[qasdfdsaq]

Quote:

Originally Posted by daveyfs

What with the recent complaints about worsening data performance and now this, I've got a sneaking suspicion that Telefonica are in the process of running giffgaff down, and will eventually close the service and move subscribers onto o2 payg on preferential terms.

It has been predicted by others on this forum that GiffGaff would be absorbed into O2 itself, yes.

[jonmorris]

Quote:

Originally Posted by clewsy

Im sure someone told me they have the same market share as 3? This of course could all be a load of rubbish.

Not rubbish at all. I am sure it's 100% true someone told you that.

[neil402003]

I am not sure how long Lyca will keep this offer.It could be pulled at a minutes notice.At least if they do-it is payg so you can move straight away.

[Zee_Bukhari]

Quote:

Originally Posted by neil402003

I am not sure how long Lyca will keep this offer.It could be pulled at a minutes notice.At least if they do-it is payg so you can move straight away.

exactly, if they pull it just move on to the next best offer, that's the best thing about 1 month contracts or PAYG.

[Thine Wonk]

I have just heard that giffgaff have announced they will only be trialling a single 4G goodybag from April 30th to the end of October.

It will contain an allowance of 1GB of 4G data, and any usage above that will be charged at 2p/MB from credit rather than it allowing a fallback to 3G speed.

That's not what I was expecting!

[jabbamk1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thine Wonk

I have just heard that giffgaff have announced they will only be trialling a single 4G goodybag from April 30th to the end of October.

It will contain an allowance of 1GB of 4G data, and any usage above that will be charged at 2p/MB from credit rather than it allowing a fallback to 3G speed.

That's not what I was expecting!

And only for existing customers.

Not what I was expecting either.

[Thine Wonk]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jabbamk1

And only for existing customers.

Not what I was expecting either.

How existing do you have to be? fortunately I have a giffgaff sim for testing, with credit, so I was planning on testing this.

I wonder what the thinking is behind not launching anything more than this until after October, anyone know?

[joeluken]

From giffgaff -



If you’re interested in taking part in the 4G goodybag trial, but are not yet signed up, remember that you will need a 4G phone and a 4G ready SIM card to get involved and receive 4G service. If you take part, you will receive access to a 4G trial goodybag with 500 minutes, 1GB of data and unlimited text messages for £10 per month – exactly the same value as you receive on 3G. The trial goodybag will be available to you right up until 31st October and we will be asking you for your feedback on a regular basis using email surveys and an official feedback thread on the community forum.

FAQ's


"Q. Why do we need a trial?
A. We want to provide the best possible experience for our members. 4G is a brand new service on giffgaff and whilst we have been testing the experience internally, we think it's important to give members the opportunity to try 4G out and feed back to us, so we can be sure that we're meeting your expectations before moving towards a full launch.

Q. When does the trial officially begin?
A. The trial begins on 30th April.


Q. How do I sign up?
A. Most of you will already have received an email offering you the chance to sign up for the trial (if you have a 4G phone) or register your interest in the trial (if you have a 3G phone). We will now be sending out emails to any new members who have joined since the last batch of invites and if you missed it first time around, then keep your eyes on your newsfeed which will be updated with an invite before we launch the trial. The newsfeed will also be updated on a weekly basis, so you can always refer back to it to sign up. Please be aware that if you have not opted in for marketing messages, then we are unable to send you an invite by email. You have until 2 months after the trial launch date to sign up to the trial.

Q. What is the reason for the delay?
A. First impressions count and we want to make sure we are launching the right product with the best possible experience. Since this is a brand new service on giffgaff, we want to get feedback from our members on the 4G service experience before moving to a full launch.

Q. I have an existing goodybag running, how does that work if I want to participate in the trial?
A. If you already have a goodybag on your account, then you will need to wait for it to expire before purchasing the 4G trial goodybag, but you will have plenty of time to trial the goodybag and have your say.

Q. Why does the trial goodybag come with 1GB of data? I thought I saw another goodybag with a 2GB allowance stated in the announcement comms?
A. Once we're ready to launch our full range of 4G goodybags (after receiving feedback from the trial), the £12 and £15 goodybags will still come with a 2GB data allowance. However, in order to support the 4G trial, we wanted to keep things as simple as possible and also offer the 4G service at no extra cost, so a new £10 trial goodybag was created which will have the same allowance as the 3G £10 goodybag.

