Voice calls on a mobile network still a priority for EE.....

jabbamk1 · 16-12-2013, 22:12

Quote:

Originally Posted by mogzyboy

Not C-Three-PO?

I'll get your coat....

qasdfdsaq · 16-12-2013, 22:28

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thine Wonk

They probably can't tell the difference on their Motorola Startac.

My Nokia 3210 resents that implication.

moox · 16-12-2013, 22:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thine Wonk

They probably can't tell the difference on their Motorola Startac.

In all seriousness, I don't think a lot of people know they can do better. I often see people plodding along on GPRS with their Vodafone or O2 phones/dongles, no complaints, apart from murmuring that it's slow. Even when the phone is a nice shiny 5S or S4.

They don't know that if they went with EE or 3 they'd be pushing megabits instead of a few kilobits.

jabbamk1 · 16-12-2013, 22:43

Quote:

Originally Posted by moox

In all seriousness, I don't think a lot of people know they can do better. I often see people plodding along on GPRS with their Vodafone or O2 phones/dongles, no complaints, apart from murmuring that it's slow. Even when the phone is a nice shiny 5S or S4.

They don't know that if they went with EE or 3 they'd be pushing megabits instead of a few kilobits.

I often see this on my commute to work. People with O2 dongles plugged into their laptop staring at a white screen for over a minute as the blue bar at the bottom of the browser slowly moves across the screen.

Meanwhile i'm watching 1080p youtube videos on my Three connection next to them.

moox · 16-12-2013, 22:56

Quote:

Originally Posted by jabbamk1

I often see this on my commute to work. People with O2 dongles plugged into their laptop staring at a white screen for over a minute as the blue bar at the bottom of the browser slowly moves across the screen.

Meanwhile i'm watching 1080p youtube videos on my Three connection next to them.

Yes, I see it quite a lot on trains. All of those dongles with a nice green light and the people just sitting there looking gormlessly at a blank screen.

My employer will pay for me to have a Vodafone SIM. I refuse to take it, because then I'd have to find a phone for it as I'm not going to put it in my shiny Nexus 5 and have it on GPRS all day. I guess the startac would do nicely?

(the plan is also a bit crap, I think the amount of data is something rubbish like a few hundred meg. I think they have some massive data pool for the entire company, not really sure how it works tbh)

Unfortunately they won't expense personal plans. I'd rather pay £15 for a decent 3 SIM than accept a free unusable service from VF.

qasdfdsaq · 16-12-2013, 23:01

Never have that problem around here.

Our trains have 30Mbit+ wifi free for all passengers.

moox · 16-12-2013, 23:04

Quote:

Originally Posted by qasdfdsaq

Never have that problem around here.

Our trains have 30Mbit+ wifi free for all passengers.

The primary train operator here doesn't plan to install WiFi until 2014 (the other operator has paid-for WiFi), but even if there is WiFi people will still use the data connections on their phones. And it's still shocking that in 2013 there are two networks with massive amounts of 2G only coverage.

It doesn't change the fact that once we get off the train, my phone still has fast data, theirs probably doesn't.

jabbamk1 · 16-12-2013, 23:17

Quote:

Originally Posted by qasdfdsaq

Never have that problem around here.

Our trains have 30Mbit+ wifi free for all passengers.

I don't think First great western even know what wi-fi is... or running on time....

moox · 16-12-2013, 23:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by jabbamk1

I don't think First great western even know what wi-fi is... or running on time....

They have wifi on a few trains for places like Oxford (the newish looking ones that don't stop everywhere). They plan to fit out the rest of their HST fleet (the long ones with slam doors) next year. Don't know if they're doing the commuter trains.

I use FGW down west and between Reading/Slough... it's not that bad

qasdfdsaq · 16-12-2013, 23:31

Meh, different people have different priorities. I don't use the trains much these days.

Back when I did, I preferred Orange with their relatively pathetic 3G coverage (2006-2009, pre-EE, pre-MBNL) due to their ability to actually hold on to a 2G phone call for several hours while doing 80Mph+ on the2 train.

Funny enough I think that's about the time GNER started rolling out wifi on their trains.

mogzyboy · 16-12-2013, 23:32

What are these trains you speak of?

qasdfdsaq · 16-12-2013, 23:34

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qt7ZRVaMhm8

jabbamk1 · 16-12-2013, 23:35

Quote:

Originally Posted by moox

They have wifi on a few trains for places like Oxford (the newish looking ones that don't stop everywhere). They plan to fit out the rest of their HST fleet (the long ones with slam doors) next year. Don't know if they're doing the commuter trains.

I use FGW down west and between Reading/Slough... it's not that bad

Ah right. Well i only take the Class 165/166 trains and they're over 20 years old now and don't have any kind of connectivity at all.

