Did anyone see it?

What has happened to Vodafone?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006...leave-contract


The BBC quote Vodafone saying the network simply can't cope, and to wait for 4G!

link?

Yeah i saw that last night! Pretty shocking!

Updated the original post with a link.

I'd recommend you watch the video, the BBC reporter tried to load bbc.co.uk and after 2 minutes gave up. They drove around London for 15 minutes, couldn't receive an incoming call and said the service was quote "pretty awful", could make calls but not receive them and the internet was quote "painfully slow".

Vodafone's official response was they they just can't cope.

Cheers. You'd think Vodafone would be the best network out there but they really haven't been up to scratch recently. And according to rootmetrics and vodafones own forum it's pretty much a nationwide issue.

is 4G just a "wing and a prayer" for Vodafone or will it seriously make a big difference to the current situation.
I must admit watching that on watchdog really suprised me when they said they just carnt cope.
Are other networks struggling the same or is this just a vodafone problem?

Just look at the Root Metrics reports for Vodafone, the ones from May 2013 in Hull and Manchester Vodafone came last with the least reliable data network and most failed calls.

The network is a complete mess, probably due to a lack of investment because they thought Cornerstone was coming, but it sounds like Cornerstone has been hit by a lot of delays.

I don't see how it'll make a difference at all seeing as how 4G is not used for calls/texts and how you'll have to pay extra to access 4G data...

Never rated Vodafone myself. Since I'm not in an urban area capacity isn't an issue, but you'd think the world's largest mobile operator could have done a far better job rolling out 3G than they have.

They're probably worse than even O2 - who are trying slightly with 900MHz 3G. I don't think I have ever seen a Vodafone 3G signal except in an urban area.

Plus for their mediocre service they certainly charge for it.

I'd agree with that however in their favour they have 2G almost everywhere.

The 2G coverage used to be far ahead of everyone else but now it's similar to O2 and EE.. Their 3G coverage is only slightly ahead of O2.. What happened to the UK's biggest network provider?
4G is hardly going to help them in the short term, they have upgraded many London sites already and it seems to no benefit. I still get the same speeds on Voda as I did 2 years ago (London, iPad). Even O2 have improved speed wise and EE3G/Three are in a different league.

Surely the Cornerstone/PB is to blame here?

DIsagree: Compare the coverage maps. Now o2 have roled out a lot of 3G on 900mhz, they've got much greater geographic coverage than Voda in many regions.

It sounds like a capacity crunch: And what to do? Both Voda and O2 won't want to spend significant sums right now, knowing Cornerstone is on the way. It needs to start happening, fast!

I've only been on Vodafone for 2 years, but in that time things have definitely gone downhill. In central London, I find that data rarely works. I'm looking to move now, but there are few networks that have a signal at my house. That's why Vodafone are good - because of the Sure Signal.

Vodafone is awful now. We use it at work, we have a SIM in our laptops and also for our work iPhones. Frequently cannot make calls on the iPhone, even though I have full bars. The 3G conection on my laptop seems to have started randomly dropping now, sometimes every minute (again even when I have plenty of signal).

It is just a rubbish network, I am convinced of it. I'm on Three for my personal iPhone 5 and I have none of these problems it works flawlessly, and is very fast.

Voda have roughly around the same 900 3G coverage as O2.

Voda have plenty of spectrum capacity for 3G.. more than O2, If you include what they are using on 900 3G they actually have more than Three in fact!

It's quite clearly just backhaul... they are saving C&W builds for 4G... but as a few have stated and what Watchdog failed to report that Voice calls will not be over 4G for a good while after launch so pointless upgrading to it for more reliability.

O2 coverage maps over estimate 900 coverage as it becomes saturated (and reduces coverage considerably) due to the tiny amount of spectrum they are using for it.

gardensleeper: Cornerstone is for the network upgrades of 2G,3G & 4G(PB) and has been upgrading sites for the last few years.....

Are you not being fooled by O2's coverage map? the reason why I ask is even if you select 3G900 / mobile internet it still shows you 2g and 3g combined until you actually put in a postcode, then again select mobile internet then you see 3G only.

It has improved, but it's still leagues behind MBNL.Cornerstone must be in real trouble, especially if even a basic 4G launch has been put back to later in the year for Vodafone. Not a word from O2, who were meant to be launching in a few weeks.

Vodafone and O2 both said they would let people upgrade to 4G as a way of convincing customers to not worry about being locked into new contracts, but now with the delays they are locked in and no 4G when the operators promised.

I had te same issues in Glasgow about a year ago. Signal would jump between E and 3G in the city centre. Data would not load, I'd revive a message saying I have a voice mail but my phone did not ring - was in front of me with full signal.

I got out at month 10 as I was not getting what I paid for on an expensive iPhone - a smart phone that would not do what it's ment to.

Vodafone eforum was full of these issues.

I believe they did a network upgrade and it's went badly wrong somewhere,

On Three now with same handset and works a dream.

Vodafone blame sim and handset - luckily mine was unlocked and I tried other networks with same handset - so its the Vodafone network that is the issue.

I will never go back to them ever.

I hope Watchdog follow up on this, I can't believe how badly they've under invested and left their customers with such a bad service in inner cities, and with rural 3G.

I have never had a real problem with T-Mobile/EE's 2G coverage and would rather take marginally less 2G coverage in exchange for the superior 3G coverage.

3G provides all the same things as 2G, so I'd go for very good 3G coverage over poor 3G and only being able to use basic services a lot of the time.