Is anyone actually surprised that 4GEE has turned out to be rubbish?
I think the problem is they overset people's expectations by saying watch HD movies and download this and that. Speeds wise you can do that, but allowance wise you wouldn't be able to watch much on those data packages.
People were saying in threads here it's going to be unlimited, I said no chance.
People said it was going to be not much more than 3G prices, and I gave them a price range that it was likely to be.
Some even said transmitters would be pelting out stupid power levels and the coverage would be significantly better and I pointed out that wouldn't be the case as there are limits imposed by Ofcom, and that the distance tests were only experiments and wouldn't be used in this kind of deployment.
The reality is the cells are on the same kind of power levels, they are probably sharing backhaul with 3G. I don't know if they've done a 2x10 or what in terms of deployment which could impact speeds. It was always going to be expensive initially and it was not going to be unlimited.
It is faster than 3G and there will be plenty of high earners who don't really care about the price and will buy it anyway because it's a bit better than 3G. Those that are a bit more sensible will probably wait another 9 months and see what's on offer from the whole market and compare coverage, speeds, performance and costs between all the providers.
If you look back at what EE has done with the merging of two networks and the improvements in speed on 3G then yes even though this roll out has left a bitter taste in some people's mouths I cannot see why when you look back at what they have done so far why they won't strive to make it the best 4G network out there.
Expectations like Thine Wonk said where indeed very high and the stupidly low data caps are not going to help matters specially when they get floods of complaints about people hitting their limit within days of getting their new phone/dongle so EE have a lot to fix PR wise and a lot to do to meet customers expectations for now and the future.
And one added bonus for EE is they do 12 month contracts so I signed up to move away from Orange (very impressed with the coverage btw) so I can get a Lumia 920 and if I am not happy after 12 months I can go to O2 or Vodafone without any issues.
Don't forget without EE pushing and pushing we would simply NOT have 4G in the country before 2013!.
Don't forget without EE pushing and pushing we would simply NOT have 4G in the country before 2013!.
This and the high prices were always going to be the case, early adopters always get shafted to a degree... least they are getting cash back so they can invest. Going by the cities i've checked with they are upgrading nearly every mast that is 2G & 3G.. sooo the coverage will be pretty good shortly. Add in if they get some 800 spectrum i still think it will be the 4G network to join. The roll out for EE was at short notice from Ofcom remember.
What everyone is forgetting is the speeds being seen are way faster than 3G in a similar circumstances. Too many people are focusing on the 35Mbps speeds we saw on the initial launch tests.
Indoors with a 1 bar signal 3G HSPA+ rarely gets over 6-8 Meg.
In the same location with the same signal level LTE is often achieving 18-20 Meg. This is a big difference.
Also as I keep saying the coverage should be better from any given cell. Running at the same frequency and power levels as 2G you should get LTE indoors where you currently get a 2G signal but not a 3G signal. Has anyone experienced this?
What everyone is forgetting is the speeds being seen are way faster than 3G in a similar circumstances. Too many people are focusing on the 35Mbps speeds we saw on the initial launch tests.
Indoors with a 1 bar signal 3G HSPA+ rarely gets over 6-8 Meg.
In the same location with the same signal level LTE is often achieving 18-20 Meg. This is a big difference.
Also as I keep saying the coverage should be better from any given cell. Running at the same frequency and power levels as 2G you should get LTE indoors where you currently get a 2G signal but not a 3G signal. Has anyone experienced this?
Well I have just ordered my EE 4GEE sim and tariff and I can't even get 4GEE yet. I pay £46 p/m for 3Gb data anyway so it makes no odds to me when I did it except for that you have to start a new 24 month contract so the quicker I did it, the quicker my new contract started! Bring on the 4GEE Belfast roll out!!
Also, you get a free swappable with EE including the free Sky channels which DON'T come out of your data bundle. I was using my own data for Sky Go which I now don't have to do as soon as my new sim gets here in a few days
EDIT: Will be closer to end of 2012 before the Sky channels are available but even still, it's a good deal
Right -I'm thinking along the same lines having got iPhone 5 a month ago with T-mobile, so perhaps you can help me.
