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Three 4G Discussion Thread (Part 2)
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Thine Wonk
26-10-2016
So today just for fun I used ThreeInTouch and my LG G3 and forced it in the hidden menu to band 20 800Mhz.

I haven't done this for a while and I was AMAZED at the coverage, Three has really progressed and the coverage is there, however unless you are able to force it you're unaware. I was able to drive for 90 minutes along A roads and motorways and get seamless good quality 800Mhz 4G.

So to those that think it's not there, it is.... it's just hiding and preferring 3G. However it could be very useful for indoors when you lose 3G assuming your handset supports it.

This experience has made me want to upgrade to a phone that supports it now, as the LG G3 is my old phone and TBH is a bit dated. I need to lookout for a phone that I like which supports 4G band 20 on Three, if the Pixel did I'd consider it, but it's not even listed on Three's device list yet.
jonmorris
26-10-2016
It's there, but it's one site at the top of Crystal Palace to serve the whole UK. But it isn't a problem because you're one of only ten people with a compatible phone.



Seriously though, Three's coverage is looking pretty good and with speeds approaching 60-70 in a lot of places, it's bad timing (as I've said before) for a network claiming not to have enough spectrum.

Obviously it doesn't, but I can't see why Ofcom would do any favours for Three and will just tell it to stump up.
Thine Wonk
26-10-2016
The compatibility issue is a pain you're right, and not even listing new phones like the Pixel isn't good.

I can't argue with you for once, just making the point that's it's good if and when you can get it.
jonmorris
26-10-2016
I know 800 can be good. I used a second PAYG SIM in an Xperia Z3 for a while, and the main problem was that it preferred a near unusable 3G signal over 800 - but when forced to 800, it worked pretty well.

For some reason, I lost 800 at home but they did do work on three separate occasions and I'll admit to not having tried again since the last date.

EE would rather sell SIM only than handsets on contract (obviously in store they'll continue to push phones, but the bigger market is selling SIMs online for people who have an existing phone). That's why EE seems keen to get all recent phones up and running, even if not supplied by them, and then working backwards to have as many phones compatible as possible.

Three needs to be doing this too. It needs to be chasing Huawei for one, given it has the Huawei P9, Honor 7, Honor 5X, Honor 5C and Honor 8 on sale. Five phones that could be done pretty much simultaneously! Then do the Sony phones (if they've got the code on the newest models, I'd guess it can't be hard to go back to the Z2 - which was the test phone for Three originally) and so on.

Even if they have inTouch support, I'd say the plan must be to make it native. Likewise Wi-Fi calling.

One can only imagine what Vodafone and O2 will do when they launch VoLTE. They may have even fewer devices supported, so that's going to be another big problem for an industry that has made such a mess of 4G when you think it's not that new a technology anymore. The talk of MWC next year is increasingly going to be about 5G development!
Thine Wonk
26-10-2016
Originally Posted by jonmorris:
“. The talk of MWC next year is increasingly going to be about 5G development!”

Yeah, Google Fiber has been canned for new rollouts it has been announced today as they've realised it's too costly to put FTTP and they've realised 5G (or similar) will be the solution.

5G to a lamp post nearby and wireless for the final hop, no digging up and pulling cables to every property, the game is over and wireless as the last hop is expected to be the best solution.
Gigabit
27-10-2016
There's been absolutely no change in 800MHz where I live. Still incredibly weak signal from a mast seemingly many miles away which seems to only cover my house and that's it.
blueacid
27-10-2016
I occasionally try my phone set to 4G only mode (Z3 compact can do this from the service menu). I can't lock it down to a specific band; but driving around Manchester the coverage from 4G800 and 4G1800 is almost seamless, which is pretty good. The only problem is that VoLTE doesn't work on their 4G1800.. Ah well!
jonmorris
27-10-2016
It seems Three is testing VoLTE on 1800 around Maidenhead and Windsor, so hopefully it won't be too long - although as I've said before - I don't have a recent phone that will work with Supervoice. Just my LG G3, Sony Z3 and a Nexus 5 - all phones I wouldn't go back to using just for that.
moox
27-10-2016
Originally Posted by Thine Wonk:
“Yeah, Google Fiber has been canned for new rollouts it has been announced today as they've realised it's too costly to put FTTP and they've realised 5G (or similar) will be the solution.

