It remains to be seen what masts it will be added to and how dense the coverage is. Vodafone's strategy seems to be to get all the masts done eventually so in my experience their coverage is better.
All we in the South West would say is 'Show us the F*&$%g' Money'.
I tell you what. It makes me bloody furious. It's a disgrace. If this was Japan, management of VO2 would have jumped from a high building several years ago.
Lyme Regis. Never mind us peasants down here in the South Hams. NO VO2 data coverage at all. Where are we? Like 15 years after Orange and Co started 3G to these places and seemed to have little problem getting it in place.
I don't care about what they say. How much money they say they are pumping in. Orange, Tmob and 3 got data rolled out pretty damned quickly and it pretty much worked in most places. Now VO2 are telling us that it all takes time. Bolloxx does it. It takes money and commitment.
Absolute waste of time, both of them. Just get it done. We are nearly 20 years on and Lyme Regis has no 3G on VO2. What an absolute frikkking farce.
I suspect that VO2 have NO intention of proper 4G coverage of the UK. They will, as history has proved, do the minimum to comply.
If they had never had the benefit of 900Mhz2G, both would have gone bust in the UK by now.
If only I was back in Lyme Regis- I had a great holiday there with my family earlier this month
Back on topic, as I have posted in another thread, I'm on Three and got usable 3G almost everywhere, although I rarely saw 4G however. My parents on O2, on the other hand, seemed to end up on 2G most of the time. At the lodge we were staying at in Cricket St Thomas, I could get 22 Mbps down, yet they were on EDGE. Masts for all networks were next door to the site.
Similarly, my Grandparents live in Tuxford, Nottinghamshire and both O2 and Vodafone are 2G only there. I get a good 3G connection on Three however (fast upstairs, a bit slow downstairs and no service in the kitchen) and EE have 4G. Depending on your network you're either in 1996 or 2016.
To be fair to them, I've been looking at the coverage maps lately and their 3G and 4G coverage is improving- even in areas it's not for EE in some cases. My Mum let me use her phone on the way home from Sherwood Pines back to Retford on Saturday to see what the signal was like and, to be fair to O2, I did get a fair amount of 4G and a bit of working 3G as well.
In Sherwood Pines itself the data didn't work, both on 2G and then on 3G once it switiched up to it- it appears to have been a 900 Mhz mast and I got 0.45 Mbps down even on full signal. BBC News wouldn't load at all. However, once we got on the main road, a 4G signal was found with 55 Mpbs down and 12 Mpbs up. EE don't even have 4G in the OIlerton area, so a clear win for O2 here. It dropped to 3G a little later and then to 2G and no service near Clumber Park, but picked up 4G again afterwards. There was then a bit more 2G as we got into Retford and it look a while for it to switch to 3G, but it did eventually and it seemed to be usable (I didn't do any more speed tests).
I found it disappointing that I couldn't get data to work on 2G at all, and that virtually unusable 2G mast was also poor. However, that fast 4G shows that they can perform well and I have to say, I was able to use the phone to access the internet for most of the journey, and the areas of poor or no coverage were more or less the same as on my Three phone.
And EE have left areas with no indoor coverage for years, such as where I live. Only O2 and Vodafone work. Swings and roundabouts.
In some places. I agree. You can always pick out a few. I guess I am talking from a SW perspective where VO2 are still a joke. The funny thing is that I have a dual SIM phone. I have 3 kids off in all directions and my wife works so I need my phone to ring. That, in the SW means VO2. Still, to this day, your phone will ring in more places than EE/3.
But. I need a dual sim phone so that I can use data as well. I have a 3 SIM for that. Only because their 321 is seriously cheap. EE would be better.
The way I see it is that 3 have done this supervoice thing but it's not convincing as they just don't have the capacity but as soon as EE roll out 800, it will be the network of choice down here, no question if it isn't already. If you have a VOLTE phone it will be far superior to VO2 whatever. Your phone will not only ring in more places than VO2 (instantly cancelling that historic advantage), you will have fast data too.
The fact is that VO2 are not doing enough and not doing it fast enough. It's plain to see. They are still a joke in the South West and I for one have given them enough time.
VOD have had EDGE that DOESN'T WORK in Totnes for the last 10 years FFS. What are they smoking? It's not like it hasn't been reported. Read the VOD forum.
