Three - hugely disappointed

[gadgetman]

Bagged a free sim to test their signal, data speed etc compared to EE. So many people including relatives rave about them, and as current contract ending thought I would give them a try to see if after last trying them 5 years ago anything had improved.

What a disappointment. Am yet to see 4G,and 3G data speed is much slower than EE.

Given they supposedly mast share, how can EE have such a better signal & data offering?

Suffice to say after complaining to three I've gotten my topup money back and binned the sim.

[Aspman]

Depends where you are. 3 Might work better for you in some areas than other companies.

 

I'm with 3 but because they are the only company that has 3G in my area.

[mac11irl]

Could be worse - they bought out by "merging" with O2 over here, thus eliminating another company from the competition...

[Dr Zoidberg]

I've just ordered a Three SIM to use on holiday abroad. Will be interested to see how it performs.

[GentleGiant]

I've just ordered SIMs from all three of the big networks as I am getting sick of the 19th Century speeds GiffGaff are lumbered with by O2.

 

My biggest gripe is not know what frequency any particular mast is running, and frequency is important when your phone doesnt handle band 20 !!

[Phil-E]

I have a work phone on EE and tether with it out and about to log on remotely. I often have 4G but the speeds are shocking.

My personal phone is a Three Sim only. 200 mins, unlimted texts and unlimited data.

Although their 4g coverage isn't quite as good as EE the speeds are good and I'm always able to watch 1080p YouTube, Spotify, internet radio etc.

For the price and unlimited data you really can't complain. Plus their feel at home usage abroad is very handy. Especially since they've added Germany recently since we go very frequently.

[gadgetman]

I have a work phone on EE and tether with it out and about to log on remotely. I often have 4G but the speeds are shocking.

My personal phone is a Three Sim only. 200 mins, unlimted texts and unlimited data.

Although their 4g coverage isn't quite as good as EE the speeds are good and I'm always able to watch 1080p YouTube, Spotify, internet radio etc.

For the price and unlimited data you really can't complain. Plus their feel at home usage abroad is very handy. Especially since they've added Germany recently since we go very frequently.

Perhaps it's because I have speed boosted EE 4G instead of just normal 4G.

Travelling around the UK EE are definitely better than O2 and Vodafone (as if that's difficult).

Roaming has no interest as I am unlikely to go abroad frequently.

[Phil-E]

Perhaps. What's the "boosted" speed?

My max is around 80mb.

Three have also recently introduced a new 4g frequency but not sure if it's everywhere yet. This means I now get 4g inside the house.

O2 are shocking for coverage. Used to have a works o2 Sim and always just had 2g.

[gadgetman]

Yup it's about 80mbps

[JohnMcL7]

I think a lot of it depends where you use it, I used them for tethering for a while and their data performance was good although haven't used them recently.  I've been on Vodafone for a while as it's essentially O2 or Vodafone up here, EE have very limited coverage and nothing out in the countryside which is where I rely on the signal as I spend a lot of time out cycling.

 

John

[GentleGiant]

Perhaps. What's the "boosted" speed?

My max is around 80mb.

Three have also recently introduced a new 4g frequency but not sure if it's everywhere yet. This means I now get 4g inside the house.

O2 are shocking for coverage. Used to have a works o2 Sim and always just had 2g.

 

The "boosted" speed claims are the only way I can figure out that EE have something better than poverty spec 800Mhz (band 20) in the area; things will only get worse (slower) when 700MHz is allowed and 4G gets even slower.

 

(The higher the frequency, the better the theoretical speed throughput, but the worse the coverage per mast)

[Phil-E]

Three have band 4 and 20 I believe.

 

Inside the house (on band 20 I assume) I get anything from 20-40mb which is more than enough for watching youtube, internet radio, Skype etc. I never bother even turning wifi on at home.

 

Out and about it's normally 30-80mb but usually around 40.

 

Given that I pay £15 a month I can't really complain. Get 4GB tethering allowance.

 

My data usage last month was 39gb. Oops.

[Aspman]

Lots of companies playing the 'up to' game with 4G. If you've enough people in the area all connecting you end up with speeds lower than 3G

[GentleGiant]

Lots of companies playing the 'up to' game with 4G. If you've enough people in the area all connecting you end up with speeds lower than 3G

 

I defy you to get an LTE speed lower than my GiffGaff 3G speed, even with full H+ and LOS on the transmitter, I get 1-1.2Mbps.

