[1saintly]

Presently im on O2 pay as go, phone unlocked.
Feel im getting ripped off, as pay £15mth pay/go.
covers phone calls and txt, but only get 500mb mth data.

Now wife was wanting watch some sport on BBC via mobile phone, (same as mine) but according to O2 Site, after about 20mins, all data would be used up

Then you get kevin bacon doing his adverts for watching loads of stuff on his phone

So been looking at unlimmited data use and came across.
http://giffgaff.com/
They recon for £12
https://giffgaff.com/orders/unlimite...IAAA&gclsrc=ds
i can get unlimmited data
But not really heard of them, done a bit of googling, but just wondering if anyone uses them?
Also whats it like in the real world (not kevins ) for streaming on 3g or less? as phones not 4g

[d123]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1saintly

Presently im on O2 pay as go, phone unlocked.
Feel im getting ripped off, as pay £15mth pay/go.
covers phone calls and txt, but only get 500mb mth data.

Now wife was wanting watch some sport on BBC via mobile phone, (same as mine) but according to O2 Site, after about 20mins, all data would be used up

Then you get kevin bacon doing his adverts for watching loads of stuff on his phone

So been looking at unlimmited data use and came across.
http://giffgaff.com/
They recon for £12
https://giffgaff.com/orders/unlimite...IAAA&gclsrc=ds
i can get unlimmited data
But not really heard of them, done a bit of googling, but just wondering if anyone uses them?
Also whats it like in the real world (not kevins ) for streaming on 3g or less? as phones not 4g

You might want to start with this thread:
http://forums.digitalspy.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1953504

And possibly go read the actual forum at giffgaff. They seem to have some problems with a lot of people complaining about 3G speeds.

It might be worth considering Three who do a sim only unlimited for £12.90 or PAYG for £15, even with the odd complaint about speed, they do seem to be a lot better than giffgaff.

[Mark in Essex]

I can recommend Three.

I use to be on an unlimited rolling 30 day contract with unlimited data for £12.90/month and the data speed is a lot better than O2.

[joeluken]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1saintly

So been looking at unlimmited data use and came across.
http://giffgaff.com/
They recon for £12
https://giffgaff.com/orders/unlimite...IAAA&gclsrc=ds
i can get unlimmited data
But not really heard of them, done a bit of googling, but just wondering if anyone uses them?
Also whats it like in the real world (not kevins ) for streaming on 3g or less? as phones not 4g

giffgaff is just a virtual brand owned by o2 Telefonica UK.

I've had a giffgaff sim for 2 years but I avoid using it for data. giffgaff 3G is pants unless you like slow or using it in the middle of night.

It's also not really unlimited data but subject to vague "play fair" T&C's. Downloading or streaming lost of video may get your assess blocked because you're "impacting" other network users.

Whilst not really unlimited Lycamobile, another o2 MVNO, is offering unlimited 4G, 500 mins and 5000 texts for £12 PAYG. I think it's speed cap at 5-10Gb but even so that's not bad value. Despite using the same MNO it doesn't appear have the same issues as giffgaff on 3G so far.

The other option to investigate is Three and in my use areas it's much faster than contract o2. The missis was watching Sky Go in the car yesterday for about 45 mins whilst travelling around and it didn't miss a beat..

[1saintly]

Quote:

Originally Posted by joeluken

giffgaff is just a virtual brand owned by o2 Telefonica UK.

I've had a giffgaff sim for 2 years but I avoid using it for data. giffgaff 3G is pants unless you like slow or using it in the middle of night.

It's also not really unlimited data but subject to vague "play fair" T&C's. Downloading or streaming lost of video may get your assess blocked because you're "impacting" other network users.

Whilst not really unlimited Lycamobile, another o2 MVNO, is offering unlimited 4G, 500 mins and 5000 texts for £12 PAYG. I think it's speed cap at 5-10Gb but even so that's not bad value. Despite using the same MNO it doesn't appear have the same issues as giffgaff on 3G so far.

The other option to investigate is Three and in my use areas it's much faster than contract o2. The missis was watching Sky Go in the car yesterday for about 45 mins whilst travelling around and it didn't miss a beat..

