thinking of moving to three

mkennedy

sorry in advance for another three thread.

basically i'm thinking of moving to three. i've 2 questions:

1) are any of the other established networks going to come out with a mobile broadband add-on that remotely rivals three's offering any time soon- I see meteor are offering 10gb for €30? but I don't think I need 10gb for that price tbh- i'd prefer something less for cheaper- and i'm not mad about meteor's voice tarriffs either. so are vf or o2 about to do anything soon.

2) exactly how crap are three. on the face of it their price plans seem to be no-brainers compared to the other networks but from the stories here i'm just a bit wary of them.

tbh if it's just a customer service problem I'm thinking maybe I can get by without relying on
them too much- I don't use vf cs too much atm tbh. is this realistic though.

any advice appreciated.

foobar

Hey great questions, i feel the same way. One other concern is coverage, i was talking to a carphonewarehouse rep and he told me that 3 don't have any coverage in my area and that it would piggy back of the vodafone network .The problem is that i would have to manually select the vodafone network from the phone setting and that it wouldn't happen automatically. That sounds like a real pain . Need to check with 3 to see if thats true.

Cyrus

i dunno ive been with all providers now and three are the only ones ive renewed a contract with, mobile bb is great, no reception probs and cheapest tariffs, also love the prem goals etc

im in dublin mostly tho.

delighted with the service

drdre

Cyrus wrote:

i dunno ive been with all providers now and three are the only ones ive renewed a contract with, mobile bb is great, no reception probs and cheapest tariffs, also love the prem goals etc

im in dublin mostly tho.

delighted with the service

From reading your reviews i might consider moving to 3 when my contract expires with o2.

Cyrus

well to me (if you are in dublin anyway) its a bit of a no brainer, but im not looking for anything crazy either, i use the phone for calls, texts, gps (but thats nothing to do with 3) and internet, i find the mobile bb add on great just for checking cinema times etc.

but ive never had any cause to ring customer care etc and that seems to be where people have trouble

Mkl

Once you manaully select vodafone, you wouldn't need to keep changing it so it wouldn't be that much hassle.

Sam Vimes

Mkl wrote:

Once you manaully select vodafone, you wouldn't need to keep changing it so it wouldn't be that much hassle.

and you don't actually have to do that which is nice

AdMMM

1) are any of the other established networks going to come out with a mobile broadband add-on that remotely rivals three's offering any time soon- I see meteor are offering 10gb for €30? but I don't think I need 10gb for that price tbh- i'd prefer something less for cheaper- and i'm not mad about meteor's voice tarriffs either. so are vf or o2 about to do anything soon.

So far I've found the 100mb package to be more than sufficent for me as the vast majority of the sites that I visit are wap optimised and therefore less intensive on your available allowance. I must admit that I'm not aware of any other networks offerings.

2) exactly how crap are three. on the face of it their price plans seem to be no-brainers compared to the other networks but from the stories here i'm just a bit wary of them.

Stories you read on here (for any network) will always be negative - people won't go to the bother of writing a thread about a good experience with a network because lets face it, we expect things to work and it's only when things go haywire that we decide to tell the world about how bad something is!

Personally I'm a happy Three company and would recommend them to anyone.

foobar

|.Murderer.| wrote:

Stories you read on here (for any network) will always be negative - people won't go to the bother of writing a thread about a good experience with a network because lets face it, we expect things to work and it's only when things go haywire that we decide to tell the world about how bad something is!

while that may be true, i don't really hear to many others complain about the service or customer care for the other networks . 3 users definitely are complaining the most on this board. There might be other reasons though, maybe 3 offering attracts the geekier members of society with there competitive data offering .... just the type of people who would voice there complainants on a mobile forum.

Cyrus

what are the main complaints tho? ive never really had reason to ring customer care on any network?

kevinmcc

I'm with them since August 05 with no problems.

By the way did anyone check out the link below where you can chat to three customer service through web chat, just click on questions - talk to an advisor now

http://www.three.ie/handsets_new/index.htm

paulm17781

I would recommend them. I've been with them about 18 months. Their customer service is annoying but the network is good and the tarrifs are great. I would go with them and hope the CS improves.

drdre

Thanks Cyrus i will look at their tariffs and see what suits me.