And FGW are always late. always... it's like the rule. I remember when they gave all their customers free first class passes to apologise for the fact they were late like 99% of the time.

moox · 16-12-2013, 23:38

Quote:

Originally Posted by jabbamk1

Ah right. Well i only take the Class 165/166 trains and they're over 20 years old now and don't have any kind of connectivity at all.

And FGW are always late. always... it's like the rule. I remember when they gave all their customers free first class passes to apologise for the fact they were late like 99% of the time.

It'd be a start if the 16x had power sockets, quite often I have to spend half an hour on one of them with a dead phone battery

They seem to have improved a lot from the bad old days of a few years ago and with government threats to take away their franchise. It's pretty much guaranteed that the trains I get (that originate in Paddington) are a few minutes late every day but I just leave work a bit later.

jabbamk1 · 16-12-2013, 23:40

Quote:

Originally Posted by moox

It'd be a start if the 16x had power sockets, quite often I have to spend half an hour on one of them with a dead phone battery

They seem to have improved a lot from the bad old days of a few years ago and with government threats to take away their franchise. It's pretty much guaranteed that the trains I get (that originate in Paddington) are a few minutes late every day but I just leave work a bit later.

I thought the 165/166 did have power sockets by the doors??? Or am i just imagining things. And i guess i do have to agree that they've improved... but then i love to complain about them anyway

Thine Wonk · 17-12-2013, 08:16

So is there any chance of O2 following EE and spending 10% of their network investment budget on improving call quality?

Could they improve the codec they use or introduce HD voice? Three have had it since 2011 and T-mobile 2012 and Orange since September 2010.

plymouthbloke1974 · 17-12-2013, 09:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by qasdfdsaq

Funny enough I think that's about the time GNER started rolling out wifi on their trains.

About 6 years too late for that....

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_N...astern_Railway

RAN Man · 17-12-2013, 18:42

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thine Wonk

Could they improve the codec they use or introduce HD voice? Three have had it since 2011 and T-mobile 2012 and Orange since September 2010.

There's no real technical reason why they aren't doing HD voice on 3G. It does seem a bit odd. I can only speculate that it would be so much better than their 2G voice (with its high Half rate use) that their subs would immediately notice the massive difference and start asking questions.

16-12-2013, 22:12	#26
jabbamk1 Forum Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: London, UK Posts: 8,759	Quote: Originally Posted by mogzyboy Not C-Three-PO? I'll get your coat....

16-12-2013, 22:28	#27
qasdfdsaq Inactive Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 3,286	Quote: Originally Posted by Thine Wonk They probably can't tell the difference on their Motorola Startac. My Nokia 3210 resents that implication.

16-12-2013, 22:42	#28
moox Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 14,645	Quote: Originally Posted by Thine Wonk They probably can't tell the difference on their Motorola Startac. In all seriousness, I don't think a lot of people know they can do better. I often see people plodding along on GPRS with their Vodafone or O2 phones/dongles, no complaints, apart from murmuring that it's slow. Even when the phone is a nice shiny 5S or S4. They don't know that if they went with EE or 3 they'd be pushing megabits instead of a few kilobits.

16-12-2013, 22:43	#29
jabbamk1 Forum Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: London, UK Posts: 8,759	Quote: Originally Posted by moox In all seriousness, I don't think a lot of people know they can do better. I often see people plodding along on GPRS with their Vodafone or O2 phones/dongles, no complaints, apart from murmuring that it's slow. Even when the phone is a nice shiny 5S or S4. They don't know that if they went with EE or 3 they'd be pushing megabits instead of a few kilobits. I often see this on my commute to work. People with O2 dongles plugged into their laptop staring at a white screen for over a minute as the blue bar at the bottom of the browser slowly moves across the screen. Meanwhile i'm watching 1080p youtube videos on my Three connection next to them.

16-12-2013, 22:56	#30
moox Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 14,645	Quote: Originally Posted by jabbamk1 I often see this on my commute to work. People with O2 dongles plugged into their laptop staring at a white screen for over a minute as the blue bar at the bottom of the browser slowly moves across the screen. Meanwhile i'm watching 1080p youtube videos on my Three connection next to them. Yes, I see it quite a lot on trains. All of those dongles with a nice green light and the people just sitting there looking gormlessly at a blank screen. My employer will pay for me to have a Vodafone SIM. I refuse to take it, because then I'd have to find a phone for it as I'm not going to put it in my shiny Nexus 5 and have it on GPRS all day. I guess the startac would do nicely? (the plan is also a bit crap, I think the amount of data is something rubbish like a few hundred meg. I think they have some massive data pool for the entire company, not really sure how it works tbh) Unfortunately they won't expense personal plans. I'd rather pay £15 for a decent 3 SIM than accept a free unusable service from VF.

16-12-2013, 23:01	#31
qasdfdsaq Inactive Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 3,286	Never have that problem around here. Our trains have 30Mbit+ wifi free for all passengers.

