EE and now Three phone networks - coverage and service experience?

[campbell]

Hello gadget freaks. And mobile phone users.

What experience do you have of the above?

I'm with O2 just now, who are variable on both counts. Now just out of 24 mth contract and free to change.

Strong EE deal shows up on uSwitch, for iPhone 5s, and I'm hovering over "buy".

Help me be confident...

[woody]

Three. It's the only way.

[campbell]

And why's that then?

They have a similar deal, right enough. And appear to have better value access to 0800 and 0845 numbers.

Three has no 4G in my area yet. But EE does.

Convince me.

[tut]

I have just gone onto Three but that is because I did not have a mobile, but found an iPhone 4 recently and could not trace the owner.

Three are the only one that do a PAYG that does not run by the month, put £10 in and it lasts until it runs out. However you are all on contracts so would not apply to you. Bonus is I did not get a signal in the house on EE, but do now on Three.

tut

[steve_weegie]

I've been on pretty much every network under the sun and must echo Woody here as I've found Three's service to be superb. Nearing the end of a 2 year contract on a Samsung S4 and have absolutely no desire to switch networks.

Three have no hidden costs as far as I've found out, and their superb roaming policies throughout europe are a big winner for me... I have their unlimited everything deal, and it really does mean it. Data on the phone is free, wifi hotspot is free, usb tethering is free, calls are free including 0800 numbers.

They have abolished all roaming charges in a number of EU countries now, so it's unlimited calls and unlimited data there too, for no extra costs.

The network is very very fast too, even with a HSDPA signal in Bo'ness, it's easily enough to work from tethered to the laptop. Oh, and if you end up in a place that has wifi but no three signal, you can route your calls and texts to the phone via their funky "Three InTouch" app. I use it up here in the highlands as there's no signal at home.

All in all I can't sing their praises enough, to be honest.

[Dominic]

After 15 years with Orange (EE) i have just moved to 3. Orange were getting increasingly pricey and the customer service was shocking lately. So far 3 have been good, although their coverage could be better. Some good deals for business users.

[tut]

Can not advise you Campbell, but Robin uses 3.

Old saying "if it's good enough for him, it's good enough for me"

tut

[campbell]

Three it would appear to be, then.

Thanks, team!

[BigD]

Just for the contrarian view I have been with orange since my very first mobile phone. I switched to EE for 4G recently when I upgraded and I have to say I have found EE's customer service to be pretty good. I had an issue with my voicemail not working so I called and it was fixed pretty swiftly. Coverage has been great too. No real dead spots that I've noticed and that includes train journeys between Glasgow and Edinburgh. All in all pretty decent.

I've used a three data sim too and found the coverage pretty similar to EE.

iPhone 5s is pretty decent too, usual iPhone glitches but nothing terrible.

You pays your money you takes your chances........

[Dominic]

Three it would appear to be, then.

Thanks, team!

Make sure you look at the business deals - even just for one phone.

[Shug]

Probably fair to say that EE's overall network coverage shades Three's - but long gone are the days of Three being a joke for coverage.

What convinced me to go Three (as it was them or EE who had coverage at the new house) was my previous experience of Orange's cost creep. And Elaine, who was still on Orange at the time I moved to Thee, was still experiencing it. Not my understanding of a contract that they should be able to up their costs at any time - certainly wouldn't work the other way. But all through my years (since about 1995 - 2007ish) with Orange it happened regularly. Went from them to O2 and regretted it - just the worst data network. Then swapped to Three a year or so ago.

So, happy with Three for now for all the reasons stated above.

[Lazydonkey]

Moved from EE to 3 about 6 months ago and I'm really happy.

Work phone is still on EE and what i notice is 3 is more "honest" about coverage. That is to say my personal phone will be saying no network, EE will be showing bars but it's almost unusable. 3 does struggle more in bars and suchlike but if you have a problem in your house they'll send you a booster for nada.

That being said i have found that on the west coast 3 gives you full coverage for calls / texts but not data....i'm assuming from a piggy back off another network.

I won't be moving away from 3 anytime soon.

[Jeremy]

I am also with a 3 Business contract and echo the comments above, having been with every other network provider over the years.

They no longer send you a booster if you have a weak home signal though, its all done through a free app which routes calls and texts via your wifi. Works very well.

I would also add that 9.99 times out of ten I've found it cheaper to buy the phone directly from Apple (if you are so inclined, not wishing to start the boring Apple v Android debate) and a rolling SIM contract. This also gives you an unlocked handset that can be readily flogged via eBay if you fancy an upgrade in the future.

The massive clincher for me is that I can use my plan abroad for no extra cost. This is only available in selected countries but one of these is the United States where I travel to regularly. And the data and tethering, whether 3G or 4G is so much quicker in my experience.

The whole 3 package relegates the other network players to 2004 IMO. I still hear some bleating about their coverage, usually from people who have never been with 3, but I haven't found it to be any worse, or better, than the other networks. But if you factor in their free app then you could argue that makes it better by eliminating blackspots at any loaction you'll use frequently.

Regards,

Jeremy

[woody]

And why's that then?

They have a similar deal, right enough. And appear to have better value access to 0800 and 0845 numbers.

Three has no 4G in my area yet. But EE does.

Convince me.

Seems like everyone amnswered for me in the interim.

I tested 3 with a PAYG si m for a bit then took a 12 month sim only contract. It's excellent VFM, their customer service has been great and the coverage is, overall, the best I've ever had. All this is in stark contrast to my previous Vodafone contract. 3 even have a 3G signal in some of the darker, more distance corners of Ayrshire where other networks have nothing at all (The entire village of Mauchline for instance). 4G is also included in the price where it's available in contrast to other networks.

[campbell]

Spoke to Three Business. £41/mth for more than I need. Three Personal much the same. But via an intermediary found on uSwitch, I can get down to £35/mth.

What's the catch? How do they do it?

Aiming to resolve today. Too much distraction!

Three packages def amongst the most comprehensive.