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UK carrier comparison

What network would you recommend?

  • Total voters
    112
Although it seems you have ruled out giffgaff for one reason or another, I can't recommend it highly enough.

I've used them for approximately 5 months now, with the upfront cost of £500 for the phone, and the £10 goodybag a month for unlimited texts, unlimited internet (truly unlimited!) and 250 minutes you won't be able to find a better deal anywhere for those minutes/data/texts which adds up to £30.83 a month for 24 months with no phone cost.

Not to mention there is no contract anyway, you're free to switch between goodybags. 0800 numbers are also free, and giffgaff to giffgaff texts/minutes are completely free too. I've also posted 102 times on the forums helping out users, and they paid me £63.15! Considering I've been with them for 5 months only, I've already made a profit from them spending only £10 a month! :)

If that's not enough to convince you, well fair enough I suppose. I was orange before, and never had any problems with them, just the deal comparatively is non-existent. I've heard good things about 3 too, and their deals seem to be fairly good too :)
 
Andy Ftw said:
Although it seems you have ruled out giffgaff for one reason or another, I can't recommend it highly enough.

I've used them for approximately 5 months now, with the upfront cost of £500 for the phone, and the £10 goodybag a month for unlimited texts, unlimited internet (truly unlimited!) and 250 minutes you won't be able to find a better deal anywhere for those minutes/data/texts which adds up to £30.83 a month for 24 months with no phone cost.

Not to mention there is no contract anyway, you're free to switch between goodybags. 0800 numbers are also free, and giffgaff to giffgaff texts/minutes are completely free too. I've also posted 102 times on the forums helping out users, and they paid me £63.15! Considering I've been with them for 5 months only, I've already made a profit from them spending only £10 a month! :)

If that's not enough to convince you, well fair enough I suppose. I was orange before, and never had any problems with them, just the deal comparatively is non-existent. I've heard good things about 3 too, and their deals seem to be fairly good too :)
Click to expand...

It's a totally new concept for me-that's the thing. I mean can you go through what I do as regards these issues:

1) Getting a micro-sim card instead of a sim card
2) I need to pay for a goody bag online every month right? What if I forget to do it on time and so have no phone usage for a day or so?
3) I don't quite get the goody bag concept. Can you explain it? I mean, you pay for it and get so many free texts and minutes and data usage. If you use all of that in 1 month somehow, then what?
4) Goodybag payments are made online right? Can you use paypal, or does it want a credit card?

That'll do to be going on with. :) Would probably help me make a better informed decision at any rate.
 
My thoughts on orange and 3 go against the vast majority of people here I am getting consistently better signal and coverage and speed on Orange than 3.

3 for me is one of the worst for customer services and coverage and the speeds you get vary from very good to crap within a footstep or two.

Summary though is they all have good and bad points and a poll won't help unless everyone here goes to all the places the OP goes to.
 
Lot of love in the poll for 3. I heard the horror stories but decided to go with them on a 30 day rolling contract when the iPhone 4 came out, and I haven't ever thought of leaving them. Their data speeds and coverage (where I am) are fantastic. The 2G fallback is terrible and never works, but the 3G works better than any other carrier I've tried.

You included Tesco and Giffgaff in your poll but since they run off the O2 network you won't see any improvement in coverage or speeds.
 
Zcott said:
Lot of love in the poll for 3. I heard the horror stories but decided to go with them on a 30 day rolling contract when the iPhone 4 came out, and I haven't ever thought of leaving them. Their data speeds and coverage (where I am) are fantastic. The 2G fallback is terrible and never works, but the 3G works better than any other carrier I've tried.

You included Tesco and Giffgaff in your poll but since they run off the O2 network you won't see any improvement in coverage or speeds.
Click to expand...

Yep 3's 2G service is non existent. They used to use Orange but not anymore
 
Three — quite apart from having the best deals, Ofcom's maps confirm they have the best 3G network coverage.

Having tried microSIMs from all the UK networks in my iPad, as soon as my O2 contract was up, I swapped my iPhone to Three and haven't looked back.

