Hi All,
So when I was choosing my phone (SGS3) I was tempted by a deal from Three. I didn't really find much recent news for how the network was performing other than people either reiterating the "Don't go there" mantra, and others going "It's fine, it's much better than before".
So I took a punt and found that it's entirely a mixed bag...
The Good
When the network is working really well, it's insanely quick. I regularly get 8-10mbit speedtests, so things like youtube, iPlayer, google play music (etc) zip along nicely. Also, in towns/countryside where other networks might have dropped to 2G, there were a few places where I still had solid 3G.
Plus when you're really far away from civilization, Three still have their roaming agreement with Orange (or, well, EE I suppose?) 2G for calls and texts.
The motorway network seems to be very well covered & speedy. Just the other day I drove home from near Reading to Manchester with Google Play Music going all the way. It was rock solid. No bother... burned through about 800MB of data just on that day!
The 50/50
It's a pity though that their network, through being 2100Mhz only, struggles massively with building penetration. My house cuts the 3G signal to nothing - except when I stand at the window. Considering it's near to the centre of Manchester, it's not as if I can blame this on living in the middle of nowhere.
Before, with Vodafone, my phone would drop to 2G in this situation, then my home wifi would sort me out data-wise.
So, for my problem at home I called them. They made me wait for the 14 day cooling-off period to elapse, then dispatched (after discussing this with their network team) a Three Home Signal box to me, for no fees at all. This connects via ethernet to my home internet connection and acts as a mini 3G transmitter for the house (only available to phone numbers that I specify, so randomers won't piggyback off my internet). Internet usage by this box is pretty slim; today so far it's used 45MB, with me having been speaking on the phone for around an hour. Without any phone calls, it uses around 2-3MB per day. Of course, if you disable WiFi and browse via 3G, it'll count against any limit on data Three set (not for me personally; all you can eat!), while simultaneously using your broadband. I'm happy with this negligible usage volume and the power used, in exchange for having flawless signal at home.
The Ugly
As touched on earlier, their 2G fallback only works in more remote locations, so in most town and city centres, if you can't get Three's 3G signal then you'll get no service, even if Orange 2G is still managing to get to where you are. This is really frustrating in the odd pub, club or shop where 2G manages to penetrate but 3G cannot. More often than not I've had to walk to near windows or doors to simply get signal to register on my phone.
Also, the network does seem to overload sometimes in the city. If I'm in the Arndale centre I'm lucky if mobile data works at all, or if I can get a call out.
Furthermore, sometimes a phone call will connect but I won't be able to hear the remote party. Redialling fixes this, it's not geography dependent. So, uh, not sure what the deal is there but it's also fairly annoying.
Finally, if you're hoping to use the phone on the West Coast Main Line, just... don't even try. Unless stationary in a station that is. Otherwise, it's mostly a case of no signal all the way.
Conclusion
Am I happy? Ehh, sorta. When it works, it's sublime. However, it does not work half as often as Voda/O2 (the previous networks I was with). For those that barely call and text, but like lots of mobile internet it's a no brainer. However, without a bit more infill and capacity, I can see why people still give them a berth...
Hope this helps someone out, if they're considering a change of network
So when I was choosing my phone (SGS3) I was tempted by a deal from Three. I didn't really find much recent news for how the network was performing other than people either reiterating the "Don't go there" mantra, and others going "It's fine, it's much better than before".
So I took a punt and found that it's entirely a mixed bag...
The Good
When the network is working really well, it's insanely quick. I regularly get 8-10mbit speedtests, so things like youtube, iPlayer, google play music (etc) zip along nicely. Also, in towns/countryside where other networks might have dropped to 2G, there were a few places where I still had solid 3G.
Plus when you're really far away from civilization, Three still have their roaming agreement with Orange (or, well, EE I suppose?) 2G for calls and texts.
The motorway network seems to be very well covered & speedy. Just the other day I drove home from near Reading to Manchester with Google Play Music going all the way. It was rock solid. No bother... burned through about 800MB of data just on that day!
The 50/50
It's a pity though that their network, through being 2100Mhz only, struggles massively with building penetration. My house cuts the 3G signal to nothing - except when I stand at the window. Considering it's near to the centre of Manchester, it's not as if I can blame this on living in the middle of nowhere.
Before, with Vodafone, my phone would drop to 2G in this situation, then my home wifi would sort me out data-wise.
So, for my problem at home I called them. They made me wait for the 14 day cooling-off period to elapse, then dispatched (after discussing this with their network team) a Three Home Signal box to me, for no fees at all. This connects via ethernet to my home internet connection and acts as a mini 3G transmitter for the house (only available to phone numbers that I specify, so randomers won't piggyback off my internet). Internet usage by this box is pretty slim; today so far it's used 45MB, with me having been speaking on the phone for around an hour. Without any phone calls, it uses around 2-3MB per day. Of course, if you disable WiFi and browse via 3G, it'll count against any limit on data Three set (not for me personally; all you can eat!), while simultaneously using your broadband. I'm happy with this negligible usage volume and the power used, in exchange for having flawless signal at home.
The Ugly
As touched on earlier, their 2G fallback only works in more remote locations, so in most town and city centres, if you can't get Three's 3G signal then you'll get no service, even if Orange 2G is still managing to get to where you are. This is really frustrating in the odd pub, club or shop where 2G manages to penetrate but 3G cannot. More often than not I've had to walk to near windows or doors to simply get signal to register on my phone.
Also, the network does seem to overload sometimes in the city. If I'm in the Arndale centre I'm lucky if mobile data works at all, or if I can get a call out.
Furthermore, sometimes a phone call will connect but I won't be able to hear the remote party. Redialling fixes this, it's not geography dependent. So, uh, not sure what the deal is there but it's also fairly annoying.
Finally, if you're hoping to use the phone on the West Coast Main Line, just... don't even try. Unless stationary in a station that is. Otherwise, it's mostly a case of no signal all the way.
Conclusion
Am I happy? Ehh, sorta. When it works, it's sublime. However, it does not work half as often as Voda/O2 (the previous networks I was with). For those that barely call and text, but like lots of mobile internet it's a no brainer. However, without a bit more infill and capacity, I can see why people still give them a berth...
Hope this helps someone out, if they're considering a change of network
![[TW]Fox](/data/man-of-honor/2009.png){kind=avatar}