So far, I have found T-Mobile (rebranded onscreen as EE) woeful, for both voice and data. Failed calls and dropped calls are the norm. Data speeds are unbelievably poor -speedtest generally returns a ping in the hundreds and download is frequently unmeasurable. I can't even download apps when out and about in BT1 never mind where I live in BT 17!
So -if I switch to EE proper, will it make any difference? Is the network and its performance exactly the same? I have asked on Twitter but the EE account seems to be nothing more than a robot with no interaction going on.
Culabula: have you contacted TMUK about your issues? EE 4G will use a different APN so will most likely bypass a lot of the issues your seeing with data. It also seems (going by experience) you are connecting to a rouge Orange cell site with little data throughput.
Try selecting EE in the carrier menu once it's done a search. then do a speediest using say the preston server...
As for the failed calls etc.. contact TMUK direct.
Also are you on the latest iOS 6.0.1?
Right -I'm thinking along the same lines having got iPhone 5 a month ago with T-mobile, so perhaps you can help me.
So far, I have found T-Mobile (rebranded onscreen as EE) woeful, for both voice and data. Failed calls and dropped calls are the norm. Data speeds are unbelievably poor -speedtest generally returns a ping in the hundreds and download is frequently unmeasurable. I can't even download apps when out and about in BT1 never mind where I live in BT 17!
So -if I switch to EE proper, will it make any difference? Is the network and its performance exactly the same? I have asked on Twitter but the EE account seems to be nothing more than a robot with no interaction going on.
I had exactly the same problem as you from day one of the launch of the iPhone 5 on 3G until a few days ago. I wasn't sure what the problem was as I was new to T-mobile, the ping was around 500 and the iPhone 5 speed was worse than my 3GS I had with O2. Selecting a website would take around 30 seconds to load. I wasn't sure if it was down to T Mobile, a bug with iOS 6, or a faulty phone.
In the end I connected my phone to the computer and wiped it via iTunes, then when it started up I chose not to load the backup but start the phone as new. My phone is now completely different, it has a normal ping and fast download speeds. It might not work for you, but it certainly did for me.
Culabula: have you contacted TMUK about your issues? EE 4G will use a different APN so will most likely bypass a lot of the issues your seeing with data. It also seems (going by experience) you are connecting to a rouge Orange cell site with little data throughput.
Try selecting EE in the carrier menu once it's done a search. then do a speediest using say the preston server...
As for the failed calls etc.. contact TMUK direct.
Also are you on the latest iOS 6.0.1?
I can answer most of your questions with yes....also called into EE in Belfast today who also admitted to being in the dark. Anyone know the EE APN?
I had exactly the same problem as you from day one of the launch of the iPhone 5 on 3G until a few days ago. I wasn't sure what the problem was as I was new to T-mobile, the ping was around 500 and the iPhone 5 speed was worse than my 3GS I had with O2. Selecting a website would take around 30 seconds to load. I wasn't sure if it was down to T Mobile, a bug with iOS 6, or a faulty phone.
In the end I connected my phone to the computer and wiped it via iTunes, then when it started up I chose not to load the backup but start the phone as new. My phone is now completely different, it has a normal ping and fast download speeds. It might not work for you, but it certainly did for me.
Hmmm. Well, I always set up all my iPhones as new and this is actually my second iPhone 5 as I had it swapped out in the Apple Store (for no real good reason except that I was getting nowhere with TMUK). Exactly the same performance which lays the blame squarely at TMUK's feet. Also, did I mention that I get the divert symbol on each restart?
Who in their right mind would pay EE £36 a month for 500MB of data on an LTE network.
LTE is about fast mobile data to watch movies, TV, enjoy multimedia according to EE, but with 500MB that is not possible. A bit like being given a sports car and an empty motorway with a litre of fuel...
Who in their right mind would pay EE £36 a month for 500MB of data on an LTE network.
LTE is about fast mobile data to watch movies, TV, enjoy multimedia according to EE, but with 500MB that is not possible. A bit like being given a sports car and an empty motorway with a litre of fuel.
