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Which mobile network do you prefer?


View Poll Results: Which mobile network do you prefer?
ASDA Mobile 0 0%
BT Mobile 2 2.50%
The Co-operative Mobile 0 0%
EE (including T-Mobile & Orange) 33 41.25%
giffgaff 1 1.25%
Lebara Mobile 0 0%
Lycamobile 0 0%
O2 9 11.25%
Pebble Mobile 0 0%
Post Office Mobile 0 0%
Talkmobile 0 0%
TalkTalk Mobile 0 0%
Tesco Mobile 2 2.50%
The People's Operator 0 0%
Three 21 26.25%
Vectone Mobile 0 0%
Virgin Media Mobile 1 1.25%
Vodafone 11 13.75%
Voters: 80. You can't vote on this poll right now - are you signed in?

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Old 13-02-2016, 12:15
Randomguy1
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It's been a while since one of these have been done which do you prefer?
No option for a poll anymore?
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Old 13-02-2016, 13:52
preecey
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EE is by far the best overall UK network, and I love them. Outstanding 3G and 4G coverage here in South Wales.

O2 is the worst network for 3G/4G coverage, and I can't stand them. Venture any further than a few miles outside of a major city or town centre over here and you'll only get 2G. Vodafone are almost as bad but have a few more 3G base stations.

Three are almost as good as EE here as pretty much all the EE/Three masts have been MBNL'd. But of course they don't share each other's 4G networks.
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Old 13-02-2016, 13:56
mrMick
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Whatever one works

Currently that's EE (via BT Moblile)
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Old 13-02-2016, 14:13
ba_baracus
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I like Three. Good coverage, Feel at Home is pretty useful, and the pricing is good.

One annoying thing is that they do tend to call a lot and try to sell you another service. But I think I have now managed to block every number they call from so have not heard from them for a while.

EE are good too, there's no denying that. But they are too expensive for me.
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Old 13-02-2016, 14:23
Rich_Allen
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I used to like Vodafone, till I discovered the expense of their data charges

EE are good, well they were till I got banned for life from the forum on their website.
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Old 13-02-2016, 14:25
JasonWatkins
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I've been with virgin for many years ( i know they're an mvno and not technically a 'network'). Practical purposes more than anything - they're the only network as far as i know who offer free calls to other people on the same network, so it makes more sense for me and my immediate family to all be on virgin so we have free calls.
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Old 13-02-2016, 14:50
daveh75
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I like Three. Good coverage, Feel at Home is pretty useful, and the pricing is good.

One annoying thing is that they do tend to call a lot and try to sell you another service. But I think I have now managed to block every number they call from so have not heard from them for a while.
That must be down to your marketing preferences settings.

I've been with Three for years and have never been pestered by them ever.
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Old 13-02-2016, 14:59
Rich_Allen
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About 7 years ago, both me and my Dad were on Three, which was quite confusing to their call centre because both our initials are R Allen, so they thought he was me and I was him, and wouldn't speak to either of us regarding contract queries

Also, at the end of the contract, I gave 30 days notice, IN WRITING, to terminate the contract, they denied receiving it even though I sent it recorded delivery as I don't trust the local postal service to not lose stuff, so I had to get Dad to ring their Indian call centre and get upset with them on my behalf to terminate the contract.
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Old 13-02-2016, 15:00
moox
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Apart from the lack of 4G coverage I'm happy enough with 3. Even tempted to get the £20 AYCE deal. One barrier to moving networks is that I'd need a signal box from the new company as all the networks are poor in my house. I have a Vodafone one lying around, but their network is otherwise so rubbish it's not worth it at any price.

I've never ever had a call from 3 trying to sell me a new contract or an upgrade or whatever.
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Old 13-02-2016, 15:58
finbaar
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Where I work VF has no signal, O2 is GPRS only, EE is congested and data speeds are incredibly slow (it's the network used by my company) so that only leaves Three who have a decent data network.
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Old 13-02-2016, 16:16
Thine Wonk
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Three is fine for me, I like the fact I just don't have to worry about how much I use. The deal is cheap, I still get tethering as I'm still on the One Plan at the moment. The coverage is fine for my needs, often when we're out walking or in a countryside pub i'll find my friend on Vodafone is stuck on GPRS and often I'm hanging on to a bar of 3G but whizzing along loading pages fine and even able to stream video on 3G with 1 bar.

I have a good signal at home and work and it's brilliant for streaming in the car, again no allowance concern, even on a 20G plan I'd be thinking "might need to use it more later in the month, better conserve my usage".

My mate installed an app which used loads of data (we think, we're still unsure what used 10GB) however he now has 17 days till it rolls over and can hardly use his phone otherwise he'll go over his allowance. I never want to be in that position, also if I want to stream some Twitch on the phone when away from home I can put it in 1080p and just watch it without having to sit there thinking about my allowance.

I'm currently on unlimited tethering, expecting to be on 12GB at some point though, but I'll be happy either way.
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Old 13-02-2016, 16:21
hammy_y
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For my area the coverage is like this:
2G: O2 > EE & Vodafone
3G: EE & Three > O2 & Vodafone
4G: EE > O2 & Vodafone > Three
Indoor: O2 > Vodafone > EE > Three

All of the networks are trying to solve their weak points though:
O2 & Vodafone are rolling out more 3G and 4G.
Three is trying to buy O2 to get decent 4G and indoor coverage.
EE is soon going to be rolling out 800 VoLTE coverage to improve indoor coverage.
Three also has 800 VoLTE for indoor coverage, and it should eventually work properly.