Nice thanks for that. Looks like its 3. Just checked on website. Got nothing to loose, can order a pay/go sim, and try it in my unlocked phone, if ok can change present number to them.
Just find it strange, we all have these powerful phones and tablets, and yet most operators restrict use of data, kind of defeats object of it all relally I've got sky as well so sky go will be great
Kevin bacon and his 4g my arse

[Mark in Essex]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1saintly

Nice thanks for that. Looks like its 3. Just checked on website. Got nothing to loose, can order a pay/go sim, and try it in my unlocked phone, if ok can change present number to them.
Just find it strange, we all have these powerful phones and tablets, and yet most operators restrict use of data, kind of defeats object of it all relally I've got sky as well so sky go will be great
Kevin bacon and his 4g my arse

I found the reception with Three to be good most places, except for my home, but I was so impressed with the data speeds that I decided to keep the rolling 30 day contract until the Galaxy S5 came out and get a home signal booster (which are only available either on 12 month SIM only deals or 24 month phone contracts).

I have also been very impressed with their helpdesk in India - the people that I have spoken to have been very helpful and easy to understand (not like some help-desks abroad).

Also I believe that Vodafone and O2 do not support dual cell 3G (gives double the data speed if you have a phone that supports it). I use to get around 6/7meg download with Three with my S3, but now I have my S5 (which supports dual cell) I managed to get over 25meg download late morning today (who needs 4G when that type of speed will be ok for most people although that is slowly rolling out across the country and at no extra cost).

More than happy with Three.

[duffman25]

giffgaff speeds are bad and now rubbish 4g deals i went to lycamobile and the 3g seems to run bit faster and the 4g is excellent

[bikerlad]

GiffGaff give incentives to their customers to refer people, which seems to encourage a very Pro-GiffGaff stance by people who want to refer you or send you a sim.

[1saintly]

Quote:

Originally Posted by bikerlad

GiffGaff give incentives to their customers to refer people, which seems to encourage a very Pro-GiffGaff stance by people who want to refer you or send you a sim.

You've all talked me out of giffgaff
Taking a walk to 3 shop tomorrow, get a £15 sim, stick it in phone, and hopefully start using smartphone to full potential.
Something I can't do at moment with 500 data limit .

[Three]

I'll echo what has been said in this thread.

giffgaff is pretty rubbish and only ideal now-a-days for users with low usage. It uses the O2 network which isn't the best for data as it is and gets lowest priority over other customers on the network. There unlimited data isn't truly unlimited, download too much and you'll be barred from using data on their network. giffgaff also seem quite vunerable to network outages.

If you have a Three signal in your area (check here) then you'll most likely be better with Three. The £15 PAYG add-on with unlimited all-you-can-eat data is a good deal and the data really is unlimited.

[jabbamk1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark in Essex

Also I believe that Vodafone and O2 do not support dual cell 3G (gives double the data speed if you have a phone that supports it).

Vodafone and O2 do support DC-HSPA+ in certain cities but it's not widespread.
Three on the other hand have over 90% coverage on DC-HSPA+

But yes, in general O2 and Voda are regarded as poor networks for data due to the lack of 3G coverage. This will improve over time but usually other networks such as Three and EE are way ahead in terms of 3G coverage and have better offers with more data.

[Alan1981]

I'm on giffgaff and use it mostly for the calls and text bundles. I joined back in 2011 and the £10 unlimited goodybag used to be great for streaming tv during those boring night shifts. The speeds used to be fine. However lately the speeds seem to have dropped. I don't know why, maybe more users and a victim of it's own success.

I also have a 3 sim. Data speeds are a lot faster and generally it's great. However when things go wrong, their customer service is a bit crap.

Oh and for some reason, the very mention of those Kevin Bacon ads make me want to cleanse my brain with bleach.

[qasdfdsaq]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark in Essex

Also I believe that Vodafone and O2 do not support dual cell 3G (gives double the data speed if you have a phone that supports it). I use to get around 6/7meg download with Three with my S3, but now I have my S5 (which supports dual cell) I managed to get over 25meg download late morning today (who needs 4G when that type of speed will be ok

That is not correct. All networks support dual-cell 3G. Vodafone even claim to have been the first network to deploy it in the UK.

