]

I'm so very glad I bought my phone offline and went for a 30day rolling contract. I was with T-Mobile for about a month and a half before I gave up on them. Signal was pretty weak, their data speed was awful (even in full signal areas) and they charged a fuckload for voicemail access - not included in free minutes. The cock at customer support even fed me a line that "it's very common to charge for voicemail" despite the fact that while on the phone I found that o2 offer *free* access to it.

Incidentally, O2's signal has been twice as good as T-Mobiles and the same goes for the data speed. It'd take something very special for me to move back to a 12/18 month contract now.

 

[old.user4556]

I was with T Mobile once, they sucked big fucking dicks. I'd never go back, no matter how good the contract was.