5G to a lamp post nearby and wireless for the final hop, no digging up and pulling cables to every property, the game is over and wireless as the last hop is expected to be the best solution.”

For a company with no existing fixed assets, maybe. Like Google.

For companies with an extensive pole and duct network, and none of the same legal challenges, it could be a different story and 5G could be a massive bodge compared to what could be done over glass
blueacid
27-10-2016
Originally Posted by jonmorris:
“It seems Three is testing VoLTE on 1800 around Maidenhead and Windsor, so hopefully it won't be too long - although as I've said before - I don't have a recent phone that will work with Supervoice. Just my LG G3, Sony Z3 and a Nexus 5 - all phones I wouldn't go back to using just for that.”

I've not yet upgraded from my Z3C, although given the fragmented state of VoLTE I'm thinking I'll wait a little longer...
Thine Wonk
27-10-2016
Originally Posted by moox:
“For a company with no existing fixed assets, maybe. Like Google.

For companies with an extensive pole and duct network, and none of the same legal challenges, it could be a different story and 5G could be a massive bodge compared to what could be done over glass”

Why dig up all the roads and go to the effort of cable pulling when you can make use of wireless technology and ship a router that is a true 'hub' with 2..4 and 5Ghz wifi and LAN ports, but that receives WAN link over wireless from a small cell. .

Everything comes down to competitiveness and cost, engineers going in and out of houses, booking appointments, digging roads up outside every house, swapping provider and having "installs", etc are all totally unnecessary once the wireless technology which is just around the corner arrives.

Verizon's CEO

Quote:
““I think of 5G initially as, in effect, wireless fiber, which is wireless technology that can provide an enhanced broadband experience that could only previously be delivered with physical fiber to the customer,” McAdam said. “With wireless fiber the so-called last mile can be a virtual connection, dramatically changing our cost structure.””

AT&T's SVP.

Quote:
“Scott Mair, SVP for technology and engineering at AT&T, recently said the carrier was on track to begin testing fixed broadband services using spectrum in the 15 GHz band and pre-5G technology, on its way to adding 28 GHz band spectrum to its tests later this year. Those tests are then expected to add a mobility component by early 2017.”

Lewis_Pommells
02-11-2016
Does anybody think that three will start to incorporate Carrier Aggregation on it's 4G network in the future to increase capacity? I've noticed they are incredibly slow in urban areas such as inner London their 4G is mostly under 10Mbs, often being slower than the H+ network. Could they do it with their current spectrum portfolio or would the acquisition of more spectrum or refarming of existing spectrum be necessary? Do any physical hardware changes need to be made or can it be done by software?
moox
02-11-2016
Originally Posted by Thine Wonk:
“Why dig up all the roads and go to the effort of cable pulling when you can make use of wireless technology and ship a router that is a true 'hub' with 2..4 and 5Ghz wifi and LAN ports, but that receives WAN link over wireless from a small cell. .”

Because it's more reliable, it's more scalable, it is literally futureproof no matter what you throw at it. Wireless is not.

Wireless is great for the hard to reach areas where FTT* would be astronomically expensive, but it shouldn't be the default.

Originally Posted by Thine Wonk:
“Everything comes down to competitiveness and cost, engineers going in and out of houses, booking appointments, digging roads up outside every house, swapping provider and having "installs", etc are all totally unnecessary once the wireless technology which is just around the corner arrives.”

It's a one time deal - and "digging up the road" is such an old meme now. I don't recall much digging when BT strung the FTTP up in my village.

You don't need to have someone visit when changing providers. You generally don't do this now even on ADSL or FTTC. New ISP sends you a router, you plug it in, it works.

If you were going to do wireless properly, you'd be using a properly installed fixed wireless system, which requires its own installation process. Not just shipping 4G or 5G routers to people and telling them to have fun. Especially if they plan to use ludicrously high frequency spectrum.

Oh, and how do you expect the operators to backhaul their small cells to the core? Magic, or "digging up the road" and putting in that lovely fibre optic cabling?

Originally Posted by Thine Wonk:
“Verizon's CEO

AT&T's SVP.”