[jabbamk1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by qasdfdsaq

That is not correct. All networks support dual-cell 3G. Vodafone even claim to have been the first network to deploy it in the UK.

Technically speaking they werent if we are talking about DC-HSPA+ 42Mbps.

[Mark in Essex]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jabbamk1

Technically speaking they werent if we are talking about DC-HSPA+ 42Mbps.

That's what I meant but did not want to confuse things by saying HSPA, HSPA+ etc.

[Mark in Essex]

Just to update I found this deal on UK Hotdeals for SIM only Three deal last night.

http://www.hotukdeals.com/deals/thre...tomers-1879962

[qasdfdsaq]

So if launching DC-HSDPA at 28Mbps instead of 42Mbps doesn't count as launching it I guess 3 didn't launch HSPA when they did because that ran at 2.8Mbps not 3.6Mbps like other later networks...

All networks have DC-HSDPA 42 now. Vodafone claim they had DC-HSDPA 28 at a time when other operators had none at all (I emphasize claim). When other operators launched DC-HSDPA 42 Vodafone upgraded to DC-HSDPA 42 as well.

Since all networks have the same technologies now across 2G/3G/4G (bar 3, who have no 2G at all) the issue of what each network "has" or "doesn't have" is no longer relevant. The user experience is governed by how much coverage of each tech that they have, and in the case of DC-HSDPA Vodafone probably have the least. EE & 3 have similarly high levels of DC-HSDPA coverage but on the other hand huge differences in their 4G coverage. No operator has complete network-wide coverage of DC-HSDPA though.

[1saintly]

2 sim cards ordered.

Just a bit of info for anyone else thinking about it.
Called into local shop, sorry sir we dont do pay as you go anymore, would you like a monthly contract plan/direct debit setting up
No i wouldnt, goes home rings up 3, so why dont you want contract, no i just want a bloody sim but sir if ....... etc etc forget it.

Goes onto website, ooh look sim only
https://www.three.co.uk/Support/Free_SIM/Order
Just needs address putting in no bank details etc
When they arrive, i can just top up and try, if ok just keep topping up. or whatever

Better than 12mth comit they wanted in shop and on phone i know they have a job to do, but come on.

oh and in the intrest of fairnes i went into o2 shop (with them now) she didnt have a clue what i was on about.

[Zee_Bukhari]

if you want to use the O2 network, Lycamobile is your best bet now, not giffgaff. UK PLAN 12 is £12 with 500 minutes, unlimited texts, unlimited data (around 10GB) and that's 4G data if you're in a 4G area with a 4G handset.

I would also highly recommend Three as another choice with unlimited 4G data again for around £12 per month

[Three]

Quote:

Originally Posted by qasdfdsaq

No operator has complete network-wide coverage of DC-HSDPA though.

What is preventing 3/MBNL from rolling out DC-HSDPA to the last remaining sites on their network?

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1saintly

2 sim cards ordered.

Just a bit of info for anyone else thinking about it.
Called into local shop, sorry sir we dont do pay as you go anymore, would you like a monthly contract plan/direct debit setting up
No i wouldnt, goes home rings up 3, so why dont you want contract, no i just want a bloody sim but sir if ....... etc etc forget it.

Goes onto website, ooh look sim only
https://www.three.co.uk/Support/Free_SIM/Order
Just needs address putting in no bank details etc
When they arrive, i can just top up and try, if ok just keep topping up. or whatever

Better than 12mth comit they wanted in shop and on phone i know they have a job to do, but come on.

oh and in the intrest of fairnes i went into o2 shop (with them now) she didnt have a clue what i was on about.

That is awful of 3. They do sell PAYG SIM cards and missed the chance there for sell you a £15 top-up with the SIM card. (Compulsory top-up for a SIM purchased from a 3 store.)

[Mark in Essex]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1saintly

2 sim cards ordered.

Just a bit of info for anyone else thinking about it.
Called into local shop, sorry sir we dont do pay as you go anymore, would you like a monthly contract plan/direct debit setting up
No i wouldnt, goes home rings up 3, so why dont you want contract, no i just want a bloody sim but sir if ....... etc etc forget it.