Overall I'd say EE are the best though - their only flaw is indoor coverage, which should get better soon. The other three are difficult because it depends a lot on your area. If you're like me and you get 4G from everyone except Three, then O2 & Vodafone will be better. But if you're even more rural and only get 3G from EE/Three, then Three will be better.
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Old 13-02-2016, 16:24
Cloudane
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EE by far. There's the odd place here and there in the Lakes where Vodafone gets voice coverage and EE doesn't, which is handy, but not enough to try and maintain a second SIM just for camping etc. And I'd say the number of times in the Lakes where Vodafone has voice and EE has nothing is far outweighed by the number of times EE has 3G or even 4G and Vodafone has GPRS or EDGE.

I'd say it goes like this:

If I wanted voice only: Vodafone, O2, EE, Three (can't beat Voda's robust 900MHz 2G network. Three comes last because it requires a 3G phone)

If I was only bothered about the best data coverage: EE, Three, Vodafone, O2

Customer service and general competence comes into it and goes: EE, O2, Three, Vodafone (atrocious)

Overall preference: EE, Three, O2, Vodafone
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Old 13-02-2016, 19:09
scooby1970
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Three for me. I've been a jobs where I've had to travel a lot and the other networks all let me down. Three is excellent value for money, they have great customer service, and 4G is nice and fast when my wife's EE phone struggles.

Mark
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Old 13-02-2016, 19:25
bookey_uk
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Ee
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Old 13-02-2016, 19:43
aurichie
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EE for me - it's the biggest, best and fastest mobile network in the world.

Of course now BT are about to start ruining it, I'm waiting for Sky Mobile to launch.
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Old 13-02-2016, 19:52
newda898
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Have I stepped into a branch of EE?
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Old 13-02-2016, 19:55
camer_000
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Have I stepped into a branch of EE?
There is good reason for everyone liking EE so much though. Overall it it the best network in the UK. Who is second/third/fourth is debatable.
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Old 13-02-2016, 20:05
binary
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Champions Mobile | Connecting Champions
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Old 13-02-2016, 20:33
rasseru16
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Of course it's EE for me aswell! In my town only EE provide 4G and decent enough 3G too! No other networks comes close sorry O2/Vodafone. 3 is good but lack of investment in 4G and lack of 2G voice fall-back.
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Old 13-02-2016, 22:52
alan1302
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Prefer EE but use Vodafone
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Old 13-02-2016, 22:55
Thine Wonk
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There is good reason for everyone liking EE so much though. Overall it it the best network in the UK. Who is second/third/fourth is debatable.
That depends on your definition of best really, which is subjective.

Do they have the best 4G and range of coverage - yes
Do they have the best allowances - no
Do they offer the best value - not always

If I moved to EE I'd likely have to pay more or be subject to download caps, and personally wouldn't really benefit from the extra coverage or speeds as I'm happy with the coverage and speeds I get not, they suit me just fine for the money. I also get unlimited so I think I'm on the best network for me.
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Old 13-02-2016, 23:05
camer_000
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That depends on your definition of best really, which is subjective.

Do they have the best 4G and range of coverage - yes
Do they have the best allowances - no
Do they offer the best value - not always

If I moved to EE I'd likely have to pay more or be subject to download caps, and personally wouldn't really benefit from the extra coverage or speeds as I'm happy with the coverage and speeds I get not, they suit me just fine for the money. I also get unlimited so I think I'm on the best network for me.
I was more talking about the actual network, because they aren't the cheapest or best value, but it's a case of paying a premium for generally getting premium service.
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Old 13-02-2016, 23:35
ryan125hst
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3 is good but lack of investment in 4G and lack of 2G voice fall-back.
I agree with you there. I got my first mobile contract with 3 in September 2014 just before I started uni having been with Orange on PAYG up until then. I've been impressed with the network with decent speeds and working internet all over the place. However, I do occasionally end up with No Service and I feel that EE would give me the same good experience on 3G but also give me a 2G service as a back up. The fact that they have wider 4G coverage as well as double speed 4G and 4G+ is also tempting me over to EE when my contract runs out this summer. The best speeds I've got on 3 are 27 Mbps down on 3G and about 60 Mbps down on 4G at the Toby carvery on Ecclesall Road, Sheffield. The mast was just outside!

My parents are on O2 and often I'll have a good 3G connection and they'll be sat on 2G. Luckily, they don't use mobile internet as much as I do. I was also surprised when, despite being the only operator to claim good indoor coverage on their coverage map in the layby where my Mum waits to pick my sister up from school, they could only manage 0.5 Mbps on 3G when I was with her and tested it a few years ago. My 3 phone managed just over 3 Mbps but the signal was patchy (as predicted on the map) and it lost connection afterwards. I'd guess it's just a backhaul problem as O2's 3G mast is closer than the other networks. It could be the best of the lot if upgraded to 4G. Despite O2 having 2G900, I still seem to get a far better signal on my 3 phone at home on 3G2100 than my parents do on O2.

As for Vodafone, their 2G signal works great at my Grandparents whereas you get nothing downstairs on 3 and O2. I'm not 100% sure about EE. Also, my coursemate got a 4G signal at my uni's other campus when we went up there for an exam back in January yet I was on No Service, although I think the Vodafone mast was across the road so it does give them a bit of an advantage. Another coursemate was on Facebook with a decent 3G connection when in Subway earlier this week, yet I couldn't get my 3G or 4G (both were available) to work at all. Even the free WiFI was down! As soon as I walked outside- three bars of 3G. It looks like the metal in the building affected the signal. If it wasn't for the poor 3G and 4G coverage, I'll be tempted to join Vodafone in summer for the better indoor coverage, but as EE has the best 3G and 4G and usable 2G from what I've read on here, and also works fine at home, I'm almost certain I'll be heading to EE later in the year.
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Old 13-02-2016, 23:36
ney
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I have been with 02 about 15 years now and have been 98% happy with them.

Darren
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