All O2 are doing down here is rolling out 3G900 with no backhaul so the map looks pretty.
Voda at my house in SE London is solid full bars DC-HSPA 20meg with 4G upstairs around 2 bars no faster than the half upgraded 3G gasometer across the road thou. however EE and 3 Are both no service or maybe one bar downstairs and 2 bars upstairs of 3G the occasional wif of 4G but not useable this is the same for at least 500m radius of my house. my Gf went and got her daughter a phone on 3 although i said only Voda works ..... half the time it goes straight to voicemail .
Vodafone and O2 are generally very much the same apart from the centres of top tier cities like London and one or two other high load areas. They both have areas of two carrier 4G (LTE-A/4G+) deployed. However, O2 has more coverage whereas Vodafone's has more capacity,
EE has by far the most 4G+ coverage and it has the most capacity. So if you want speed and consistently awesome urban performance, go EE. 4G+ Speed and coverage comparison Video
In terms of coverage, EE (and 3) primarily have used high frequencies which does restrict coverage indoors slightly. However, they have a higher density of masts to make up for this.
EE and 3 have low frequency 4G (800MHz) now to boost coverage in the hardest to reach areas. EE's should be gaining a massive power up soon to make EE's coverage absolutely incredible. Afterall, it has to be incredible for the Emergency Services network (ESN)
Hi has this picture changed since posting this. I have come to the end of my o2 contract on my Note 5 so looking comparing EE verses 02 in terms of 4G+ on say a Pixel XL and also useful facilities such as:
- visual voicemail which I don't currently have.
- good tethering data speeds when I am out and about.
Hi has this picture changed since posting this. I have come to the end of my o2 contract on my Note 5 so looking comparing EE verses 02 in terms of 4G+ on say a Pixel XL and also useful facilities such as:
- visual voicemail which I don't currently have.
- good tethering data speeds when I am out and about.
Just go with EE.....
3CA deployed in major urban areas now and 800+1800CA from them soon I imagine. Plus very well targeted 1800+2600 etc.
o2 have 800+1800 and soon + 2100 but it's still only 20Mhz which is the equivalent of EE's 1800 only.
Nearly a year on from the last post... what is everyone’s opinion now? I bet a few have changed!
Vodafone’s 4G rollout has brought them to a good place but in still carrying both and find better usable data even indoors on EE.
I’m a long way indoors in a hotel tonight and have 40mbps on my EE iPhone 7 and 10mbps on Vodafone iPhone SE.
However it’s different everywhere.
True to say it's different everywhere. A year ago I wouldn't have considered Vodafone for a moment - 2G only around here, and 3G in name only in most places I visited.
In the space of the last three months I've ported my phone contract over to them from EE, and switched half my mobile broadband usage to Vodafone from EE. The improvements to their coverage in my area have been significant and have leapfrogged EE's previously paltry and unstable efforts.
For all I know EE may pull their socks up over the next few months and I may switch back, but for the moment I'm thoroughly enjoying having choice for the first time since I moved here 7 years ago.
Nearly a year on from the last post... what is everyone’s opinion now? I bet a few have changed!
Suppose I should write an update considering I wrote the last post!
Operator I'm most impressed with this year is Three to a limited extent (speaking of which L14 in a city near Maidenhead/Reading coming soon :P) . Vodafone keep snatching defeat from the jaws of victory for quite a few reasons (mostly their complete inability to impartially and objectively deploy capacity even in the western zone they control). o2 I respect as an operator and as a business but I don't see why I'd really go on them unless I was on a super rural unilateral mast from them, maybe if they do some fun things with L23/34 and deploy urban micro cells that opinion will change. EE I have mixed feelings about, on the one hand I personally have very few issues with them, they have capacity deployed broadly where needed still, my time on 4G is generally excellent, even on long trips, I find the network to be well optimised as well. The L800 is there and does make a difference but not using it as a base on rural sites feels like a waste compared to what the other three have done. Major problem is that the other three MNOs are in such a bad state at network advertising / the complete picture that EE can shout about its network and get away with it. Competition needs to seriously up its game.
