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3 Network any good??


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Old 30-11-2004, 19:17
Ice_Black
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Hello,

If you on 3 Network,

What the network like (Coverage excellent?)? Can you make call anywhere?

Is text message fast? or is it so slow..

What do you have good experience of 3 Network?
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Old 01-12-2004, 03:14
gavindyer
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Hi m8 - my personal thoughts on them is there a network launched to early to try to catch most subscribers quickly (another One2One mistake)
Coverage 4 2G is as any other network (talk, text ect). 3G is widely available but tends to be poor quality video often.
My biggest disopointement is with customer services - located in India - need i say more? The representive knowledge is only as good as whats on the computer screen.... and if ur not happy with there decistion practically never pass ur call to a supervisor and tend just to cut u call.
One more thing - if u happen to lock a pin on the mobile (i.e. requesting a PUK code) unlike all other networks, you have to send the mobile back to them to reset the code meaning no mobile 4 5 days. and there wap site may be free to browse but if you click a link to download something (which i did as some lead u to think its a link to a page) and imedatly stop it - will not refund any charges whats so ever for ANY reason. (my simular finger happy hand done simular on other networks, namely orange, refund imedatley.

Hope my long winded reply helps u -
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Old 01-12-2004, 16:43
Everything Goes
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Plenty of threads on this subject in this forum. Do a search.

My opinion is they are cheap & unreliable.
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Old 02-12-2004, 00:19
Mr Cable
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I am very happy with 3. Yes, customer services can be a bit of chore, but I've only had to call them 4 times in just over a year.
Don't forget, Orange are in the process of relocating several hundred customer service jobs to India too.

I would heartily recommend signing up, trying them for the 14 days and if you find they don't work for you, hand it back and cancel.
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Old 02-12-2004, 21:21
lalaland
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I am with Three as well and have just renewed my contract after 14 months or so (waited for a new handset to be released).

I am extremely happy with them.

The price is right at 12 1/2 hours any time any network minutes for £35 per month (moved up a tarrif this month to this) and my bills never go above the line rental for calls, just the odd text every now and then.

Signal is a lot better than it used to be 14 months back. I never drop calls anymore, the signal is 3G most of the time and the call quality has vastly improved too.

I recommend Three to my family and friends and so far I have signed up 2 mates and 3 family members. All of whom are happy like me.

The only grumble I have is their Indian call centre that does appear pants, but if you call the executive office number you get a nice friendly Scottish person that knows exactly what they are talking about.

Like any network there are some areas that don't have as good a signal as others, but this is the same with any network (Voda is pants around here, worse one of the lot).

I use mine for personal and business use and it doesn't let me down anymore.

I admit back at the start, or even 14 months back, it was crap and I was gutted that I'd signed up. But I kept on at them and they've improved a million times over.

I am one of the many happy Three users and we are growing in number.

At the end of the day, try it. If you don't like it take it back before 14 days. No problem.
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Old 03-12-2004, 22:43
3glasgow
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Hi, The 8120 will stay on the 2.5G network till you finish the call then it will hunt for 3G coverage.
Three's network is good, its the handsets that are the issue.
Remember this is an evolving technology which will get as good as the established ones in the near future.

So go on buy your 8120-half price line rental ie 15.00 for 500 x-net mins and 100 texts u cant go wrong.

Oh and customer services are in glasgow with india being 1st line contact

3Glasgow
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Old 03-12-2004, 23:12
3glasgow
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Im afraid your wrong about the wait for a puk code.
Customer services will give you it over the phone.
If you want to bypass india-email customer.services@three.co.uk and state you want a callback and a glasgow advisor will call you.Granted its about a week turnaround but better than talking to someone abroad.

3glasgow
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Old 03-12-2004, 23:16
3glasgow
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Again i disagree, you are given plenty warning before downloading about the price. you only pay for full downloads when received by handset.

3glasgow
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Old 03-12-2004, 23:54
blueghost
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excellent for voice mins, £4.99 for 500 x-net any time mins + 100 texts, can't be beaten. i live in a decent signal area though, don;t tuch the downloads as they are a waste of money.
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Old 04-12-2004, 00:04
steeev
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Originally Posted by blueghost
excellent for voice mins, £4.99 for 500 x-net any time mins + 100 texts, can't be beaten. i live in a decent signal area though, don;t tuch the downloads as they are a waste of money.
though for the first month of your contract, or first month on payg, a lot of the content is free to download, so its worth checking out just to try out all the features of your phone, though of course they are just trying to get you hooked
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Old 04-12-2004, 02:07
Dykeolicous
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I have always been on bt cellnet/o2 (apart from a stupid month on one-2-one) and am considering going back.

Myself and my gf bought NEC e228's in October when they were £30 (+£15top-up) because we wanted to get a video phone & it was a cheap opportunity to try it. The phone itself is great. Love the screen - picture quality is excellent compared to my previous phone (nokia 3300). Though hate the fact there is no decent warning of low battery - the phone just dies

But the constant problems with the service is irrating the hell out of us. Everyday there is a problem. Either u cant email, or u cant get on the 3 "wap" service. It maybe a free service, but to pay for working service at present looks more favourable.

