[carguy143]

Hi all. I'm posting this from personal experience but it looks like Three's currently going through a huge push for DC-HSPA upgrades at the moment. I've checked three postcodes in the north west which shows their "superfast internet" is available. One of the postcodes is a shocker as it's the middle of nowhere. Up until two days ago these postcodes were showing their fast internet as being unavailable.

Postcodes checked:

PR25 2UN (Leyland)
LA2 0DY (Just outside Cockerham, by the sea)
BB1 4LR (Rishton)

Has anyone else noticed any recent changes on their coverage checker and would they like to share their experiences here? I won't be home til 7pm so cannot check my postcode til later as the upgrade has been done today according to the coverage checker and the 2nd line tech agent i spoke to.

[Aye Up]

3 is in the processing of overhauling its network I believe this is being done in conjunction with EE parallel to their LTE expansion plans on the 1800Mhz range. It was reported some time back that now 3 has its own allocation of 1800 spectrum it isn't too worried about the coming 4G auction of the 800 range, as it can now offer DC-HSPA to most of the country and they argue rightly that it would provide speeds comparable to that of 4G LTE that EE is deploying right now.

[carguy143]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aye Up

3 is in the processing of overhauling its network I believe this is being done in conjunction with EE parallel to their LTE expansion plans on the 1800Mhz range. It was reported some time back that now 3 has its own allocation of 1800 spectrum it isn't too worried about the coming 4G auction of the 800 range, as it can now offer DC-HSPA to most of the country and they argue rightly that it would provide speeds comparable to that of 4G LTE that EE is deploying right now.

Yeah i've read all the information about the upgrades but i haven't seen much action on it so i was wondering if anyone has experienced these faster speeds for themselves. It's definitely good news for 3 and their customers though. I'm sure it will be fast enough for most people's needs.

[The Lord Lucan]

The recent purchase of 1800 has nothing to do with the DC-HSDPA roll out.

The LTE upgrades of EE sites isn't totally syncd up with Three's roll out but yes it is correct a large proportion of LTE EE sites are getting DC from both 3/EE. However the roll out for both EE & Three of DC is ahead of that of LTE. The coverage checker on Three & EE were recently updated to show the updates done. Bare in mind though a proportion of the LTE sites are not 3G sites (ie never going to get DC) because they are 2G and LTE 1800 only sites.

DC is being rolled out on 2100 masts. Not all sites are dual masts.

[carguy143]

Well I'm back at PR25 2UN and I'm getting close to 18 down and 3 up and my phone isn't even showing as being connected as DC-HSPA. It's a nexus 4.

[Aye Up]

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Lord Lucan

The recent purchase of 1800 has nothing to do with the DC-HSDPA roll out.
.

I didn't say it was, I was merely raising a point that H3G aren't too worried about the coming auction given they have 1800 spectrum now.

DC-HSPA is a very good tool for them to use against so called LTE when speeds are comparable if not better. I was using an EE sim in my ipad and it was only receiving around 12Mb on LTE viz-a-vi Three on DC-HSPA it was averaging 19-21Mb on a low signal.

Three seems to be better prepared for the oncoming 4G revolution than most other providers. EE is playing catchup in that sense by upgrading most of their backhaul to 1Gb links.

[jabbamk1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aye Up

I didn't say it was, I was merely raising a point that H3G aren't too worried about the coming auction given they have 1800 spectrum now.

DC-HSPA is a very good tool for them to use against so called LTE when speeds are comparable if not better. I was using an EE sim in my ipad and it was only receiving around 12Mb on LTE viz-a-vi Three on DC-HSPA it was averaging 19-21Mb on a low signal.

Three seems to be better prepared for the oncoming 4G revolution than most other providers. EE is playing catchup in that sense by upgrading most of their backhaul to 1Gb links.

Someone works for three

But I do have to agree. Three's aggressive role out of dc-hspa+ has been much better than o2/voda and at the moment they are on track for 90% coverage by the end of the year.

So that's probably wjy the coverage checked is being updated all the time. Same applies to EE

[DevonBloke]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aye Up

I didn't say it was, I was merely raising a point that H3G aren't too worried about the coming auction given they have 1800 spectrum now.

DC-HSPA is a very good tool for them to use against so called LTE when speeds are comparable if not better. I was using an EE sim in my ipad and it was only receiving around 12Mb on LTE viz-a-vi Three on DC-HSPA it was averaging 19-21Mb on a low signal.

Three seems to be better prepared for the oncoming 4G revolution than most other providers. EE is playing catchup in that sense by upgrading most of their backhaul to 1Gb links.

I don't see how they are better prepared. 3G is 3G, not 4G.
DC is all very fine but it uses bandwith from two cells. That doesn't increase capacity, it reduces it. As more and more people move to 3G, speeds will reduce unless they build a lot more cells. Three have some 1800 but probably not enough for the future.
On the other hand they might be being clever possibly by, rolling out the 1800, skipping this auction and waiting for 700Mhz/LTE Advanced/5G.
All will become clear after these auctions I guess.

[el_bardos]

LTE carriers are scalable up to 20MHz, which is more than they've bought at 1800. That's before we even start thinking about LTE-A. They will need at least that much spectrum to offer higher speeds and capacity in the future.
Three also have no 2G network, so their current spectrum holding is pretty small overall and they're not likely to be able to refarm 3G frequencies any time soon.

All in all, I'd say they have more than a small interest in the auction.

[old bill2]

I have just upgraded to a HTC 8x on 3. I use a EE SGS3 LTE phone for business use and the best I can get in about 10 Meg. (non 4G area) The HTC on 3 gives me good speeds like this most of the time.
http://www.speedtest.net/wp/240970.png

When 4G does reach me I am sure it will be very quick. But for the time being 15-20 meg seems enough.

[gold fire 201]

Quote:

Originally Posted by carguy143

Hi all. I'm posting this from personal experience but it looks like Three's currently going through a huge push for DC-HSPA upgrades at the moment. I've checked three postcodes in the north west which shows their "superfast internet" is available. One of the postcodes is a shocker as it's the middle of nowhere. Up until two days ago these postcodes were showing their fast internet as being unavailable.

Postcodes checked:

PR25 2UN (Leyland)
LA2 0DY (Just outside Cockerham, by the sea)
BB1 4LR (Rishton)

Has anyone else noticed any recent changes on their coverage checker and would they like to share their experiences here? I won't be home til 7pm so cannot check my postcode til later as the upgrade has been done today according to the coverage checker and the 2nd line tech agent i spoke to.

Seem`s like they are my part of south london is now enabled for it.Just have to wait for three to sell the galaxy note 2 or have to wait for the note 3 lol.

[The Lord Lucan]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aye Up

EE is playing catchup in that sense by upgrading most of their backhaul to 1Gb links.

I think you'll find MBNL is upgrading EE & Three sites with 1Gb backhaul for EE & Three to share. No catch up at all.