Yggr of Asgard

I have 3 since they came to Ireland and in the beginning it was bad (roaming did not work etc.) but since about 1 year the network is brilliant for voice quality and data quality. Roaming is cheap due to the fact that I go to countries where they have 3 at home a lot. Their prices are great too.

BUT if you ever need help (bill issue, handset issue) they are 3rd world bad. It was okay while bill pay customers when to the UK for calls, now it's all India and it is extemly bad. Don't expect help of any sort or any unscripted interaction.

Good while it works, extemly bad if something goes wrong.

mkennedy

thanks for the input.
i'll definitely be considering moving alright.

but just a query about the 3g to gprs issue:
does that mean if you're connected to the net in a 3g area and you then enter a gprs area you will lose the connection and have to manually reconfigure it to reconnect in the gprs area.

that sounds like a pain in the ar$e.

culabula

mkennedy wrote:

thanks for the input.
i'll definitely be considering moving alright.

but just a query about the 3g to gprs issue:
does that mean if you're connected to the net in a 3g area and you then enter a gprs area you will lose the connection and have to manually reconfigure it to reconnect in the gprs area.

that sounds like a pain in the ar$e.

No

jimmycrackcorm

There is no mobile Broadband in non-3G areas.

On the face of it, they actually have a fairly decent network. i.e. if you have mobile BB on a billpay account for example works whereas on 3Pay it's basic. It would be unbeatable value otherwise.

The pricing of video messages equivalent to text messages is excellent.

For normal standard use in Dublin then I'd say go ahead but if you have any issues and have to deal with customer care then you will likely not get any satisfaction. Three are a technology focused company and not a customer based one. e.g. for 3pay mobile broadband you can only get age verification by physically going to one of their only two stores in Dublin. What use is that in Kerry or Donegal ( not that they have much 3G coverage anyway)?

I would also question their non-dublin coverage aswell as I've been in a couple of places where not-only could I not get three coverage but it would not roam onto vodafone for either.

Anyway the answer to the question is simple - sign up and you have 14 days to reconsider - more than enough time to evaluate the service. For me that was enough to escape a year long contract.

Sam Vimes

jimmycrackcorm wrote:

Anyway the answer to the question is simple - sign up and you have 14 days to reconsider - more than enough time to evaluate the service. For me that was enough to escape a year long contract.

it wasn't until i upgrade my phone that i had a problem with them

gunnerfitzy

I was with 3 for a year and only for the fact that I was leaving the country I would have remained with them. Any time I called CS they were very friendly and helpful although this was prior to the call center being moved to India. I'm not saying that the Indian staff are poor, just that I have had no dealings with them!

Last year my 6680 died completely, I rang CS in the afternoon, explained the problem and had a new 6680 delivered to my door the next morning. I was well impressed tbh.

Sam Vimes

gunnerfitzy wrote:

Last year my 6680 died completely, I rang CS in the afternoon, explained the problem and had a new 6680 delivered to my door the next morning. I was well impressed tbh.

my 6680 broke and a new one was sent out to me in college. i even arranged for him to be there at 1 so i'd be on my lunch. that was when 3 were good

Solair

From a tarrif and network point of view they're fine.

Customer service is shockingly poor if something goes wrong. Perhaps I've just been very unlucky, but I really think they need to get their C.S. back on track fast. It's a major down side to them at the moment and there's no real reason why it should be so shoddy either. I suspect it's a poorly managed switch over from Scotland to India.

Personally, I think they can do most c/s from outside of Ireland or the UK, but when it comes to some issues they need to be handled locally

mkennedy

jimmycrackcorm wrote:

There is no mobile Broadband in non-3G areas.

lads is this true. does mobile broadband work in gprs areas at all.

and if it does, will mobile bb in a gprs area cost you the same as in a 3g area.

culabula

mkennedy wrote:

lads is this true. does mobile broadband work in gprs areas at all.

and if it does, will mobile bb in a gprs area cost you the same as in a 3g area.