 

And before you blame my phone, SWMBO's new Samsung gets the same. She gets NO 4G signal, indoors or out, despite us supposedly being in a "Good Indoor reception" area, and her phone handling all the UK LTE bands.

[WPUK]

I've been with 3 for a couple of years now after leaving o2.

I was sold based on the all you can eat data plan and no extra charge abroad. Must say I generally don't have any issues with them - often in remote areas at work, my phone is the last one to loose all signal. Guess it really depends on where in the country you are unfortunately.

[gadgetman]

I've been with 3 for a couple of years now after leaving o2.

I was sold based on the all you can eat data plan and no extra charge abroad. Must say I generally don't have any issues with them - often in remote areas at work, my phone is the last one to loose all signal. Guess it really depends on where in the country you are unfortunately.

Travel about with work so can really compare against current provider side by side.

I just can't understand given the mast sharing between EE & Three why three are so much worse on signal? Speed when I was testing was also slower than EE on 3G.

Today briefly saw 4G on the three sim, but halfway through a download it dropped to 3G. Haven't seen H or H+ yet.

[VWD]

I'm wondering if 3 are getting a bit worried. I've had a 3 mobile dongle for some months, and of late, I've had speed problems. But for other reasons I've decided to go landline ,and when I called in to cancel, it was a hard sell- upgrade ( on a monthly contract) for a few quid a month ) from 2GB download to 20GB download.

[GentleGiant]

Travel about with work so can really compare against current provider side by side.

I just can't understand given the mast sharing between EE & Three why three are so much worse on signal? Speed when I was testing was also slower than EE on 3G.

Today briefly saw 4G on the three sim, but halfway through a download it dropped to 3G. Haven't seen H or H+ yet.

 

 It could be frequency related (which band they are using); the higher the frequency, the higher the data speed, but the worse the coverage; so EE were using a lower f band, and 3 were using a higher f band. That would also match with the lower speed on EE.

 

From memory, the three bands used in the UK are 3,7,20, which relate to  1800MHz, 2600Mhz and 800MHz; EE are known to use 7 & 20 mainly, with a few 3 fill-ins; 3 use mostly 3 with a few 20 fill-ins. (o2 mainly use 20, with a few 3 fill-ins, and are very optimistic about coverage).

[gadgetman]

That would also match with the lower speed on EE.

EE are faster you mean

[GentleGiant]

EE are faster you mean

 

Yes, in areas where you can pick up EE's band 7 transmissions, they are faster; however band 7 doesnt penetrate buildings very well, so indoors you often find the 3 signal on band 3 faster.

 

Obviously the poverty spec. band 20 is slowest, but has the best coverage per transmitter.

 

Interesting fact, band 20 was originally included in the LTE spec to allow India to develop its own LTE network, but India has refused to use it due to the "Poverty Spec" label, the biggest band 20 user is the UK. The only band worse than 20 is 700MHz (band 17??), which the US uses!!

[gadgetman]

US call it LTE, but speed wise it's only the same as H+ here.

US frequencies are determined by military use

[biomulv]

Use EE in work galaxy and 3 in own oneplus3.

For me 3 have superior speed and signal all over the country. Up to 80/30 on LTE and 20/10 on 3G, more than enough. Never see that on EE.

I just wouldn't pay for 2008 style data and speed restrictions these days on a personal sim.

[SuperbTWM]

I've just ordered SIMs from all three of the big networks as I am getting sick of the 19th Century speeds GiffGaff are lumbered with by O2.

 

My biggest gripe is not know what frequency any particular mast is running, and frequency is important when your phone doesnt handle band 20 !!

 

I'm with giffgaff and I find the signal very good but I think the problem is they throttle in the bandwidth that much its ridiculous even with an apparent 4G connection. Seems to improve slightly on a weekend though

[GentleGiant]

I'm with giffgaff and I find the signal very good but I think the problem is they throttle in the bandwidth that much its ridiculous even with an apparent 4G connection. Seems to improve slightly on a weekend though

 

GG in my area is crippled by an incorrect set up on the Malvern transmitter, if I move to a different transmitter - say Worcester, my speeds go up 3x or more, even with a lower signal.

[WPUK]

Moving forward in the future it may transpire that EE take the lead for performance. The new contract for the emergency service network will be with them as opposed to the current Airwaves network so therefore theoretically will improve/be stronger nationally - especially in the event of a large scale incident.

How much it will affect the average consumer though, I don't know. What they have actually informed those within the emergency services of the impact it will have is minimal too!