I expected things to be much clearer by now, in fact id say its more hard for me to choose a network now then it ever has been, my situation doesn't help as I live in a rural area, have a rural commute to work,, work in a large town and frequently visit areas like Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool sometimes by train.
no network ticks all of these boxes well, worse still the network with the best fit seems to change all the time. mainly because the Main two networks seem to be constantly (as Lightspeed2398 put it) snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.
EE is great if you have an iPhone or certain Androids and can use there 800mhz network, but its been deployed nowhere near widely enough and my partner often has to hotspot onto my Vodafone signal when were having a meal or a drink so her iPhone will work.
Vodafone should be dogs dangly bits for me right now, but.. for some reason they're not, a few months ago it was all looking so good, speeds were up, 2g was rapidly vanishing, yet now with almost every mast upgraded, reliable coverage just isn't there, no better then 12 months ago, in fact some places are worse?? I really don't understand? if I force my phone to 4g only its unbroken most places I go yet give it free will and your on weak 3g a lot of the time with no data throughput, calls now break up on 3g where as a few months ago with less masts it was fine? train journeys are still useless. maybe when new masts come online other masts in the area are adjusted to avoid interference and this has left some holes where there weren't any previously or maybe this isn't the case and a distant mast that served an area is now blocked by a different mast, sadly I don't know enough about it all, I'm stuck with Vodafone now for 10 months , overall its good just frustrating to see coverage at home dip to below 3 and EE 2g/3g 2100mhz levels when Vodafone use 900mhz 2g/3g from the same masts, in fact EE & 3 have 800mhz from these masts which now gives excellent indoor coverage at home... all very weird.
Nearly a year on from the last post... what is everyone’s opinion now? I bet a few have changed!
Suppose I should write an update considering I wrote the last post!
Operator I'm most impressed with this year is Three to a limited extent (speaking of which L14 in a city near Maidenhead/Reading coming soon :P) . Vodafone keep snatching defeat from the jaws of victory for quite a few reasons (mostly their complete inability to impartially and objectively deploy capacity even in the western zone they control). o2 I respect as an operator and as a business but I don't see why I'd really go on them unless I was on a super rural unilateral mast from them, maybe if they do some fun things with L23/34 and deploy urban micro cells that opinion will change. EE I have mixed feelings about, on the one hand I personally have very few issues with them, they have capacity deployed broadly where needed still, my time on 4G is generally excellent, even on long trips, I find the network to be well optimised as well. The L800 is there and does make a difference but not using it as a base on rural sites feels like a waste compared to what the other three have done. Major problem is that the other three MNOs are in such a bad state at network advertising / the complete picture that EE can shout about its network and get away with it. Competition needs to seriously up its game.
I wonder how Three will rank their L14 spectrum? Currently due to limited device support, I'd wager that they'd want everyone possible to use it, so would rank it fairly high; higher maybe even than L18 (since more devices overall can use that, thus it's presumably more congested)
What do you mean by the impartial and objective capacity deployment; are VF picking areas that VF needs, ignoring areas where they're fine but O2 is in dire need of ugprades? Where in the west is this going on?
I have been with Vodafone for years and had an analogue phone with them when there was Cellnet and Vodafone and never had a problem with Vodafone that is why I keep with them. I can get a good 4G coverage in an increasing number of places now and it is rare to not get a 2G signal wherever I have been over the country. In fact I am often surprised when I am in a place I believe is miles from anywhere and I get a robust 4G signal. I see no reason to change to another supplier
Over the last few months I've begun to see the benefits of EE's 800 rollout. There are now at least 2 800 enabled sites near me, and they are both pumping really strong signals into my home and the depths of my workplace- much stronger than their 2G 1800 signal. (I'm using a VoLTE enabled S8 with EE firmware)
Throughput is around 20mbps down, so nothing on 1800 but ideal for most everyday tasks.
Over the last few months I've begun to see the benefits of EE's 800 rollout. There are now at least 2 800 enabled sites near me, and they are both pumping really strong signals into my home and the depths of my workplace- much stronger than their 2G 1800 signal. (I'm using a VoLTE enabled S8 with EE firmware)
Throughput is around 20mbps down, so nothing on 1800 but ideal for most everyday tasks.
I know I've asked the same question on the EE thread, and it's probably because I've seen plenty of locations where EE 4G800 is present, but not many where it gives "new" coverage. It seems to be giving 4G800 where otherwise you'd only have 3G2100. It sounds like you're getting much stronger signal as a result, which is the first time I've heard this. That's good, don't get me wrong!