There certainly was when I got the datacard at the outset.
Latterly I have noticed that my dataSIM (inserted in an N95) is no longer roaming onto Vodafone the way it used to.
As the conditions of the new datamodem (and 10GB SIM) is that there will be no voice, no SMS and no *non-UTMS roaming* (national or international) perhaps this has been changed across the board.

jimmycrackcorm

mkennedy wrote:

lads is this true. does mobile broadband work in gprs areas at all.

and if it does, will mobile bb in a gprs area cost you the same as in a 3g area.

If you sign up for a new a/c whether billpay or 3pay, the only things options available are ones you can pay for i.e. buy music and pitures. No surfing whatsoever.

foobar

jimmycrackcorm wrote:

If you sign up for a new a/c whether billpay or 3pay, the only things options available are ones you can pay for i.e. buy music and pitures. No surfing whatsoever.

Ahh man that would totally suck for me .... i live in a non 3G area. I was on the fence and thinking of going to 3 because of there BB rates. No point leaving vodafone now .

storka

Anyone know how much of a difference there is between the billpay and 3pay broadband?
I mean is one quicker or can one access more than the other?

culabula

storka wrote:

Anyone know how much of a difference there is between the billpay and 3pay broadband?
I mean is one quicker or can one access more than the other?

3pay broadband is crippled. That is to say that a) the handset canot be used as a modem with a laptop or desktop and b) some surfing on the phone is restricted and services such as VoiP etc are not guaranteed to work. That's the difference.

Solair

I know that there were plenty of areas where I had GSM coverage only, with no data service AT ALL.

I'm in urban areas mostly, so it's fine, it's usually fully 3G all the time.

I also found that my handset will drop calls when it jumps from Vodafone back to 3 or visa versa.

storka

culabula wrote:

3pay broadband is crippled. That is to say that a) the handset canot be used as a modem with a laptop or desktop and b) some surfing on the phone is restricted and services such as VoiP etc are not guaranteed to work. That's the difference.

Ok thanks. a) wouldnt concern me because I wouldnt want to use it as a modem and b) wouldnt so long as I can access gmail and some other sites.

hosi

Just checked 3's website. K800i and N73 are discontinued??

anthony4335

Why was the n73 discontinued? nice phone.

Urban Weigl

anthony4335 wrote:

Why was the n73 discontinued? nice phone.

Maybe 3 felt it could not be locked down enough, which is also perhaps why the N95 failed testing. Seriously though, I think they may just be out of stock. Have you actual confirmation that it has been discontinued?

anthony4335

A friend just yesterday went to upgrade to the N73, and was told it was discontinued, by who was not specified, of why. And was sold the Sony W950i instead. Where as I have had it for the last 2 months and have been problem free.

storka

Yeah its now gone from their website. Was thinking of moving so I could get the N73 but definately not now!!

ablelocks

I'm re-thinking switching to 3 - on paper it's a no brainer - get the 6233/6280/k610i for free, €19 a month for billpay for my phone, and get the usb modem for my broadband at €20pm + €129. Total cost for the year for broadband and mobile phone usage = €597, nearly €50 a month. And for the second year, that drops to €39 pm.

On the three website, under the music handsets banner, the k800i is still listed but is "currently out of stock".

Sam Vimes

storka wrote:

Anyone know how much of a difference there is between the billpay and 3pay broadband?
I mean is one quicker or can one access more than the other?

the 3pay bb goes through a proxy that changes all the html data for the phone. because of the proxy its very slow and no applications except the built in browser work.

so if you want to use gmail you'll have to go to the site rather than use the application. i'll check today if you can

godskitchen

ablelocks wrote:

I'm re-thinking switching to 3 - on paper it's a no brainer - get the 6233/6280/k610i for free, €19 a month for billpay for my phone, and get the usb modem for my broadband at €20pm + €129. Total cost for the year for broadband and mobile phone usage = €597, nearly €50 a month. And for the second year, that drops to €39 pm.

On the three website, under the music handsets banner, the k800i is still listed but is "currently out of stock".

please bare in mind its not all about cost, give it 2 months and these boards will be full of

"My Three Broadband is really slow, what can i do?"

