UK,MBL,Internet coverage ,best provider ? (1 Viewer)

SUGGY

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Nov 23, 2011
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I am renewing my mbl contract ,
This year Orange has been crap for signal for wifi on the mobile tethering, wherever we have been scunthorpe,Skegness,Cambridge,Malvern,Falmouth,Penzance and Newquay ,
we even bought a mifi and still no good ,

Orange is saying to change to ee the kids say go to O2 ,
what are you using .... ?
 

irnbru

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Jun 27, 2013
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O2 for me. Not many places I dont get reception. Maybe you could buy a payg sim and try it before commiting to a contract woth any provider.
 
Aug 30, 2012
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Best results I have had is with EE it's worked everywhere in England I have been so far
And in Scotland too only once it would not work and that was Appleton and nothing worked there
So far it's preformed better than 3 and O2
18£ for 6 gig over 3 months Pay as you go I just bought 2 sims of eBay
I wouldn't go on contract yet till this euro roaming is sorted

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GJH

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I've had 3 for several years both for mobile and for MiFi. I have Orange and Asda SIMs (both on EE network) as backup but neither are as good and usually don't work at all if there is any slight problem with 3.

I'm currently on PAYG for voice and will probably upgrade from current MiFi to a 4G one from 3 with aerial sockets shortly.
 

silverlocks

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I am using giffgaff payg from a site in surrey on mifi system. It is based on the 02 network. 3gb for £12. I find it always works wherever I go. Also use gg for phone on separate account. Worth looking at web site
 
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I find the phone coverage fine on Vodafone although the internet can be patchy. Customer service has always been fine. When I've been comparing deals I've always found O2 to be slightly more expensive when looking like for like but I've never dealt with them.
I wouldn't use 3 again if they were paying me. They are OK until something you have an issue. Their customer service isn't just bad, some of the "representatives" I had the misfortune to deal with seemed to be going out of their way to make things worse.
Never had experience of EE but their coverage is supposed to be the most comprehensive. I know that I've been in locations with friends where I've barely had a phone signal and other people with EE phones have had full 3G internet.

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GJH

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As far as "customer service" goes, they are all bad (well 3, EE and Vodafone are anyway, never used O2). They are outsourced, working to a script (which means they can't do anything beyond simple) and have a maximum time for each call (which means they cut you off if it is taking too long). It isn't just the mobile phone companies though, other outsourced "customer service" operations tend to be as bad.

If I have a problem I always give the company the chance to put it right (we are all human and mistakes happen) but I won't put up with being messed about or lied to. These days, whenever any company's "customer service" team is obstructive or (through company policy) unable to help I go straight to Link Removed and send an e-mail to the top. If nothing else it brings the appalling implementation of company policies to the attention of the top levels, something they may not be aware of.
 
Jul 5, 2013
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Depends what you mean by "contract". Do you always get your phone as part of the contract? If so it is always going to be expensive per month.

I have been with giffgaff for some time now. They piggy back on O2 and I have not had any real problems with the signal. They are somewhat different from others in that everything is webbased, and they have a VERY active on-line community which helps sort out your queries (bit like us at MHF). It works because people who help others on the forum are rewarded with points that can then convert to airtime. They came out best for customer satisfaction in a recent Which report.

They do not have a contract so you can leave them at any time. PAYG, but you can buy monthly bundles of minutes, texts, data etc called Goodybags (mixed bundles) or Gigabags (data only). Very flexible. I tend to just leave it as PAYG (with auto top-up) unless I know I am going to be going out a lot, then I buy a Gigabag. Wife also uses it in both her iphone and ipad. For the iphone she just has PAYG, but for the ipad she uses a £5 Gigabag which gives her 500Mb per month.

You can find details here of how to get a free SIM from them.
 

sdc77

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My mobile is with Vodafone 4g.. The other halfs is with 02 4g and the van has a 3 4g mifi on £15 pm all u can eat data.. Vodafone is patchy but when it's working it's fast..
O2 seems to have better coverage with slower Internet... 3 seems to be getting better and better..
All are quicker than sky broadband wifi in the house though (East london)

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makems

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Ive found that I get decent data coverage with 3 in most places. I do have a booster aerial and do have to use it sometimes to inprove the reception from poor to acceptable or good.
 
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SUGGY

SUGGY

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I have been offered by EE and O2
iphone 5c with 8g internal memory unlimited calls n tx 2g data £27.99
my Samsung Galacy Ace2 is on 3g signal only with 800hz processor where as the iphone is a much higher processor for wifi ...

Anyone know of better phones or deals ?.
 

hilldweller

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Orange is saying to change to ee
what are you using .... ?

Someone posted an ebay link to an EE data sim. Bought it, works fine at home but everywhere else I've tried it it is useless, either no connection or so slow it's no use.

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Jul 5, 2013
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I have been offered by EE and O2
iphone 5c with 8g internal memory unlimited calls n tx 2g data £27.99
my Samsung Galacy Ace2 is on 3g signal only with 800hz processor where as the iphone is a much higher processor for wifi ...

Anyone know of better phones or deals ?.
Depends upon what you need. How heavy is your usage for calls texts and data. Do you really need unlimited calls and texts? Remember most phone companies make their money because most people never use anything like the limits they set. Also remember that the iphone is locked down tight by Apple. And 8Gb internal memory may sound good but once you have taken some photos and videos it will soon start to run out. And, unlike many other phones it can't be increased.

If it was down to me I would buy an unlocked phone outright and then get a SIM only deal with giffgaff, the provider I use. Lots of good Android phones about. The Nexus 5 is my favourite - lightening quick, more advanced than the iphone 5, twice the storage and £300 from Google. I have the 32Gb model. If you really want Apple then buy a good secondhand iphone 4. Or you will be able to get plenty of good secondhand iphone 5's in a few weeks time when all the sheep line up for their regular Apple fleecing, i.e. buying the new one that is coming out, and then want to sell their old ones.

As for paying for usage, giffgaff is very flexible. You can choose PAYG or various monthly deals and can switch between them anytime you want. I am a relatively light user and my total bill for the first year with them came to about £40.

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Aug 30, 2012
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Strange how some people have good and bad to say about different providers
For Mobil broad band I was using 3 with fairly good results but if 3G dropped out it was crap
EE seems to run better on poor signal strength varies between 3 and 4 g

I will be sticking with EE for time being and possibly switch my phone over from O2 as my contract is up soon depends on what's on offer at time I need to see who will give best euro cover for Northern Europe looks like the Scandinavia run is on for next summer article circle here I come
 

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