EE 800 has given me working signal in places that U21 would be just not working and has given me unique coverage (with no GL18/U21) in a fair few locations. Nokia L08 does seem to be powered lower than Huawei L08 though, not sure exactly why on that one but it is quite interesting.
EE 800 has given me working signal in places that U21 would be just not working and has given me unique coverage (with no GL18/U21) in a fair few locations. Nokia L08 does seem to be powered lower than Huawei L08 though, not sure exactly why on that one but it is quite interesting.
Interesting! I see the same thing as well. The L800 masts in my town seem to be running at a decent power and I assume most of them are running Huawei kit as they have been 4G'd for some time. The Rural ones seem to be a bit more conservative on power and I assume running Nokia kit. Would I be right in saying also that the Nokia kit CA's with L1800 whereas the Huawei kit doesn't?
I switched from EE to vodafone simply i could not take any more off EE customer services. They were terrible to deal with. The frequently didn't collect the direct debit and never told me. Then they cut the line off. It was a nightmare paying the bill. Trying to make a payment with a card was virtually impossible. I remember tell one guy at the call centre that was was only trying to pay my bill and why was it so hard. he cut me off.
Vodafone are ok.
I switched from EE to vodafone simply i could not take any more off EE customer services. They were terrible to deal with. The frequently didn't collect the direct debit and never told me. Then they cut the line off. It was a nightmare paying the bill. Trying to make a payment with a card was virtually impossible. I remember tell one guy at the call centre that was was only trying to pay my bill and why was it so hard. he cut me off.
Vodafone are ok.
I guess it depends on your personal experience.
VF were too much for me in the end and after 10 months of virtually no signal at home I’ve left. I had to put up with them constantly telling me that there wasn’t an error in my area until they finally admitted one of the panels on the mast was broken and it’d be fixed ‘soon’ which never happened.
Their customer services was useless I’d paid my bill by direct debit for years but when I moved banks they stuffed that up. I started to make manual card payments which they conveniently lost/couldn’t see on the system which resulted in my lines being suspended. Each time I called they gave misinformation and transferred me multiple times. Three times I had to go in store to show them my bank statements so they’d unbar my service. To add to insult each time this happened they made out as if they were doing me a favor!
I had a SIMO from EE for testing which is in my iPad and I’ve added an iPhone on the 100GB tariff and I’ve not looked back. I have VoLTE, Voi-Fi and 4G almost everywhere I go and they actually manage to take my money and not lose it!
Comments
All we in the South West would say is 'Show us the F*&$%g' Money'.
Same old BS so far. Big towns and major roads.
Show us the F*&$("g MONEY.
Lyme Regis. Never mind us peasants down here in the South Hams. NO VO2 data coverage at all. Where are we? Like 15 years after Orange and Co started 3G to these places and seemed to have little problem getting it in place.
I don't care about what they say. How much money they say they are pumping in. Orange, Tmob and 3 got data rolled out pretty damned quickly and it pretty much worked in most places. Now VO2 are telling us that it all takes time. Bolloxx does it. It takes money and commitment.
Absolute waste of time, both of them. Just get it done. We are nearly 20 years on and Lyme Regis has no 3G on VO2. What an absolute frikkking farce.
I suspect that VO2 have NO intention of proper 4G coverage of the UK. They will, as history has proved, do the minimum to comply.
If they had never had the benefit of 900Mhz2G, both would have gone bust in the UK by now.
Back on topic, as I have posted in another thread, I'm on Three and got usable 3G almost everywhere, although I rarely saw 4G however. My parents on O2, on the other hand, seemed to end up on 2G most of the time. At the lodge we were staying at in Cricket St Thomas, I could get 22 Mbps down, yet they were on EDGE. Masts for all networks were next door to the site.
Similarly, my Grandparents live in Tuxford, Nottinghamshire and both O2 and Vodafone are 2G only there. I get a good 3G connection on Three however (fast upstairs, a bit slow downstairs and no service in the kitchen) and EE have 4G. Depending on your network you're either in 1996 or 2016.