16-12-2013, 23:04	#32
moox Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 14,645	Quote: Originally Posted by qasdfdsaq Never have that problem around here. Our trains have 30Mbit+ wifi free for all passengers. The primary train operator here doesn't plan to install WiFi until 2014 (the other operator has paid-for WiFi), but even if there is WiFi people will still use the data connections on their phones. And it's still shocking that in 2013 there are two networks with massive amounts of 2G only coverage. It doesn't change the fact that once we get off the train, my phone still has fast data, theirs probably doesn't.

16-12-2013, 23:17	#33
jabbamk1 Forum Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: London, UK Posts: 8,759	Quote: Originally Posted by qasdfdsaq Never have that problem around here. Our trains have 30Mbit+ wifi free for all passengers. I don't think First great western even know what wi-fi is... or running on time....

16-12-2013, 23:21	#34
moox Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 14,645	Quote: Originally Posted by jabbamk1 I don't think First great western even know what wi-fi is... or running on time.... They have wifi on a few trains for places like Oxford (the newish looking ones that don't stop everywhere). They plan to fit out the rest of their HST fleet (the long ones with slam doors) next year. Don't know if they're doing the commuter trains. I use FGW down west and between Reading/Slough... it's not that bad

16-12-2013, 23:31	#35
qasdfdsaq Inactive Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 3,286	Meh, different people have different priorities. I don't use the trains much these days. Back when I did, I preferred Orange with their relatively pathetic 3G coverage (2006-2009, pre-EE, pre-MBNL) due to their ability to actually hold on to a 2G phone call for several hours while doing 80Mph+ on the2 train. Funny enough I think that's about the time GNER started rolling out wifi on their trains.

16-12-2013, 23:32	#36
mogzyboy Forum Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Wales Posts: 4,554	What are these trains you speak of?

16-12-2013, 23:34	#37
qasdfdsaq Inactive Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 3,286	http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qt7ZRVaMhm8

16-12-2013, 23:35	#38
jabbamk1 Forum Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: London, UK Posts: 8,759	Quote: Originally Posted by moox They have wifi on a few trains for places like Oxford (the newish looking ones that don't stop everywhere). They plan to fit out the rest of their HST fleet (the long ones with slam doors) next year. Don't know if they're doing the commuter trains. I use FGW down west and between Reading/Slough... it's not that bad Ah right. Well i only take the Class 165/166 trains and they're over 20 years old now and don't have any kind of connectivity at all. And FGW are always late. always... it's like the rule. I remember when they gave all their customers free first class passes to apologise for the fact they were late like 99% of the time.

16-12-2013, 23:38	#39
moox Forum Member Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 14,645	Quote: Originally Posted by jabbamk1 Ah right. Well i only take the Class 165/166 trains and they're over 20 years old now and don't have any kind of connectivity at all. And FGW are always late. always... it's like the rule. I remember when they gave all their customers free first class passes to apologise for the fact they were late like 99% of the time. It'd be a start if the 16x had power sockets, quite often I have to spend half an hour on one of them with a dead phone battery They seem to have improved a lot from the bad old days of a few years ago and with government threats to take away their franchise. It's pretty much guaranteed that the trains I get (that originate in Paddington) are a few minutes late every day but I just leave work a bit later.

16-12-2013, 23:40	#40
jabbamk1 Forum Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: London, UK Posts: 8,759	Quote: Originally Posted by moox It'd be a start if the 16x had power sockets, quite often I have to spend half an hour on one of them with a dead phone battery They seem to have improved a lot from the bad old days of a few years ago and with government threats to take away their franchise. It's pretty much guaranteed that the trains I get (that originate in Paddington) are a few minutes late every day but I just leave work a bit later. I thought the 165/166 did have power sockets by the doors??? Or am i just imagining things. And i guess i do have to agree that they've improved... but then i love to complain about them anyway

17-12-2013, 08:16	#41
Thine Wonk Forum Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Posts: 14,577	So is there any chance of O2 following EE and spending 10% of their network investment budget on improving call quality? Could they improve the codec they use or introduce HD voice? Three have had it since 2011 and T-mobile 2012 and Orange since September 2010.

17-12-2013, 09:53	#42
plymouthbloke1974 Forum Member Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Destination: Hard Brexit Posts: 6,368	Quote: Originally Posted by qasdfdsaq Funny enough I think that's about the time GNER started rolling out wifi on their trains. About 6 years too late for that.... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_N...astern_Railway

17-12-2013, 18:42	#43
RAN Man Forum Member Join Date: Jul 2013 Posts: 249	Quote: Originally Posted by Thine Wonk Could they improve the codec they use or introduce HD voice? Three have had it since 2011 and T-mobile 2012 and Orange since September 2010. There's no real technical reason why they aren't doing HD voice on 3G. It does seem a bit odd. I can only speculate that it would be so much better than their 2G voice (with its high Half rate use) that their subs would immediately notice the massive difference and start asking questions.

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Voice calls on a mobile network still a priority for EE.....