Mobile phone coverage

Hi Mike

Thanks for your idea and feedback. I have an excellent signal at home, the problem is when I am out and about.

It's interesting that you find Orange and Vodafone just as hit and miss, I always thought before I read the website I mentioned that Vodafone was the best. Probably just a historical recollection...

Cheers, Julian

3G?  I should be so lucky.

I've recently had both Orange and Vodafone. My experience is the same. As it happens I get better signal with the Orange at work so it works better for me. It's very much a geographical thing and I'd choose, if possible, the provider that gives you the best signal at the places you spend most of your time. Out and about it's a lottery whoever you're with.

Good luck,

Steve

One might well be "better' for coverage than the others, but if it's no good where you go, it's useless. I'm with EE, and at home it wanders in and out, but that only affects text messages, as wifi covers everything else. At work, I have 3G and about 4 meg download, 1.5 meg upload, so I'm quite happy. 

As a side note, I've a 4G sim now, and that gave me a massive 23 meg down, 20 meg up at Brands Hatch a month ago. Great for sending videos of the pit lane action to friends!

Vodafone gave me the best overall coverage for about 15 years, then their customer services went down the drain I ditched them for O2 when the iPhone 3GS was launched, and they had awful coverage but very good customer service. I almost felt guilty leaving them!

I've heard that 3's network sharing deal ended recently, and their coverage is deteriorating.

Not easy, especially if you travel for work.

Tony

No coverage any network at home. I personally consider this a positive benefit of our locatIon. Visitors (especially teenagers) tend to go pale and shake though. 

The only reliable coverage of our entire working district is via a pager

Bruce

There is no mobile coverage for any network where I live. I'm on EE. When driving home the ritual of pulling over and diverting the phone had to be observed for years. EE and I'm sure other providers now provide a system where you can access your network through a wireless router. I've been using this for about eighteen months at home and it has proved reliable. It's also reduced my land line bills and allowed me to really exploit the inclusive usage in my package.

I don't know if this is potentially of any help. Relatively few handsets support it. Some BB and HCT devices do. I've got a BB and when I upgraded to it, it was this function in particular that I wanted. It was originally heralded as a "UMA service", but it turns out that although my phone is UMA capable it's not actually using this protocol. But it still works fine pulling a carrier signal through WiFi and it was a phone FW update which enabled it. The FW was supplied by Orange. My understanding (although not yet tested) is that in any situation where a signal is not available, accessing any adjacent wireless hub will activate it. I've only used it at home with two hubs.

Back in my days of full time employment I also classified the lack of home coverage as a positive. When I went self employed it was a pain. Now addressed.

There are several factors which would affect reception in your area: location, server, etc.  I have been with orange, now EE, and have had a trouble free service,  for the past 15 years.  No problem either with WIFI when I'm out and about. And no, I have  not signed up to their 4G upgrade  because I did not see any advantages to the current service provided, speed v download time , and I was right!  Will probably upgrade in the near future, but not right now!

Ever thought of living without a mobile phone? It can be done.

+1. I love switching my phone off on holiday. I would like nothing more than to throw my mobile phone down the nearest toilet but being a medic it's difficult to function nowadays without one. I used to use a pager but a mobile is much more convenient, especially when out and about.

I could live without one if I didn't need one for work. I could also live without a television. I probably watch less than 10 hours a week. 

Agree with Dr Blues regarding mobile phones & TV. 90%  my mobile use is for work and I only watch television for the news & sport probably a bit more than Steve's 10% I would also like to get rid of my wrist watch which i can only do when on holiday  at the moment!

Agree with this, especially the car and TV.

when i retired 5 years ago i switched from a contract to P A Y G and tbh i could easy live without a mobile.

About all i use my mobile phone for now is once a week on a friday nite when i phone the little lady indoors around chucking out time to stick my fish n chips in the oven to warm up.

Mista h

Unfortunately this thread has turned into something not quite intended but it seems on the whole, my coverage is probably no worse than anybody else. Perhaps the networks should forget 4G and concentrate on service instead?

To respond to the digression though, I have to agree with Tony. Why live in the dark ages when technology can make life better?

Julian