The Uk 3G network....

cu3ed

cu3ed

cu3ed

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26 Jan 2006
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Belfast
I don't want to sound like I'm just ranting, but that's kinda what this is.

I have owned my 3GS now for about 4 months, in that time ( I live in Belfast) I have traveled to Lisburn,, up round Ballymena, then Ballymoney, and I work in Craigavon, I realize most of you don't have a clue as to where these places are but they are good distances from each other.

In all the houses I have been to, only 2 have got a 3G signal, where I am now, in my room, if I go to the front of the house, I am Back on edge, and that is no use to man nor beast.
And a friends house in Lisburn...I have other friends who I visit regularly around Lisburn but they are all Edge coverage.

Belfast City center you can literally walk in and out of signal.

Now this was the first 3G phone I had really thought about buying because of the browsing etc etc, given how long 3G has been about, and how much the companies have had, is it really out of place to be majorly hacked off with such terrible coverage considering how much they go on about it!

I honestly feel like I'm being ripped off, I am with O2, but people around me that have a 3G or Gs are with Orange and are the same.
 
Mines not been too bad in Belfast and Jordanstown. In Ballymena I get 3G up until the Larne Road, then it reduces to Edge.

It is annoying though when on the train from Belfast to Ballymena I can't enjoy much data usage though with GPRS being my only option. :(
 
I hear O2's is fairly poor in general from people I've spoken to. I'm on 3 and the 3G coverage is brilliant, the only gripe is that it's not very penetrative, i.e. once you're inside one of these large stone buildings in Bristol it's long gone.
 
I get 3G coverage nearly everywhere I go, but it can be very patchy. Like I have to move around the room and so on to get a good constant signal. I'm with o2, from what I understand Orange's 3g network is considerably better.
 
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I'm on Three and the 3G signal is excellent most of the time. They also seem to be constantly improving their service.

For example, before a few days ago, I only used to get 2 bars on 3G in my college class... And today, I was shocked when I saw a full HSDPA connection with 4 bars.
 
I'm on o2 with a launch day 3G. I too feel like the OP - being ripped off. However I'm out of contract atm on the simplicity 20 package. Prior to this I was on the £45pm 18 month contract.

In the Middlesex area, 3G reception is so on and off it defies belief. My own town of Harrow has a strong signal most of the time. Travelling to work is a mix of 3G and GPRS for me.

I am tempted to switch networks when the new iPhone comes out.
 
Phone networks are like politicians. They're all as bad as each other and it depends where you are in the country as to whether you get one that's less bad than elsewhere.
 
Never had any problems with O2's 3G coverage in the South Wales area.

Get full 3G bars at work, and I don't care about the home because I get Wi-Fi but I do get 3G if I go outside the walls (live in a converted barn with 18 inch stone walls!) :)
 
Mine isn't too bad in Belfast... I do habitually lose (3G) signal in Stranmillis and at various points on the way into the city centre though. I'm hoping it'll slowly improve, but I'm a bit dubious.
 
Ha, I live on Stranmillis, I think its just the landscape here.

Where is all this newer investment meant to be kicking in from O2, and weren't the pulled by offcom for their poor coverage?
 
Feek said:
Phone networks are like politicians. They're all as bad as each other and it depends where you are in the country as to whether you get one that's less bad than elsewhere.
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Spot on. O2 back in Liverpool was fine in some areas and no reception in others. In Manchester it seems perfect everywhere but going out towards Yorkshire(Huddersfield / Leeds) it seems to struggle sometimes.
 
Well where I live I don't get any 3G signal with o2, once my contract ends I will be jumping ship to Orange. It's really frustrating that I can drive a few miles out of where I live and the smallest village will pick up 3G.

o2's 3G coverage in the UK is really quite pathetic.
 
Andybtsn said:
o2's 3G coverage in the UK is really quite pathetic.
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Agreed. Where I live orange, t-mobile and 3 all provide hsdpa coverage. O2 don't even provide Edge. To get 3g on o2 I'd have to travel at least 20 miles. My iPhone contract 18 months is up this Saturday. I'll leave it going until the new phone is released then I'm moving to orange
 
O2's 3G coverage in Leeds is pretty patchy. If anyone from Leeds has any experience with other networks I'd love to know so I can switch :(
 
I live in Derby city centre and get two freaking bars of GPRS in my house on O2. A little further into town I get a reasonable 3G signal. At work in the suburbs I get a full 3G signal. There is a mast of site though... :D

3G in the UK is in a bad state thanks to the current uptake of smart-phones especially the iPhone.
 
My experience with 02 is that their 3G network is okay when it works, but whether it works is the problem.

I've been on the 02 network for a while (until I unlocked my iPhone) and the 3G signal was very rarely found, and when it was it wasn't particularly fast.

I've got a few friends with iPhones and who are on 02 as well, they've had the same problems (in various areas of Liverpool).

I used my 02 sim between the Liverpool, Crewe and Stoke-on-Trent areas, and it was basically the same.

I'm currently using the 3 network and their 3G is great, I get a 3G signal 90% of the time and it's nice and fast.
 
^^ I live in Hightown, just past Crosby and I don't get anywhere near a 3G signal, lucky if I get Edge on my iPhone. It's quite amusing because if I get the train into the city centre, the signal gradually gets better and better the further I go. Really need to move somewhere with a better signal... :p
 
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