To be fair to them, I've been looking at the coverage maps lately and their 3G and 4G coverage is improving- even in areas it's not for EE in some cases. My Mum let me use her phone on the way home from Sherwood Pines back to Retford on Saturday to see what the signal was like and, to be fair to O2, I did get a fair amount of 4G and a bit of working 3G as well.
In Sherwood Pines itself the data didn't work, both on 2G and then on 3G once it switiched up to it- it appears to have been a 900 Mhz mast and I got 0.45 Mbps down even on full signal. BBC News wouldn't load at all. However, once we got on the main road, a 4G signal was found with 55 Mpbs down and 12 Mpbs up. EE don't even have 4G in the OIlerton area, so a clear win for O2 here. It dropped to 3G a little later and then to 2G and no service near Clumber Park, but picked up 4G again afterwards. There was then a bit more 2G as we got into Retford and it look a while for it to switch to 3G, but it did eventually and it seemed to be usable (I didn't do any more speed tests).
I found it disappointing that I couldn't get data to work on 2G at all, and that virtually unusable 2G mast was also poor. However, that fast 4G shows that they can perform well and I have to say, I was able to use the phone to access the internet for most of the journey, and the areas of poor or no coverage were more or less the same as on my Three phone.
In some places. I agree. You can always pick out a few. I guess I am talking from a SW perspective where VO2 are still a joke. The funny thing is that I have a dual SIM phone. I have 3 kids off in all directions and my wife works so I need my phone to ring. That, in the SW means VO2. Still, to this day, your phone will ring in more places than EE/3.
But. I need a dual sim phone so that I can use data as well. I have a 3 SIM for that. Only because their 321 is seriously cheap. EE would be better.
The way I see it is that 3 have done this supervoice thing but it's not convincing as they just don't have the capacity but as soon as EE roll out 800, it will be the network of choice down here, no question if it isn't already. If you have a VOLTE phone it will be far superior to VO2 whatever. Your phone will not only ring in more places than VO2 (instantly cancelling that historic advantage), you will have fast data too.
The fact is that VO2 are not doing enough and not doing it fast enough. It's plain to see. They are still a joke in the South West and I for one have given them enough time.
VOD have had EDGE that DOESN'T WORK in Totnes for the last 10 years FFS. What are they smoking? It's not like it hasn't been reported. Read the VOD forum.
All O2 are doing down here is rolling out 3G900 with no backhaul so the map looks pretty.
Joke.
So is the coverage in Haywards Heath, 4G+ is really quick. (commuter train town to London).
No good talking about Tesco Mobile. They are an MVNO, not a network. I've lost track of which network they actually use.
They use o2 - pretty sure they always have.
Surely it would be wise to finding out before answering then would it not?
I just find it strange that you're happy to state they are an MVNO but half bake your answer.
They have exclusively been using the O2 network from day 1.
Hi has this picture changed since posting this. I have come to the end of my o2 contract on my Note 5 so looking comparing EE verses 02 in terms of 4G+ on say a Pixel XL and also useful facilities such as:
- visual voicemail which I don't currently have.
- good tethering data speeds when I am out and about.
Just go with EE.....
3CA deployed in major urban areas now and 800+1800CA from them soon I imagine. Plus very well targeted 1800+2600 etc.
o2 have 800+1800 and soon + 2100 but it's still only 20Mhz which is the equivalent of EE's 1800 only.
Have the Pixel XL, brilliant phone.
Vodafone’s 4G rollout has brought them to a good place but in still carrying both and find better usable data even indoors on EE.
I’m a long way indoors in a hotel tonight and have 40mbps on my EE iPhone 7 and 10mbps on Vodafone iPhone SE.
However it’s different everywhere.
True to say it's different everywhere. A year ago I wouldn't have considered Vodafone for a moment - 2G only around here, and 3G in name only in most places I visited.
In the space of the last three months I've ported my phone contract over to them from EE, and switched half my mobile broadband usage to Vodafone from EE. The improvements to their coverage in my area have been significant and have leapfrogged EE's previously paltry and unstable efforts.
For all I know EE may pull their socks up over the next few months and I may switch back, but for the moment I'm thoroughly enjoying having choice for the first time since I moved here 7 years ago.
Suppose I should write an update considering I wrote the last post!