If you have BT Total Broadband at home you get free access to BT Openzone and FON wifi hotspots. This plus Three makes a killer combination for mobile data, IMO.
 
Seamaster said:
Three — quite apart from having the best deals, Ofcom's maps confirm they have the best 3G network coverage.

Having tried microSIMs from all the UK networks in my iPad, as soon as my O2 contract was up, I swapped my iPhone to Three and haven't looked back.

If you have BT Total Broadband at home you get free access to BT Openzone and FON wifi hotspots. This plus Three makes a killer combination for mobile data, IMO.
Click to expand...

Yep, I have BT broadband at home. :) So that's all good.

Seems to be evolving into a 2 horse race-3 v O2. That's good actually because I would not have thought about 3 had not lots of people sung its praises here. I'll keep an eye on here to see how things develop.
 
Moved to 3 as soon as the 4S was released, not had a problem since. Have been really pleased so far. On a month-to-month rolling contract which is significantly less than I was paying O2 for capped data.

But, as the lady on the customer services line said - "You do get O2 moments"

:rolleyes::rolleyes:
 
szolr said:
Seems to be evolving into a 2 horse race-3 v O2. That's good actually because I would not have thought about 3 had not lots of people sung its praises here. I'll keep an eye on here to see how things develop.
Click to expand...

O2 for customer service. But the network's **** and so are the deals.

Three for network speed and coverage and the best deals on the market. But **** customer service (if you need it).

You pays yer money and takes yer choice...
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Been with O2 for 15 years, and recently changed to 3. O2 has been brilliant for me in terms of signal and service, but I needed to economise as best I can and O2 could not beat 3 in terms of deal. So far been quite happy with 3. I went with the rolling 1 month contract so if it does start to get messed up I can always go back to O2. So either of those I don't think you can go wrong.
 
This is a pointless thread, it depends where you are. Folks voting who aren't where the OP is, are breaking the point of the poll.

O2 here in N. Ireland is rubbish, and 3 isn't much better. Orange is OK, but Vodafone is without doubt the best for 3G signal.

I live in N. Ireland, but I travel to the UK mainland quite often, and rarely does Vodafone let me down. All in all it's far better than O2 was - I was on O2 for 2 years when I had my iPhone 3G.
 
Andy Ftw said:
Although it seems you have ruled out giffgaff for one reason or another, I can't recommend it highly enough.

I've used them for approximately 5 months now, with the upfront cost of £500 for the phone, and the £10 goodybag a month for unlimited texts, unlimited internet (truly unlimited!) and 250 minutes you won't be able to find a better deal anywhere for those minutes/data/texts which adds up to £30.83 a month for 24 months with no phone cost.

Not to mention there is no contract anyway, you're free to switch between goodybags. 0800 numbers are also free, and giffgaff to giffgaff texts/minutes are completely free too. I've also posted 102 times on the forums helping out users, and they paid me £63.15! Considering I've been with them for 5 months only, I've already made a profit from them spending only £10 a month! :)

If that's not enough to convince you, well fair enough I suppose. I was orange before, and never had any problems with them, just the deal comparatively is non-existent. I've heard good things about 3 too, and their deals seem to be fairly good too :)
Click to expand...

Agreed. I just switched to it 2 weeks ago when I got my 4S and it's brilliant.



szolr said:
It's a totally new concept for me-that's the thing. I mean can you go through what I do as regards these issues:

1) Getting a micro-sim card instead of a sim card
2) I need to pay for a goody bag online every month right? What if I forget to do it on time and so have no phone usage for a day or so?
3) I don't quite get the goody bag concept. Can you explain it? I mean, you pay for it and get so many free texts and minutes and data usage. If you use all of that in 1 month somehow, then what?
4) Goodybag payments are made online right? Can you use paypal, or does it want a credit card?

That'll do to be going on with. :) Would probably help me make a better informed decision at any rate.
Click to expand...

