I've been on 3's One Plan, and obviously am enjoying the unlimited data, but I've found coverage where I work in London (EC3) is shockingly bad....data connectivity is non existing indoors or outside. I've spoken to Three who just keep saying its due to congestion and masts will be upgraded.

At home in Kent, I don't really have a problem with the data connection, although at my parents place again its non existant in terms of getting phone reception and a data connection...

So, I'm thinking of switching to EE.....can any EE users let me know how they get on in London?
Also with EE, do they offer tethering?
Or, do I wait til three launch 4G and see if this improves things?

One thing I CAN vouch for is Tethering. It's included in their 4G plans, I'm not sure about Orange nor T-Mobile (AFAIK T-Mobile's Full Monty plans exclude tethering.)

Is the phone you're using unlocked? If so, EE are offering free 4G sims at the moment... Mine came with something like 250mb of data included. Do a speed test and see what it's like? I believe heavily built up areas can affect mobile phone signals.

By EE do you mean EE3G or EE4G?

Since Three & EE have almost identical 3G coverage you'll unlikely see a huge difference, unless you go for EE4G that is.

^^^ Pretty much this. EE Have a slight coverage edge but over your contract length it will eventually become the same on 3G. If you need unlimited data then it's obviously Three.

I use EE in Edinburgh, not London but they're considerably faster here than 3. And yes, coverage will be similar on 3G, 4G is well, superior to US 4G it seems but not as fast as I'd expect. EE 4G tariffs do include tethering as standard but all of them have limited data allowances.

EE 3G doesn't really exist - it's either Orange or T-Mobile. There's no separate 3G-only service under the EE brand.

Sorry yes, should have specified. I was looking at the sim only plan for EE4G

Well if you're going SIM only there's not much to lose by switching now, you can always swap back as soon as 3 4G launches, but the latter's coverage will still be behind EE 4G for a little while yet.

Exactly what I found in the city of London ... Threes indoor coverage was poor to non existent. I am now on an EE 4G 20gb plan. Do it

Absolute rubbish. I couldn't get a reception with Three but have no problems with EE. Stop lying. Three and EE Share MBNL but that's transmitters only, coverage and building penetration is very different. A little knowledge is very dangerous hey

EE 4G great indoor coverage in the city . Threes is awful : fact

That's because not all of the masts are shared yet. I believe all of Three's masts are being shared with EE now where as many of the Orange masts are not being shared with Three yet, this will all change very shortly.

What building penetration are you talking about? Doesn't Orange, Three and T-Mobile all run their 3G networks on 2100MHz? Or has something changed?

If both networks are using the same base stations on the same frequencies how is their coverage and building penetration any different?

Thanks for the info, i've just ordered a free SIM for the purposes of testing. I'm happy enough with Three and their (3G) speeds.

Rik.

He says in next post down that he is talking about 4G which makes sense as 1800MHz is better indoors than 2100MHz.

Are you tethering on your One Plan? Three prioritise the traffic of those not tethering over those whoa are tethering when masts become congested. This only happens between 3PM and 12AM. After you've finished tethering switch your phone into airplane mode and back out again and you should see an improvement in speeds.