"three customer service is sh1t!"

"how can i cancel my contract?"

and yes i will be telling you all i told you so

Urban Weigl

Well, this new service is so simple, I don't think any customer service is going to be required. I don't think even 3 can mess it up.

neilled

anthony4335 wrote:

A friend just yesterday went to upgrade to the N73, and was told it was discontinued, by who was not specified, of why. And was sold the Sony W950i instead. Where as I have had it for the last 2 months and have been problem free.

The w850i or the w950? They've not been able to give me a release date for the latter.

culabula

Urban Weigl wrote:

Well, this new service is so simple, I don't think any customer service is going to be required. I don't think even 3 can mess it up.

It makes me laugh how they invite you to ring them from 333 in the event of needing customer service regarding your new modem and broadband in the manual supplied. How?

Of course you can ring 083etc from another handset -the cost of that is going to make people love 3.

ablelocks

Urban Weigl wrote:

Well, this new service is so simple, I don't think any customer service is going to be required. I don't think even 3 can mess it up.

was it yourself or culabula (or both) who promised a review of the modem in the broken thread?

godskitchen

Urban Weigl wrote:

Well, this new service is so simple, I don't think any customer service is going to be required. I don't think even 3 can mess it up.

you would think so....................I wont hold my breath though

culabula

ablelocks wrote:

was it yourself or culabula (or both) who promised a review of the modem in the broken thread?

Probably me but I didn't want to start a new thread yet and have just reported the old one.

Since I've used the modem before on Voodoo, there's no great mystery to it. It's superb and it beats using a phone as a BT modem into a cocked hat. It shows that all the problems I've had of late have been down to the N95 and NOT 3. Surfing in a basement wine bar in Dublin last night was solid, stable and faaaaaaaaaaaaaaast. It didn't drop the connection once. Dublin-Belfast on the train was less successful but also less hassle than reconnecting on the N95. Just click connect when the signal returns. The N95 would often get its knickers in a twist and its tantrums could in turn upset the macBook.

Those are my early impressions of the modem: I have some issues to clear up and then I'll add to this.

snookie

I've just switched to their broadband service in the last couple of days and I'm deeply unimpressed. Every part of the transaction has been shoddy. The in-store staff in the Grafton Street branch were laughably bad. You'd find far better in the average Centra or Spar.
I do a lot of consultancy work with mobile companies in Europe and I spend time looking at how different companies handle their entire customer experience. 3 in Ireland are without doubt the worst I've seen. Their in store staff are more interested in talking to each other than their customers. You'd find better sales skills in any centra or Spar and their knowledge of products is laughably poor. I stood around for 10 minutes on two ocassions waiting for service while 2 of their 'retail assistants' stood at the back of the store chatting. In that time I saw three other people leave in obvious frustration. I stayed because, well, it gave me an insight into some of my customer's competitors.
While the USB broadband service was reasonably easy to connect, only one of the supplied cables appears to be working. More importantly the speed is nowhere near the advertised 3.6mb. Its better than dial up but not by much. I rang customer service last night and was on hold for 30 minutes. I eventually gave up.

What else can you say?

StealthRolex

Three Mobile Broadband - what a joke. You're lucky to get 56K modem dial-up speeds. And that's inside the Dublin Metropolitan area.

Three have far too many users and not enough capacity to keep the service above 50K when most of us are awake.

If you want to use Three for Broadband set your alarm clock for 3am and you're currently good until about 8am

culabula

StealthRolex wrote:

Three Mobile Broadband - what a joke. You're lucky to get 56K modem dial-up speeds. And that's inside the Dublin Metropolitan area.

Three have far too many users and not enough capacity to keep the service above 50K when most of us are awake.

If you want to use Three for Broadband set your alarm clock for 3am and you're currently good until about 8am

I still get over 2mbps in or around Smithfield when I'm there. Very good in Cork city centre, flakey when travelling.

jimmycrackcorm

"three customer service is sh1t!"



and yes i will be telling you all i told you so [/QUOTE]

Why wait when we know this already.