1) I got my free Micro-SIM from here (giffgaff themselves don't provide them, so you have to get them from a third party, or cut one down yourself).


2) You don't have to do it online. If you get a voucher, you can call 43430 and follow the voice prompts like any other carrier (see more here).


3) You can buy one Goodybag a month - all Goodybags have unlimited texts, and any one that costs £10 or more has truly unlimited internet - so you can't run out of data or texts, but if you were to run out of minutes - you would need to have "normal" credit on your account to continue making more calls. Basically, when you top up, you have to buy the Goodybag each month. If you have credit remaining after purchasing the Goodybag, that is what is used when you run out of free minutes. You won't be able to purchase another Goodybag until the previous one expires (exactly one month from purchase date), however you can top-up at any time, and when you call (if the Goodybag minutes have run out) it'll be using the credit you topped up with.

Sorry for that long, confusing, explanation. You can see all the available Goodybags here.

This might help you understand better: http://i40.tinypic.com/14vjsps.png
So if my minutes were to run out, it'd start using my normal balance there for calls. You can top up and add to that balance at any time - but not use it to buy a Goodybag until the previous one expires.


4) No, you can't use Paypal; it has to be a credit/debit card, or a top-up voucher. Because giffgaff runs on o2, you can use a normal o2 top-up voucher to top up, by calling the number I stated above, or by redeeming it online.
 
I moved from Orange to O2 when the original iPhone came out and have been very, very happy with them since. Their customer service is, in my experience, far better than Orange, 3 or Vodafone (all of which I've used in the past) and they have much better coverage when I live than any other carrier

Incidentally, giffgaff doesn't just "use" O2 - it is wholly owned by O2 and was setup as an experiment in alternative marketing and support strategies
 
szolr said:
Well, they all have it actually. ;) The important thing is who's got the biggest coverage.
Click to expand...

I don't think that's correct, have you Got any sources? They all have HSPA, but I don't think they all have HSPA+. There's a difference. I heard a coupla months ago that 3 are meant to have it but Vodafone don't, not sure about o2. I asked as I wanted more up to date info
 
HellDiverUK said:
O2 here in N. Ireland is rubbish, and 3 isn't much better. Orange is OK, but Vodafone is without doubt the best for 3G signal.
Click to expand...

I find that odd. I live in Belfast and switched to Three a year ago. The coverage has been way better than O2, which struggles to get a 3G signal almost anywhere. On 3, I have a couple of bars of 3G almost everywhere.
 
Zcott said:
I find that odd. I live in Belfast and switched to Three a year ago. The coverage has been way better than O2, which struggles to get a 3G signal almost anywhere. On 3, I have a couple of bars of 3G almost everywhere.
Click to expand...

N. Ireland exists past the outer ring. ;) Out here in Antrim, 3 is rubbish. West of the Bann it stops working totally. :p It's crap in Legenderry too. The OH used to be on 3, now she's on Talkmobile (which uses Vodafone), and it's WAY better. I'm on Vodafone now, used to be on Orange and O2, and I've found Voda to be the best.

Vodafone is the only carrier I can get a signal with at my parent's house, too (they're on Co Down coast).

I agree O2 is pants, though. In the 2 years I was on them, I rarely got 3G signal, or if I did it was too slow to use.
 
NVD said:
Agreed. I just switched to it 2 weeks ago when I got my 4S and it's brilliant.





1) I got my free Micro-SIM from here (giffgaff themselves don't provide them, so you have to get them from a third party, or cut one down yourself).


2) You don't have to do it online. If you get a voucher, you can call 43430 and follow the voice prompts like any other carrier (see more here).


3) You can buy one Goodybag a month - all Goodybags have unlimited texts, and any one that costs £10 or more has truly unlimited internet - so you can't run out of data or texts, but if you were to run out of minutes - you would need to have "normal" credit on your account to continue making more calls. Basically, when you top up, you have to buy the Goodybag each month. If you have credit remaining after purchasing the Goodybag, that is what is used when you run out of free minutes. You won't be able to purchase another Goodybag until the previous one expires (exactly one month from purchase date), however you can top-up at any time, and when you call (if the Goodybag minutes have run out) it'll be using the credit you topped up with.