Q. What will happen if I use my 1GB data allowance before the goodybag ends?
A. The 4G goodybag will work exactly the same way as the 3G goodybags, so members at the end of the 1GB allowance, prices will revert to 2p/MB until the goodybag expires. However, on the new 4G goodybags, you will receive a text notification when you have used 80% and 100% of your data allowances - this should help with managing your inclusive data allowance.

Q. In the last update a lot of feedback was directed towards insufficient data allowances. When will this be addressed?
A. We did review all of your feedback from the previous post and there are a number of factors which we need to take into account when setting a goodybag allowance.

First of all, like all networks we have a limited network resource and we have a responsibility to ensure that it’s working hard to meet the ever growing needs of our members.

In addition, every MB of data usage on the network costs money for giffgaff as a business, so data allowances need to be carefully thought through from a financial perspective to ensure that we continue to be a sustainable business.

What this all means is that we need to be focused on using our network resource intelligently, to deliver what is most important for our members rather than try to be all things to all people. In the member survey, the majority of members prioritised having a high data allowance over high data speeds, so we want to make sure that we continue to offer great value 3G data allowances, particularly our unlimited data goodybags. This is even more important since we know that only a minority of members currently have a 4G ready device, so many of you probably won’t be moving to 4G for launch.

We feel that the allowances which are have been proposed for 4G goodybags represent good value to members, but they also allow us to continue offering unlimited data on 3G and a good level of service.

Q. I have no 4G coverage in my area, will this expand any time soon?
A. The 4G network coverage will continue to improve and expand throughout the year - keep an eye on the 4G coverage map to keep up to date with progress.

Q. 4G aside, what is being done to address the drop in performance of 3G?
A. We have seen your community posts asking for us to focus our attention onto the 3G data experience and this is something which we are taking very seriously and working to improve. We will be discussing this in more detail on the community in May.

[Thine Wonk]

Wow, that's a very direct FAQ, they certainly put things quite bluntly there no marketing fluff!

[Thine Wonk]

Well I have £12.20 in credit so I guess I'll be trialling it and doing some speedtests throughout next month. I can't find a link to sign up to the trial yet.

[jonmorris]

I still don't know why there needs to be a trial. O2 has had 4G for some time so what's to test?

At least Three had a genuine reason to do a trial, even if it should have been long before December 2013.

[Zee_Bukhari]

there is no point to this. If you want to "trial" O2's network get a lycamobile sim card with the UK PLAN 12 and get "unlimited" (around 10GB) 4G data to use up.

Works really well.

[qasdfdsaq]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jonmorris

I still don't know why there needs to be a trial. O2 has had 4G for some time so what's to test?

At least Three had a genuine reason to do a trial, even if it should have been long before December 2013.

GiffGaff have their own backend systems and internet connectivity, which is mostly to blame for their poor speeds when connected to the same masts as O2. I suspect the extra load added by 4G isn't going to help.

[Three]

Quote:

Originally Posted by qasdfdsaq

GiffGaff have their own backend systems and internet connectivity, which is mostly to blame for their poor speeds when connected to the same masts as O2. I suspect the extra load added by 4G isn't going to help.

How much of their own internet connectivity? Back when I was with giffgaff traffic left their network via O2 IPs.

[qasdfdsaq]

Not enough. Which is the problem.

[AKW]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zee_Bukhari

there is no point to this. If you want to "trial" O2's network get a lycamobile sim card with the UK PLAN 12 and get "unlimited" (around 10GB) 4G data to use up.

Works really well.

Which network do Lyca use for 4G?

[AxeVictim]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AKW

Which network do Lyca use for 4G?

O2 as well.

[AKW]

Quote:

Originally Posted by AxeVictim

O2 as well.

Thanks for that info. May give it a go.

[susie-4964]

You've just persuaded me to cancel my Which subscription. They had Giffgaff down as their favourite mobile provider (according to Which readers, anyway). Clearly I'm no longer in their target market.

[jabbamk1]

Which has been crap since it started.

[Three]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jabbamk1

Which has been crap since it started.

Which or giffgaff?

[SkipTracer]

Quote:

Originally Posted by susie-4964

You've just persuaded me to cancel my Which subscription. They had Giffgaff down as their favourite mobile provider (according to Which readers, anyway). Clearly I'm no longer in their target market.

Know what you mean as MoneySavingExpert was recommending Ovivio the week before they went bust.

[jabbamk1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Three

Which or giffgaff?

Which