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Finally ditched Vodafone
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[Deleted User]
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After a 2 year struggle with, in my opinion, the worst mobile operator in the UK I have finally ditched Vodafone for EE. The difference really is night and day, 4G speeds in excess of 50mbps down and reliable data coverage where I was previously only able to pick up a GPRS signal with Voda. Very impressed so far.
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They're rated worst in the UK as of the end of 2013.
That is a good right up of how I find both O2 and Vodafone at the moment in most places. In Cities I've found 800MHz 4G to be quite a bit better indoors compared to 4G 1800MHz as well from the times I've compared O2 4G in Manchester to Three 4G as well. Not enough of a difference to make me switch to Vodafone/O2 yet though as Three/EE still has far superior 3G and call quality.
That's how it still is for me, very much out in the sticks. I can get VF 3G now but the performance is so crap you wouldn't really notice any difference between it and EDGE. Terrible latency and 0.5-1Mbps down at best, I suspect it's through using ancient legacy backhaul than congestion. From the company that is in a position to provide excellent backhaul from one of its own subsidiaries too.
In the same place I can get 7-8Mbps from 3 or EE, and if I drive closer to the cell sites I can easily get 20+Mbps. Even O2's 3G performance, where it exists, is quite good here.
They don't even really have the transport routes sorted. I still see people struggling away with their iPhones and mobile broadband devices on Vodafone, invariably on GPRS, while I have near constant HSPA coverage.
I gather O2 aren't great either. EE seems to be doing well, though three is good too (including some 4G) and unlimited data is a big financial draw.
But vodafone - forget it. dropped calls, dodgy data. Just a useless network
There's no denying that each of them have excellent 2G coverage, but sadly the excellent 2G coverage seemed to make both networks feel like there wasn't much need to invest heavily in 3G (and certainly not developing 3G to cope with higher data speeds than the original UMTS 384Kbps spec).
EE has, perhaps thanks to the investment from both T-Mobile and Three before EE came along, therefore ended up with the best all round network, with Three close behind and able to play the value for money card.
My experience with Vodafone is contrary to that expressed here. Throughput and call quality is the best of any network where I live and work. It maybe as a result of 4G upgrades, however when I travel further north Vodafone is the only network to maintain a 4G signal right the way through the M62 corridor.
Coverage for me is wide and fast in Manchester, that compared to EE or Three which is seeing a lot of congestion in Manchester city centre and surrounding areas. Where I live signal from Vodafone and O2 is constant and strong, EE would come third as its 3G and 2G work very well. However Three's signal is appalling round here resulting the need for a Home Signal.
It's almost as if Vodafone and O2 are starting again, and all the legacy sites should be treated as if they don't exist, for data anyway.
Given O2's licence requirement, and the benefits of 4G that should mean every network is keen to roll it out everywhere, the complaints about O2 and Vodafone today should be things of the past in a couple of years hopefully.
I am inclined to agree with you there, I have been with Vodafone for about 3 years now, I originally switched as I could get no data throughput from Orange....obviously that has now been negated somewhat by MBNL. Vodafone has always worked rather well for me in the areas I reside, even better since the network upgrades.
I can forsee a time when things like this will be a thing of the past. At some point the difference between networks will be much of a muchness and frankly I look forward to that day.
Vodafone is miles better for me than EE. HD calls on EVERY 3g-3g Voda (compatable handset) where EE rarely gave me that. Excellent voice and 3g/4g data within the city. Ironically I carry a mifi on EE for my travels but this is only till Vodafone spread the good work they have been doing into rural areas too.
What is great about EE 4g is that I can buy 6gb double speed sim cards on amazon or flea bay for £16 that last up to 90 days. Awesome.
Whats flea bay?
I'm finding that where Vodafone have decent 3G coverage, it's been considerably faster and more reliable in the last few months.
EBay.
Out in the sticks their own fibre wouldn't help them. When did you last see Cable & Wireless ducting out in the sticks?
Thanks
But why bother adding the "fle". Surely it's just longer to spell it that way.
I don't get it?
It's a term of endearment I suppose that has been in existence for years, since its very inception I believe.
Bit llike how some people use Micro$oft instead of Microsoft....
Oh ok. Learn something new everyday I guess.
Never heard it before tbh.
Anyway, back to Vodafone bashing etc...
There will always be differences between networks due to the varying investments/revenue decisions made, in the last 10 years it's all changed pretty much 3 times.
E.g. 8 years ago, Orange had the fastest and largest 3G network, and Three were dead in the water with sites which couldn't be upgraded to HSDPA and a very low revenue user base. Orange (or more accurately FT) stopped investing and rode the cash wave which that gave them, Three bit the bullet and invested in the network share with TMobile, which ended up with where we were 4 years ago, with Orange dead last, 3/Tmobile well ahead of all. 4 years later, Three are last in the LTE race and Orange (via EE) are ahead again. (And yes I appreciate the current situation isn't really Orange, but it's a big chunk of what were Orange subs). Over that period O2 got the iPhone and made a lot of money, although had to spend a lot of it on the network to keep up, Vodafone appear to have been asleep for most of this!
O2 actually spent money on their network (except for a few EDGE upgrades to support Apple's last-gen-technology-at-next-gen-prices phone)?
Between the chronic lack of 3G coverage, stuff like the data network collapsing almost weekly and grovelling apology adverts to Londoners that's news to me.
I'm not exactly in the middle of nowhere. BT will be the predominant owner of any fibre but there is at least one other (the telecoms arm of the local electricity distribution network operator, who seem to have done an Energis on the local network). Companies like Virgin must be renting fibre from them, as their fibre map and location of PoPs looks eerily similar to that of the electricity companies' one.
3/EE (whose backbone supplier is Virgin, although they may well have to subcontract bits to BT) and even O2 have managed to get decent backhaul to their nearby sites, but Vodafone's site here is a joke.
I accept that the running order of each network has changed several times over the last 10 years, I do NOT believe this will be indicative of any upgrades going forward. All the networks have committed to heavy large scale investment to bring their infrastructure up to scratch, naturally some are at a different pace than others. You say there will always be differences, if am I honest it will be minimal.
It won't be the situation ala 3G like it was a few years ago, each network is wanting to roll out to cover at least 97% of the UK indoors as I understand it. IT will use a range of technologies and frequencies to support this. I think the only difference will come not in coverage or service but in the manner its delivered. Vodafone and EE are actively looking at small cell technology to support wider coverage especially in rural areas. This would require little outlay as it would use existing infrastructure. We are likely to see some innovation over the coming years, areas that have never had 3G service will likely start seeing it over the coming few years.
Sometimes I double check it isn't my phone, but it doesn't happen with anyone else, and I don't know anyone else on Vodafone.