EE seem to think that consumers are uneducated idiots.
Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel had a similar problem the other day
Hmm. replaced the T-Mobile APN with everywhere on my iPad (but left username and password because I don't know what EE's are) and it continues to work fine. Cannot edit an APN on iPhone though with t-Mobile.
I'm wondering why O2 & Voda shut the hell up awfully quick.. could it be along with coverage restrictions EE was also told to have certain pricing/lack of data allowance or that EE used that as part of the bargaining to get O2 & Voda to fall in line. Deliberately make their packages unattractive until the auction is over. As Three & Voda have went hardcore on marketing the price of data from day one like they knew.
I get 17mbps down most of the time on 3G and I have a truly unlimited data plan with T-Mobile which includes tethering, so I'm happy paying £36 a month for that!
I'm wondering why O2 & Voda shut the hell up awfully quick.. could it be along with coverage restrictions EE was also told to have certain pricing/lack of data allowance or that EE used that as part of the bargaining to get O2 & Voda to fall in line. Deliberately make their packages unattractive until the auction is over. As Three & Voda have went hardcore on marketing the price of data from day one like they knew.
O2, who have stayed quiet are probably being clever as any advertising is only drawing attention to the fact that they can’t offer a transitional contract because they don’t own the right spectrum yet.
EE are quoted as saying they think the prices are keen and less than some European carriers for 4G.
Enders Analysis (a mobile market analysis company) said that they don't think EE will have much uptake and that O2/ Voda won't be that worried.
Voda spent 4.5 million on ads in the newspapers that not all 4G is alike and theirs will be better for in building coverage and that they own Cable and Wireless so have access to their own fibre backbone.
My thoughts on that Voda statement
Whilst that's true does it matter? there's also BT and what was NTL broadcast, now Virgin Wholesale that also have a fibre backbone and operators can pay to use it.
Operating your own doesn't come free as C&W cost Vodafone 1BN and it was a struggling company with very poor performance in the last decade, so it's still costing Vodafone a lot of money. I fail to see much of a benefit really, maybe a tiny extra margin, but not if C&W is in a mess, which it was.
Comments
I think the problem is they overset people's expectations by saying watch HD movies and download this and that. Speeds wise you can do that, but allowance wise you wouldn't be able to watch much on those data packages.
People were saying in threads here it's going to be unlimited, I said no chance.
People said it was going to be not much more than 3G prices, and I gave them a price range that it was likely to be.
Some even said transmitters would be pelting out stupid power levels and the coverage would be significantly better and I pointed out that wouldn't be the case as there are limits imposed by Ofcom, and that the distance tests were only experiments and wouldn't be used in this kind of deployment.
The reality is the cells are on the same kind of power levels, they are probably sharing backhaul with 3G. I don't know if they've done a 2x10 or what in terms of deployment which could impact speeds. It was always going to be expensive initially and it was not going to be unlimited.
It is faster than 3G and there will be plenty of high earners who don't really care about the price and will buy it anyway because it's a bit better than 3G. Those that are a bit more sensible will probably wait another 9 months and see what's on offer from the whole market and compare coverage, speeds, performance and costs between all the providers.
Expectations like Thine Wonk said where indeed very high and the stupidly low data caps are not going to help matters specially when they get floods of complaints about people hitting their limit within days of getting their new phone/dongle so EE have a lot to fix PR wise and a lot to do to meet customers expectations for now and the future.
And one added bonus for EE is they do 12 month contracts so I signed up to move away from Orange (very impressed with the coverage btw) so I can get a Lumia 920 and if I am not happy after 12 months I can go to O2 or Vodafone without any issues.
Don't forget without EE pushing and pushing we would simply NOT have 4G in the country before 2013!.
This and the high prices were always going to be the case, early adopters always get shafted to a degree... least they are getting cash back so they can invest. Going by the cities i've checked with they are upgrading nearly every mast that is 2G & 3G.. sooo the coverage will be pretty good shortly. Add in if they get some 800 spectrum i still think it will be the 4G network to join. The roll out for EE was at short notice from Ofcom remember.
what improvements?.here its gone slower (Probs to prioritise 4g traffic)
Yes,
http://imgur.com/983Kf
Indoors with a 1 bar signal 3G HSPA+ rarely gets over 6-8 Meg.