Verizon's CEO comes from Verizon Wireless, so it's no surprise that he thinks it's wonderful. Since he got the top job, Verizon's record on wireline investment makes BT look visionary. At least BT's copper probably isn't protected from the elements by bin bags and tape

AT&T are just clueless. They spent billions on VDSL and have since realised that it isn't futureproof - indeed they're reversing track on IPTV, because it consumes too much bandwidth. No such problems in the areas that got FTTP.

If even VDSL is bandwidth constrained even though it's 30-50Mbps per property, imagine how fun it'll be when a number of properties will be sharing a couple of hundred Mbps.
steven_good2
02-11-2016
Hi
Just received a text from three...."Three InTouch Wifi calling is coming...make calls and send text where you previously had no signal. Just take the next software update on your S6." What's this text all about had Three InTouch for ages, dose this mean that it could be intergrated Wifi Calling? Has anyone else had this text?

Just seen this in the Three InTouch website http://www.three.co.uk/discover/three_intouch

"
If you’ve got a compatible handset, there’s a good chance you’ve already got it. Three InTouch Wi-Fi Calling is currently available on the LG G5, and we’re rolling it out across plenty more devices in the next few months, including the iPhone 7, so stay tuned.

If you don’t have a compatible handset then don’t worry, you could still access Three inTouch by downloading the app."
Gigabit
02-11-2016
So basically it's just built-in WiFi Calling, because the iPhone can only support it natively.
-ajm-
02-11-2016
Continuing to fill in gaps in south Hampshire. the centre of Eastleigh has a good signal, where i've been waiting since 2014 for that as I used to work there.
Hoping for coverage in Romsey next.
Also waiting for band 20 to go live from what I assume is the Toothill mast near Rownhams. This would fill some gaps in North Baddessley. Band 3 for a long time but still no band 20.
planetf1
03-11-2016
Great news if they are finally moving on with native wifi-calling (I have an iPhone 7plus).
packages
03-11-2016
Originally Posted by planetf1:
“Great news if they are finally moving on with native wifi-calling (I have an iPhone 7plus).”

Yep,

I can see VoLTE on 1800mhz being live at the same time Wifi Calling is made available on more devices.
InfamousTeal
03-11-2016
Anyone have any experience with call forwarding/diverting on Three?

I want to forward my calls onto a french mobile number, do you reckon that's possible? I rang and asked, and a very grumpy Indian lady instantly told me "not possible" without even looking it up, not sure if I trust her.
sammyelrefee1
03-11-2016
Originally Posted by InfamousTeal:
“Anyone have any experience with call forwarding/diverting on Three?

I want to forward my calls onto a french mobile number, do you reckon that's possible? I rang and asked, and a very grumpy Indian lady instantly told me "not possible" without even looking it up, not sure if I trust her.”

I have forwarded to UK lines before. Go into phone settings and find call forwarding in there. Try adding your french number using the correct dialling code eg +44 for uk. But whatever it is for France. Takes effect immediately from experience
InfamousTeal
03-11-2016
Originally Posted by sammyelrefee1:
“I have forwarded to UK lines before. Go into phone settings and find call forwarding in there. Try adding your french number using the correct dialling code eg +44 for uk. But whatever it is for France. Takes effect immediately from experience”

Thanks, done that and it doesn't allow me to do it with a French number! There's the answer then.
d123
03-11-2016
Originally Posted by InfamousTeal:
“Thanks, done that and it doesn't allow me to do it with a French number! There's the answer then.”

So you set the forwarding to the correctly formatted +33xxxxxx number and it wouldn't work? Can you direct dial the number from the handset concerned?
jo_m1
03-11-2016
I've never managed to use call forwarding on a foreign number with Three and was also told that it's not possible.
Thine Wonk
03-11-2016
I see the Mate 9 is coming to Three, I've been updating myself from PocketNow and even Jon Morris's benchmark video.

Questions....

When is it out?
Will it support supervoice?
Jon, can you access a service menu and force bands etc? - I ask as you obviously have a review handset
What is the battery life like? I'm guessing amazing at 4000 mAh and with a 90 min full charge
I'd need to buy an extra 1 or 2 proprietary chargers though which sucks.
InfamousTeal
03-11-2016
Originally Posted by d123:
“So you set the forwarding to the correctly formatted +33xxxxxx number and it wouldn't work? Can you direct dial the number from the handset concerned?”

I wrote it in and it says "Incorrect network response", so I would assume it's not supported. Yes I can call it directly. Oh well!
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