Gonna stick with it a bit longer in the hope it will inprove. But in all honesty think will end up returning to o2 next year.
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Old 04-12-2004, 10:09
lalaland
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Originally Posted by 3glasgow
Again i disagree, you are given plenty warning before downloading about the price. you only pay for full downloads when received by handset.

3glasgow
Got to agree with him on this one, I have never accidently downloaded charged content before as the price is on the screen and I think the last time I downloaded an angry kid I even got a confirmation screen on my phone first, so it's not something to be done by mistake.

3galsgow, are you a member of the Three CS team in glasgow or someone that likes Three?

Also, if you are from CS in Glasgow, are you here officially or just unofficially?

(Nice of you to be here to answer questions though)
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Old 04-12-2004, 10:09
wavejockglw
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I've been on 3 sine June 2003 and am on my 4th handset now. It has improved a bit but its still a work in progress and you only get what you pay for. The calls do drop regularly, even in the heart of big cities where the coverage should not be a problem. Services (wap stuff) are very slow and a bit of a hit and miss and video downloads/calling are very expensive.

The 14 day trial can be useful but if you do decide to contract with 3 remember what you are paying when things dont work too well. If your mobile service is used for business or vital personal contact then consider carefully how the known issues might impact on you. If you are a leisure user then call dropping and texts going astray should not be too concerning, shrug your shoulders and grin and bear the drawbacks whilst you save on rental.
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Old 04-12-2004, 13:11
nodnol
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Originally Posted by 3glasgow
you only pay for full downloads when received by handset.

3glasgow

Wrong.
3 send me probably about 3 video mails each week with a link to download whatever it is they are sending(usually music vids).
I clicked the link once, realised it was costing me £1.50 and hit cancel when the download was about 15% in.

It still charged me £1.50.........So I called cc got through to India and argued the toss with them for 10 mins, and they credited my phone back with £1 as a goodwill gesture.

So, you will still pay for part downloads in full. Well, I was anyway.

I'm also growing on 3, they are improving, but having used the 228 for a while now, it's full of bugs, and I am going to buy an lg when they drop the prices.
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Old 04-12-2004, 13:43
Ben1900
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i've had 4 phones on Three and i wont bother with them again...

i'm quite happy with my Nokia 7250i on O2 now
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Old 04-12-2004, 14:06
craigr98
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I too am thinking of changing. Currently Im on Orange Everyday 50 - which gets you loads of evening minutes and 0870 and 0845 in your free minutes and I also get unlimited WAP for £4 a month - BUT I get no x-net minutes and text messages.
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Old 04-12-2004, 15:05
nodnol
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Its been said a million times already - 3 is still a baby, with lots of growing to do, and lots of potential.

I would try it and see how you get on.

Its the cheapest payg I've seen on a £25 card.
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Old 04-12-2004, 19:37
lalaland
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Originally Posted by wavejockglw
The calls do drop regularly, even in the heart of big cities where the coverage should not be a problem.
I would have thought wavejockglw, from our previous discussions on DS that such a broad comment about calls dropping regularly in the heart of big cities would seem incorrect to you.

As I mentioned before in my posts, I use mine in many large cities (and some smaller areas) and the only problems I have experienced with calls dropping is in Scotland, which funnily enough is where you are living. In the rest of the UK that I travel to it's fine. I was even in a small village in Rhondda (Wales) in some valley last week and got a FULL 3G signal and no dropping of calls either.

If I visit Ms Lalaland's family in Scotland then the Three handset isn't as good as the signals not up to much (T Mobile seems to work very well up there), but all networks have some areas where they cover better or worse than others.

Originally Posted by wavejockglw
The 14 day trial can be useful but if you do decide to contract with 3 remember what you are paying when things dont work too well.
Also remember that there are many users like me that are paying for a top notch service and are very happy.

Originally Posted by wavejockglw
If your mobile service is used for business or vital personal contact then consider carefully how the known issues might impact on you. If you are a leisure user then call dropping and texts going astray should not be too concerning, shrug your shoulders and grin and bear the drawbacks whilst you save on rental.
Like I said before, I and others employed in the same company use Three for personal and business use due to their great tarrifs and suffer no problems at all. The benefits are of course the cheap line rental and inclusive minutes.

I've honestly never had a text go astray and didn't realise this was a problem with Three and can't think of any drawbacks on the Three network any longer, since they improved and are continuing to do so (ok, maybe the indian call centre is pants, but even my home insurer uses an indian call centre that takes a while to get them to understand your issues).

It would seem wavejockglw, from your earlier comments in other threads where you claim that Three use different technology up in Scotland for their network (and I don't know either way) that it may not be worth considering being a Three customer while in Scotland, but for those of you that live elsewhere in the UK I would say go for it.
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Old 04-12-2004, 19:38
lalaland
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Nodnol, did you subscribe to a service or alert or something?

I don't get these messages on Three and only get charged if I download content from them.
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Old 04-12-2004, 20:10
wavejockglw
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3 do use differnt infrastructure in Northern England/Scotland (Ericsson) and in the South (NEC). (Not sure on the exact details but 3 have confirmed that this is the case in the UK.