In the same location with the same signal level LTE is often achieving 18-20 Meg. This is a big difference.
Also as I keep saying the coverage should be better from any given cell. Running at the same frequency and power levels as 2G you should get LTE indoors where you currently get a 2G signal but not a 3G signal. Has anyone experienced this?
Best test of coverage will be on a phone.
Not in my case, 3g is faster. alot faster.
Right -I'm thinking along the same lines having got iPhone 5 a month ago with T-mobile, so perhaps you can help me.
So far, I have found T-Mobile (rebranded onscreen as EE) woeful, for both voice and data. Failed calls and dropped calls are the norm. Data speeds are unbelievably poor -speedtest generally returns a ping in the hundreds and download is frequently unmeasurable. I can't even download apps when out and about in BT1 never mind where I live in BT 17!
So -if I switch to EE proper, will it make any difference? Is the network and its performance exactly the same? I have asked on Twitter but the EE account seems to be nothing more than a robot with no interaction going on.
Try selecting EE in the carrier menu once it's done a search. then do a speediest using say the preston server...
As for the failed calls etc.. contact TMUK direct.
Also are you on the latest iOS 6.0.1?
I had exactly the same problem as you from day one of the launch of the iPhone 5 on 3G until a few days ago. I wasn't sure what the problem was as I was new to T-mobile, the ping was around 500 and the iPhone 5 speed was worse than my 3GS I had with O2. Selecting a website would take around 30 seconds to load. I wasn't sure if it was down to T Mobile, a bug with iOS 6, or a faulty phone.
In the end I connected my phone to the computer and wiped it via iTunes, then when it started up I chose not to load the backup but start the phone as new. My phone is now completely different, it has a normal ping and fast download speeds. It might not work for you, but it certainly did for me.
I can answer most of your questions with yes....also called into EE in Belfast today who also admitted to being in the dark. Anyone know the EE APN?
Hmmm. Well, I always set up all my iPhones as new and this is actually my second iPhone 5 as I had it swapped out in the Apple Store (for no real good reason except that I was getting nowhere with TMUK). Exactly the same performance which lays the blame squarely at TMUK's feet. Also, did I mention that I get the divert symbol on each restart?
Brilliant!
Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel had a similar problem the other day
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/formula1/20193545
Still there will be some people who sign up for 4G just because its 4G so it must be better :rolleyes:
Isn't that the same Apn I'm on now with Orange iPhone extra?
My, they're a witty shower.
Hmm. replaced the T-Mobile APN with everywhere on my iPad (but left username and password because I don't know what EE's are) and it continues to work fine. Cannot edit an APN on iPhone though with t-Mobile.
O2, who have stayed quiet are probably being clever as any advertising is only drawing attention to the fact that they can’t offer a transitional contract because they don’t own the right spectrum yet.
EE are quoted as saying they think the prices are keen and less than some European carriers for 4G.
Enders Analysis (a mobile market analysis company) said that they don't think EE will have much uptake and that O2/ Voda won't be that worried.
Voda spent 4.5 million on ads in the newspapers that not all 4G is alike and theirs will be better for in building coverage and that they own Cable and Wireless so have access to their own fibre backbone.
My thoughts on that Voda statement
Whilst that's true does it matter? there's also BT and what was NTL broadcast, now Virgin Wholesale that also have a fibre backbone and operators can pay to use it.
Operating your own doesn't come free as C&W cost Vodafone 1BN and it was a struggling company with very poor performance in the last decade, so it's still costing Vodafone a lot of money. I fail to see much of a benefit really, maybe a tiny extra margin, but not if C&W is in a mess, which it was.
http://www.mobilenewscwp.co.uk/2012/11/05/business-watch-battle-begins-for-control-of-the-uk-4g-market/
If so, Vodafone's in building statement doesn't mean much.