Three and Vodafone are merging!

Rroff · 5 Jul 2023 at 07:55

Yeah Virgin has hopped networks and so on a few times - quite annoying as I use them for a backup phone (and previously for 4G data but ditched that due to a network change which resulted in poor signal) and a couple of times including this latest O2 merger had to change sims with the change while waiting for the actual switch over - not ideal for a backup - I need to shift that to another network but as I'm currently paying £13.29/m for unlimited everything, no speed caps, on that account I'm in no hurry to ditch it :s

ChrisD. · 5 Jul 2023 at 21:29

Journey said:
Pole of Wonder.

Love to go for a beer with that guy.

Deleted member 77746 · 5 Jul 2023 at 21:34

ChrisD. said:
Love to go for a beer with that guy.

When he was talking technical all I heard was lgjflkgjerkgnerjknh4re;gjr'lpgker'plvnerkbnterlk;befnlvknewr'bkejkgj3e'pf[kmefv njfdvbfv

I understood him though. :cry:

Journey · 5 Jul 2023 at 21:35

ChrisD. said:
Love to go for a beer with that guy.

Gotta be better than the 5G causes covid crew, right?

chrismscotland · 6 Jul 2023 at 11:25

Been with Vodafone as my main/mobile contract for years now and been pretty happy, now SIM only though.
Use Smarty as my secondary SIM in my Surface Pro 9 for data and can't complain, unlimited data for less than £20 and excellent 5G speeds (better than Vodafone around here)

Disco_P · 6 Jul 2023 at 11:51

chrismscotland said:
Been with Vodafone as my main/mobile contract for years now and been pretty happy, now SIM only though.
Use Smarty as my secondary SIM in my Surface Pro 9 for data and can't complain, unlimited data for less than £20 and excellent 5G speeds (better than Vodafone around here)

How do they manage during the fringe though, that's the real test

chrismscotland · 6 Jul 2023 at 11:52

Disco_P said:
How do they manage during the fringe though, that's the real test

This is true, I'll check it next month!

Pawnless Endgame · 6 Jul 2023 at 15:31

Cheers @b0rn2sk8 and @Rroff - I stand corrected

I now vaguely remember BT Cellnet being spun off or sold but couldn't remember as who.

CAPTAINBUMFLUFF · 13 Jul 2023 at 20:44

If approved I think speeds could drop as they consolidate masts. However coverage/reception could improve.

explicit4u · 13 Jul 2023 at 23:14

CAPTAINBUMFLUFF said:
If approved I think speeds could drop as they consolidate masts. However coverage/reception could improve.

I’d happily take that, 3 are awful for coverage both at work and home.

Delta3D · 14 Jul 2023 at 00:26

explicit4u said:
I’d happily take that, 3 are awful for coverage both at work and home.

Snap but for Vodafone for me. Hoping the combination of two networks might improve things at home.

Had a period last year where internet was down for 2-3 weeks due to an exchange fault, trying to WFH on 1 bar 4G with mere 100kb/s speeds was horrifying!

ChrisD. · 14 Jul 2023 at 06:12

Delta3D said:
Had a period last year where internet was down for 2-3 weeks due to an exchange fault, trying to WFH on 1 bar 4G with mere 100kb/s speeds was horrifying!

Did it burn down?? Actually I guess it may have been due to the semi conductor shortage.

b0rn2sk8 · 14 Jul 2023 at 08:59

I’m actually with Vodafone at the moment and it’s the worst experience I’ve had on a phone network in years.

Signal is really patchy when out and about, even in built up areas. What concerns me the most is that it regularly drops back to 3G and those masts are being turned off.

I’ll be jumping ship back to EE once my 12 months is up.

marinersfan · 14 Jul 2023 at 09:57

I'm with 3 on mobile and 4g internet. The speed insn't brilliant but a definitely faster than the old adsl internet.
We used to get about 11/12 mbps and now 30/40.

Delta3D · 15 Jul 2023 at 00:17

ChrisD. said:
Did it burn down?? Actually I guess it may have been due to the semi conductor shortage.

Funnily enough, it did burn down yes. :cry:

Their reasoning was because of a really bad storm they said it got hit by lightning somehow and caught alight?? Never bothered myself to walk round to look at it to be honest

Orcvader · 11 May 2024 at 19:50

The merger has been approved: https://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.p...view-clears-vodafone-and-three-uk-merger.html

Edit: Only for security, still needs approval from CMA.

Stu999 · 11 May 2024 at 20:14

Too lazy to research, are they keeping both brands or choosing one or the other?

Disco_P · 11 May 2024 at 20:39

It was approved on national security grounds, but not by the competition and markets authority which is a much bigger hurdle

chrismscotland · 11 May 2024 at 22:38

Yeah its been referred for an "In-depth" probe by the Competition and Markets Authority; I assume that won't be quick.

b0rn2sk8 · 12 May 2024 at 08:01

I can’t see the CMA approving it personally.

It’s one thing going from 5 to 4 mobile networks, it’s another to go from 4 to 3. Particularly when consumers are feeling the sharp end of scummy practices at the moment like removing roaming despite them saying they wouldn’t and huge mid contract price rises.