Not worth arguing but on the business side of things, 3 dont offer a product currently and you can draw your own conclusions from that. If the product was something as reliable as the rest dont you think they would be out there trying to compete to get as much business as they could. Then again would you be happy if your doctor had a 3 hadset and you needed him? I know I would'nt!
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Old 04-12-2004, 20:15
lalaland
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Originally Posted by wavejockglw
3 do use differnt infrastructure in Northern England/Scotland (Ericsson) and in the South (NEC). (Not sure on the exact details but 3 have confirmed that this is the case in the UK.
Maybe this is why you seem to get dropped calls in Scotland and why I don't down here the England and Wales?

Originally Posted by wavejockglw
Not worth arguing but on the business side of things, 3 dont offer a product currently and you can draw your own conclusions from that. If the product was something as reliable as the rest dont you think they would be out there trying to compete to get as much business as they could.
We already use Three for business use, on the same tarrif's available to the public as they are such good value and work out better than some of the corporate deals that our company had from other providers. Do Three really need to offer any further tarrifs for business only use??

Originally Posted by wavejockglw
Then again would you be happy if your doctor had a 3 hadset and you needed him? I know I would'nt!
I wouldn't be too concerned about what phone he had. I know that one of the doctors at my local GP practice doesn't believe in them and leaves his at home (he commented when he saw mine) so I guess it wouldn't make much difference to me really.
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Old 04-12-2004, 21:05
nodnol
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Originally Posted by lalaland
Nodnol, did you subscribe to a service or alert or something?

I don't get these messages on Three and only get charged if I download content from them.

lalaland - No, I havent subscribed to anything on 3, ever.

It basically comes through as a text alert, so I open it up the usual way, and the vid will start playing automatically.

When its done, a link shows up. Click it, and your charged.

Or, again comes through as a text message offering this music vid, that game or whatever, with a link at the bottom.

What I was saying is that even if you click the link then straight away cancel it, then you are charged the full £1.50 even after being cancelled, and with no vid/song or whatever.

I have learnt my lesson now though, and never ever click links sent by 3, they usually end up costing..
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Old 04-12-2004, 22:04
wavejockglw
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Businesses and public sector organisations demand a very much better network performance than 3 have available presently. Accept that!

If 3's product was good enough it would be pitched to companies and public services. Price is an issue and UMTS (as 3 keep telling everyone) is supposedly cheaper than GSM, but they choose not to compete sticking to the personal communications market where measured performance is unlikely to become an issue. If you use 3 for business and it works then fine but you obviously have more faith in the product than its owners.

Voice calls, texts, MMS and services are less relaible on 3 (so says JD Power and OFCOM) and the price they realise from customers reflects that (they know what the true value of the service is).
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Old 04-12-2004, 22:25
lalaland
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Originally Posted by wavejockglw
Businesses and public sector organisations demand a very much better network performance than 3 have available presently. Accept that!
Wavejockglw, I accept that many of our employees are currently using it for essential business communications and personal use and that the network is not letting us down at all.

As we work for a business then this shows the network IS providing the performance required.

Originally Posted by wavejockglw
If 3's product was good enough it would be pitched to companies and public services. Price is an issue and UMTS (as 3 keep telling everyone) is supposedly cheaper than GSM, but they choose not to compete sticking to the personal communications market where measured performance is unlikely to become an issue. If you use 3 for business and it works then fine but you obviously have more faith in the product than its owners.
Like I said before, why offer a business specific tarrif when the standard tarrifs are excellent value and beat some of our corporate deals that we had in the past???

I don't see this as them having any less faith in their product than me or the other happy users in our company.

Originally Posted by wavejockglw
Voice calls, texts, MMS and services are less relaible on 3 (so says JD Power and OFCOM) and the price they realise from customers reflects that (they know what the true value of the service is).
Like I said before, my calls haven't dropped for ages, I have never known a text or MMS go astray, they always seem to arive, even when the network was bad (although cross network MMS is a recent addition to the network)

All the users I know on Three, apart from one girl with a faulty handset issue, are all extremely happy with Three and recommend it to others.

The network was pants when I started using them 14/15 months back, but it's got a lot better since and it's almost spot on now (apart from when I visit people in Scotland as I stated before, which pretty much matches your issues living in Scotland).
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Old 05-12-2004, 12:11
rossonthenet
 
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I've just joined 3 after much haste (left them from o2) and am very pleased so far. Never dropped a call yet, and spent over 2 hours on the phone, but I'm in the centre of Glasgow. Txt/MMS etc all work fine (and come through quicker than o2, which seems to be having terrible txt/mms problems of late).

At home (i'm at Uni in Glasgow) i only get 2.5G signal, but can deal with that for the 2 months of the year i'm there, however, 15 miles up the road i get a 3G Signal.

Customer service are fine, i've never had a problem with them (and called them 4 times!).

Generally, 4 people in my hall (12 sharing together) are on 3 and none of them have had problems, and they come from Fife, London and Germany!
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