Sorry for that long, confusing, explanation. You can see all the available Goodybags here.

This might help you understand better: http://i40.tinypic.com/14vjsps.png
So if my minutes were to run out, it'd start using my normal balance there for calls. You can top up and add to that balance at any time - but not use it to buy a Goodybag until the previous one expires.


4) No, you can't use Paypal; it has to be a credit/debit card, or a top-up voucher. Because giffgaff runs on o2, you can use a normal o2 top-up voucher to top up, by calling the number I stated above, or by redeeming it online.
Click to expand...

OK, that explains a lot. The situation still looks to be 3 or O2 (in one form or another, considering giffgaff uses O2's network). :)
 
For maximum 3G coverage and value for money, Three would be my recommendation.

However, Three have increasingly limited 2G coverage as they shut down their roaming with Orange piece-by-piece. It's important to check you have reasonable 3G coverage from Three in the locations you're likely to spend most of your time in.

GiffGaff, certainly good for value. However, using O2's network means limited 3G coverage. O2 are rolling out 3G at 900MHz, which will help, but I don't expect any UK network to significantly change its 3G coverage between now and the 2012 spectrum auctions.

Vodafone do indeed seem to be struggling with data since taking on the iPhone. I used to think of their network as bulletproof, so it's quite a sorry state of affairs. Orange/T-Mobile is a little more interesting - an entity called MBNL rolled out a large extent of Three/T-Mobile's 3G network. Orange customers now have access to T-Mobile 3G and vice-versa. There's potential there but it's all a bit of a mess... with Three's pricing it's probably a safer bet to stick with them.

One warning on Three; CS is dire. Luckily they have a great Twitter team - so if you do have problems you may want to head straight to them.

We talk about this stuff a lot over at Talk3G so give it a look if you still have questions.
 
miniConvert said:
I used to think of their network as bulletproof, so it's quite a sorry state of affairs.
Click to expand...

Same really. On my previous phone, before the smartphone revolution (;)) I got great 3G and 2G coverage. It got worse from sort of mid 2008. And in late 2010 it starting really frustrating me. But by then I was tied into a 24 month contract with them. :(
 
Funny I am the US and on AT&T (no issues by the way) but I find it interesting that a lot of folks are switching off T-Mobile here, yet abroad there are not that many that recommend T-Mobile, very interesting.

I am assuming if the US Government does not allow AT&T to merge with T-Mobile, it will be a short amount of time before they do not exist or they are in Bankruptcy, since DT said they are not investing anymore money in the US.
 
After using mobile phone carriers for going on 15 years, I honestly don't think I could recommend any of them.

My experience boils (simplified) down to

T-mobile - great customer service, but offer average deals and are always late to the party getting handsets. 3G coverage is average (not sure if it's any better since joining Orange...)

O2 - decent customer service, a solid 3G coverage but never the best speeds. The only ever present with the iPhone though.

Orange - currently with. Worst customer service I've ever experienced. 3G coverage is very good out and about, but the signal in my house is terrible (data and phone signal) often missing calls and receiving texts hours after they are sent. Sometimes i drop on to "Orange-T-Mobile" and the data drops to GPRS, although i get better call signal... Also they have just rejected my £150 cash back offer, the only reason I chose them!! So I really hate them right now.

Vodafone - no problems with customer service, and I can also get discount so that's a plus! as mentioned above, the 3G coverage is pretty solid but the speeds aren't great.

3 - like many others I have been put off them with terrible reviews of their customer service. I tried a PAYG sim for couple of days and couldn't fault the 3G coverage.

I would just go with the one that offers you the best deal and has the best 3G coverage you can get. The iPhone will do the rest ������

One more thing...if visual voicemail is a selling point for you, you can get a free app called HulloMail. It's does very much the same thing as O2s visual voice mail.
 
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