What network?

Frank Black

Hi folks,
I've been thinking about getting a smartphone and there's one on ibood today that is tempting.
What I'm wondering is, presumably I would need to sign up with one of the network providers.
Does anyone have any advice on what network offers the best value in terms of data bundles and calls?
Thanks in advance.

cookie1977

Get a free payg sim from a few networks and test the signal in your area. For me at the moment Three are the best bill pay with data, network but for some people their signal isnt great. Test it and see. Sims are usually free from the networks (although vodafone charge for the sim but do give credit)

Abelloid

Meteor works well for me, but try Three too. Free SIMs from each.

Mimikyu

This post has been deleted.

geuro

I've had a bad experience with O2 so I'll be changing at the end of my contract in a couple of months too. On O2 i paid 55 a month, for 350 minutes and 150 texts and 500 MB data.

Vodafone don't offer a competitive deal for similar service.

Meteor offer 50 a month for 400 minutes, 400 texts and 2 MB data. I think Meteor sales assistants will also offer the first 12 months of this 18 month deal at 40 euro if asked.

3 offer 350 minutes, 150 texts and unlimited data for 40 per month.

I would snap up the offer from 3, since it has unlimited data and sufficient minutes, but I'm worried about the coverage from 3. Anyone here currently with 3, would you give it the thumbs up or thumbs down? How does it perform when travelling around?

Cheers

G

cookie1977

test the signal yourself in your area.

geuro

Yeah thanks for your helpful response. That's one thing I can try to help me get an idea about my local area. I would get a better idea though if I could get some feedback from people who have been using 3 for a while.

cookie1977

geuro wrote: »

Yeah thanks for your helpful response. That's one thing I can try to help me get an idea about my local area. I would get a better idea though if I could get some feedback from people who have been using 3 for a while.

But how if you live in dublin can someone in donegal tell you how good the network is or isn't? There plenty of opinions on three both positive and negative and they all depend on where you live work and play. So taking someones opinion of three in their area may mean absolutely nothing to you. You need to test. For me three are excellent, for my brother they're woeful.

Frank Black

Thanks for the advice - Ideally looking to keep costs down as low as possible.
Had a look at a few of the networks mentioned.
Meteor seemed to have the best price/data bundle €25 online with 1GB of data.

geuro

ok thanks. i suppose bad feedback from someone in Donegal and good feedback from someone in Dublin tells me that while 3 is good in Dublin, it's not a great option if I'm travelling to Donegal, which is exactly the kind of information I'm looking for. Saves me driving to Donegal to test it myself. Good to hear you're getting decent coverage anyway

Kensington

Outside of Three coverage your phone will revert to Vodafone 2G. While you won't have fast 3G internet, you will still be able to call and text fine. Vodafone 2G coverage tends to be pretty good all over Ireland.

No matter what network you choose, you will always come across coverage blackspots.

cookie1977

black francis wrote: »

Thanks for the advice - Ideally looking to keep costs down as low as possible.
Had a look at a few of the networks mentioned.
Meteor seemed to have the best price/data bundle €25 online with 1GB of data.

On three there's all you can eat data, 350 units (1unit= 1min or 2 sms), free three to three calls and a free add-on such as free unlimited landline calls any time of the day all for 30 euro per month and no long contract (30 day notice)

http://www.three.ie/contractstore/shop/flow/PricePlan.aspx?handsetProductId=641

srsly78

Yes but 3s network doesn't work properly. I ragequit from them last year because of the infamous loss of internetz problem (dublin city centre, was with 3: jan-may2010). They have the best prices, I would love to use their service! But they won't even acknowledge the problem at all

edit: The problem is nothing to do with network blackspots here. It's because 3 don't actually have a 2g network, and the handover from vodafone 2g back to 3-3g bugs out. In contrast, competitors that offer a full service (without relying on domestic roaming) have no such problem: they "just work".

mgbgt1978

I ordered free sims from O2, meteor and 3 on 27th March. All were ordered online.
Meteor and O2 arrived within 3 days..3's sim arrived yesterday !!!!!:rolleyes:

bd250110

srsly78 wrote: »

It's because 3 don't actually have a 2g network, and the handover from vodafone 2g back to 3-3g bugs out. In contrast, competitors that offer a full service (without relying on domestic roaming) have no such problem: they "just work".

I agree it has been an issue. But it is getting better. I have noticed a significant improvement in the 2G -> 3G handover.
I think some of the issue is that the Vodafone 2G network is 'stronger' in many places than 3's own 3G network. The Droids and iPhones seem to 'cling' to the 2G signal a bit more than my older Nokia's did - or maybe I just notice it more, might be because there is an open data connection open more often. I don't know, I suspect a bit of both.

cookie1977

bd250110 wrote: »

I agree it has been an issue. But it is getting better. I have noticed a significant improvement in the 2G -> 3G handover.
I think some of the issue is that the Vodafone 2G network is 'stronger' in many places than 3's own 3G network. The Droids and iPhones seem to 'cling' to the 2G signal a bit more than my older Nokia's did - or maybe I just notice it more, might be because there is an open data connection open more often. I don't know, I suspect a bit of both.

Blackberry's dont seem to suffer from the handover issue either