Operator I'm most impressed with this year is Three to a limited extent (speaking of which L14 in a city near Maidenhead/Reading coming soon :P) . Vodafone keep snatching defeat from the jaws of victory for quite a few reasons (mostly their complete inability to impartially and objectively deploy capacity even in the western zone they control). o2 I respect as an operator and as a business but I don't see why I'd really go on them unless I was on a super rural unilateral mast from them, maybe if they do some fun things with L23/34 and deploy urban micro cells that opinion will change. EE I have mixed feelings about, on the one hand I personally have very few issues with them, they have capacity deployed broadly where needed still, my time on 4G is generally excellent, even on long trips, I find the network to be well optimised as well. The L800 is there and does make a difference but not using it as a base on rural sites feels like a waste compared to what the other three have done. Major problem is that the other three MNOs are in such a bad state at network advertising / the complete picture that EE can shout about its network and get away with it. Competition needs to seriously up its game.
no network ticks all of these boxes well, worse still the network with the best fit seems to change all the time. mainly because the Main two networks seem to be constantly (as Lightspeed2398 put it) snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.
EE is great if you have an iPhone or certain Androids and can use there 800mhz network, but its been deployed nowhere near widely enough and my partner often has to hotspot onto my Vodafone signal when were having a meal or a drink so her iPhone will work.
Vodafone should be dogs dangly bits for me right now, but.. for some reason they're not, a few months ago it was all looking so good, speeds were up, 2g was rapidly vanishing, yet now with almost every mast upgraded, reliable coverage just isn't there, no better then 12 months ago, in fact some places are worse?? I really don't understand? if I force my phone to 4g only its unbroken most places I go yet give it free will and your on weak 3g a lot of the time with no data throughput, calls now break up on 3g where as a few months ago with less masts it was fine? train journeys are still useless. maybe when new masts come online other masts in the area are adjusted to avoid interference and this has left some holes where there weren't any previously or maybe this isn't the case and a distant mast that served an area is now blocked by a different mast, sadly I don't know enough about it all, I'm stuck with Vodafone now for 10 months , overall its good just frustrating to see coverage at home dip to below 3 and EE 2g/3g 2100mhz levels when Vodafone use 900mhz 2g/3g from the same masts, in fact EE & 3 have 800mhz from these masts which now gives excellent indoor coverage at home... all very weird.
I wonder how Three will rank their L14 spectrum? Currently due to limited device support, I'd wager that they'd want everyone possible to use it, so would rank it fairly high; higher maybe even than L18 (since more devices overall can use that, thus it's presumably more congested)
What do you mean by the impartial and objective capacity deployment; are VF picking areas that VF needs, ignoring areas where they're fine but O2 is in dire need of ugprades? Where in the west is this going on?
Throughput is around 20mbps down, so nothing on 1800 but ideal for most everyday tasks.
I know I've asked the same question on the EE thread, and it's probably because I've seen plenty of locations where EE 4G800 is present, but not many where it gives "new" coverage. It seems to be giving 4G800 where otherwise you'd only have 3G2100. It sounds like you're getting much stronger signal as a result, which is the first time I've heard this. That's good, don't get me wrong!
Interesting! I see the same thing as well. The L800 masts in my town seem to be running at a decent power and I assume most of them are running Huawei kit as they have been 4G'd for some time. The Rural ones seem to be a bit more conservative on power and I assume running Nokia kit. Would I be right in saying also that the Nokia kit CA's with L1800 whereas the Huawei kit doesn't?
Vodafone are ok.
I guess it depends on your personal experience.
VF were too much for me in the end and after 10 months of virtually no signal at home I’ve left. I had to put up with them constantly telling me that there wasn’t an error in my area until they finally admitted one of the panels on the mast was broken and it’d be fixed ‘soon’ which never happened.
Their customer services was useless I’d paid my bill by direct debit for years but when I moved banks they stuffed that up. I started to make manual card payments which they conveniently lost/couldn’t see on the system which resulted in my lines being suspended. Each time I called they gave misinformation and transferred me multiple times. Three times I had to go in store to show them my bank statements so they’d unbar my service. To add to insult each time this happened they made out as if they were doing me a favor!
I had a SIMO from EE for testing which is in my iPad and I’ve added an iPhone on the 100GB tariff and I’ve not looked back. I have VoLTE, Voi-Fi and 4G almost everywhere I go and they actually manage to take my money and not lose it!