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which phone network is the best?
tropical_igloo
12-08-2006
hey im on vodaphone at the moment and i am wanting to change to a better company as at the moment i am charged 12p per text (unless i send 3 in a day then they all become 10p for that day) and i like vodaphone because i live in quite a rural area and my signal is quite good, and because i can top up £5 rather that £10 and because im a student thats a benefit!

anyway, i want to change to one which will give me better offers, for example the o2 300 free texts a month sim card but i need some advice as to which is the best PAY AS YOU GO company.
please help!
BIGDOGUK
13-08-2006
If u text alot t-mobile's text apeal tariff is very good http://www.tmobile.co.uk/ 3p per text any netowork or if you call other networks alot try tesco mobile's extra tariiff http://www.tescomobile.com/ only 10 per min any network and 5p er text any network but you get to top up £15 per month to stay on this tariff.

Hope this helps.

BIGDIGUK
dawson
13-08-2006
(a) This thread should really be in the Mobile Telephony forum, so expect it to be moved shortly

(b) Every network is both the best and worst depending on who you ask.
If you want to see the majority view, then there is a poll in the mobile telephony forum that should give you a fairer overall view of which networks FMs prefer.
Last edited by dawson : 13-08-2006 at 00:26
VirtualR
13-08-2006
Be really careful about coverage being as you are in a rural area. Vodafone has the best and O2 comes second, but there is still a massive difference between the two. Check out the coverage maps for each via google.
flicker
13-08-2006
Originally Posted by VirtualR:
“Be really careful about coverage being as you are in a rural area. Vodafone has the best and O2 comes second, but there is still a massive difference between the two. Check out the coverage maps for each via google.”

I was going to say the same thing re coverage in a rural area, but here, sadly Vodaphone is not good at all. In a journey of 12 miles in either direction, there is no network for approximately half of it, hopeless if you break down in the car, which is the main reason I have a mobile phone. Where my friend lives, she has to walk about 100 yards up her field to get even a weak signal.

Here Orange is the best. We can't get at all O2, Virgin, Tesco or any others.
jenneigh
13-08-2006
im on o2. they're good. i get 300 free texts a month if i top up £10.
at the moment they're giving away free sim cards, you can claim up to 4 sim cards... have a look on some of the freebie websites, you might find them.
daveyboywales
13-08-2006
I'm in a rural area and O2 and Vodafone have the best signal, Orange and T-Mobile are useless, infact I've noticed both Orange and T-Mobile only seem to have good coverage in or around towns and citys, once you venture out signal is rubbish
Garyo2
13-08-2006
Originally Posted by VirtualR:
“Be really careful about coverage being as you are in a rural area. Vodafone has the best and O2 comes second, but there is still a massive difference between the two. Check out the coverage maps for each via google.”


What a load of tosh. You do realise there are rural areas all over the country don't you?

Totally dependant on where you want to use your phone who will provide the best coverage.

Ask your friends and collegues what they use (people who live/work in same area).
VirtualR
13-08-2006
Originally Posted by Garyo2:
“What a load of tosh. You do realise there are rural areas all over the country don't you?

Totally dependant on where you want to use your phone who will provide the best coverage.

Ask your friends and collegues what they use (people who live/work in same area).”


To save both argument and to dispute what I said was "a load of tosh" check out these maps:

o2

Vodafone map

Also this site has a short run down of coverage for most networks:
http://www.mobileshop.org/buyguide/coverage.htm
Garyo2
13-08-2006
Originally Posted by VirtualR:
“To save both argument and to dispute what I said was "a load of tosh" check out these maps:

o2

Vodafone map

Also this site has a short run down of coverage for most networks:
http://www.mobileshop.org/buyguide/coverage.htm”

Yes that would be the sensible thing to check each networks webmaps. Each network has areas of strength whether that be rural or built up areas, and thus the reason why I have given the orginal quote tosh status. As its hugely misleading and incorrect.
mattworld
13-08-2006
I wouldn't read too much into the Mobileshop article, its a bit dated (clue: it says Vodafone have the most subscribers, they don't, not in the UK anyway).

Nationally there isn't much in the coverage of the mobile providers, as you can see from these maps, O2 and Vodafone probably have an very slight advantage over T-Mobile and Orange for various reasons.

On a local basis in some areas will be better served by one network than another one. I wouldn't read too much into the online coverage maps provided by the operators or anyone else, they are good for a general guide but thats it. They only provide an estimate, there are still black spots etc & they don't really give an indication as to general signal quality where you will be. As GaryO2 said, its best to ask other people in your area what their signal is like.
iDan
13-08-2006
Vodafone *do* have the most subscribers don't they?

I've always been with Vodafone, they're expensive but i've never had any problems!
Garyo2
13-08-2006
Originally Posted by Telly_Man:
“Vodafone *do* have the most subscribers don't they?

I've always been with Vodafone, they're expensive but i've never had any problems!”

No not anymore.

I believe o2 have the most now closely follwed by T-mobile, then Vodafone.

O2 were the only company to increase customer base in the last quarter. T-mobile lost 400,000 (NET)
mattworld
13-08-2006
Quote:
“Vodafone *do* have the most subscribers don't they?

I've always been with Vodafone, they're expensive but i've never had any problems!”

No as at June 30th 2006 Vodafone had 16,185,000 subscibers & O2 had 16,814,000.

According to T-Mobile's lates update on 10/08/06, T-Mobile UK has 16.7 million customers, including 4 million Virgin Mobile customers.

Haven't been able to find Oranges latest figures, but at the end of Q3 2005 they had 14.5 million subscribers
moox
13-08-2006
As someone who lives in a rural area, I've found that all 4 GSM networks are just as good as each other with only T-Mobile being a bit weaker than the rest.

3G wise, I can only get Orange and even then 1 bar (but a consistent 1 bar, I don't have to stay still) of signal. Vodafone are supposed to have 3G here but they don't.

As such, I go with the one who offers me what I want. I use Orange and o2 - Orange for the cheap GPRS and o2 for the free allowances.

(you really should check the various provider websites for coverage info, and people who have a phone on the network you want near you, though)
coyle06
13-08-2006
o2 is the best for pay as you go - 300 free texts and 150 xnet off peak minutes for a £15 top up and you can still use the £15 credit on anything you want!
Paul_7
15-08-2006
Originally Posted by Garyo2:
“O2 were the only company to increase customer base in the last quarter. T-mobile lost 400,000 (NET)”

Out of interest, what was the source of this 400,000 figure?

From this Guardian article...

Originally Posted by Guardian article:
“T-Mobile UK, the British subsidiary of Deutsche Telekom, saw a 127% rise in new customers in the first half of the year...

...the mobile phone operator said it had achieved its fastest growth in contract customers: the number of net new customers rose to 629,000, 14 times that of the first half of 2005. This was driven mainly by its Flext contract, which gives customers a monthly amount within which they can use variable amounts of texts, calls and video messaging, as opposed to fixed numbers of texts and call minutes. The plan has attracted more than 771,000 customers since its launch in March.”

mattworld
16-08-2006
Acutally, if we are talking about how many customrs they gained/lost in a quater, which Garyo2 was, the the figure for T-Mobile is way off 629,000. The actual figure is an addition 369,000 in the first quater, of which 363,000 were contract customers.

Corporate websites are your friend ... http://www.t-mobile.net/CDA/press200...d-1885,en.html
Last edited by mattworld : 16-08-2006 at 01:20
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