Goes onto website, ooh look sim only
https://www.three.co.uk/Support/Free_SIM/Order
Just needs address putting in no bank details etc
When they arrive, i can just top up and try, if ok just keep topping up. or whatever

Better than 12mth comit they wanted in shop and on phone i know they have a job to do, but come on.

oh and in the intrest of fairnes i went into o2 shop (with them now) she didnt have a clue what i was on about.

Strange as when I went into a Three shop a few months back they have me a PAYG
SIM to try with no problem.

Like I say give it a go all the places that you normally visit, but it's not a problem if you have bad reception at home (only place I found bad) as you can get a booster box for home if you decide to sign up.

[qasdfdsaq]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Three

What is preventing 3/MBNL from rolling out DC-HSDPA to the last remaining sites on their network?

No idea. At least one is in the middle of a big city and on a mast that has 4G already.

[jabbamk1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by qasdfdsaq

So if launching DC-HSDPA at 28Mbps instead of 42Mbps doesn't count as launching it I guess 3 didn't launch HSPA when they did because that ran at 2.8Mbps not 3.6Mbps like other later networks...

All networks have DC-HSDPA 42 now. Vodafone claim they had DC-HSDPA 28 at a time when other operators had none at all (I emphasize claim). When other operators launched DC-HSDPA 42 Vodafone upgraded to DC-HSDPA 42 as well.

Since all networks have the same technologies now across 2G/3G/4G (bar 3, who have no 2G at all) the issue of what each network "has" or "doesn't have" is no longer relevant. The user experience is governed by how much coverage of each tech that they have, and in the case of DC-HSDPA Vodafone probably have the least. EE & 3 have similarly high levels of DC-HSDPA coverage but on the other hand huge differences in their 4G coverage. No operator has complete network-wide coverage of DC-HSDPA though.

Hmmmm. You seem to have missed my point.
I quite clearly stated that Vodafone was not the first network to launch DC-HSPA+ 42Mbps.

I am 100% correct with that statement as O2 were the first.

[1saintly]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark in Essex

Strange as when I went into a Three shop a few months back they have me a PAYG
SIM to try with no problem.

Like I say give it a go all the places that you normally visit, but it's not a problem if you have bad reception at home (only place I found bad) as you can get a booster box for home if you decide to sign up.

No, aparantley guy in shop said they have stopped it.
Strange as web site say not
Handed me a leaflet with either, commit to 12mth plan £15.90
or same plan £12.90 rolling monthly plan, but direct debit and if you go over limit get charged more

Said payasgo is killing them
Same when phoned them up.

Anyway got 2 ordered from web site before it goes from there as well

Re home use, should be fine, 3 coverage website is better than o2, actualy shows you blank spots in areas, not just ...oh this area is covered blanket style like o2 website
i do know of some local blank spots, and 3 shows them but o2 says they are ok, but there not.

Ive not got 4g phone, but wish they would sort out normal/3g before bragging about 4g, Supose this country is the same with broadband, i still cant get infintiy even though live in densly populate area
UK Is rubbish for such a modern country tech wise.

[jabbamk1]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 1saintly

No, aparantley guy in shop said they have stopped it.
Strange as web site say not
Handed me a leaflet with either, commit to 12mth plan £15.90
or same plan £12.90 rolling monthly plan, but direct debit and if you go over limit get charged more

Said payasgo is killing them
Same when phoned them up.

Such jokers.

This is why I don't like the general retail atmosphere that all networks seem to promote. Of course they can sell you pay as you go, just the person who served you is commission hungry and would rather sign you up to a 12 month contract than let you buy what you actually want. Sure in some cases a SIM Only works out a lot better than pay as you go but to actually lie about not selling pay as you go is wrong.

All networks sell pay as you go SIM's in their stores or via telesales and anyone who tells you otherwise is a liar.

I really hate some of the stuff I hear in retail stores sometimes as it's blatant lies and the customer they are speaking to is eating it right up. Phones 4 U are the worst for this. I absolutely refuse to talk to any of their staff at all.