Do Three offer better signal than the providers who piggyback on their network?

greensheep777

Hi guys,

Am looking to switch from ID because I get no signal in 2 important places - the gym, and my parents house. I had the same problem with Meteor and switching to ID didn't solve it.

Would I get better signal if I was on Three directly? Do they prioritise their signal for their own customers rather than customers of ID? I was on Three years ago but the 3G at the time was very patchy, and their customer service was offshore, rude and unhelpful, so I left, but perhaps things have changed.

Of course the obvious solution is to just try Vodafone but their data allowance is 5GB and I'd be quite a heavy user (lots of music streaming) so unlimited data is better for me.

Edited to add:

Just saw that MVNOs (providers who piggyback on another provider's network) only have 6% of the market share.

https://www.irishtimes.com/business/technology/mvnos-fail-to-shake-up-mobile-market-1.3142918

That would indicate to me that it's because they're ****e....?

Meteor don't use the Three network, they have their own infrastructure.

It's unlikely that you'd get a better signal from Three directly.

greensheep777

Karsini wrote: »

Meteor don't use the Three network, they have their own infrastructure.

It's unlikely that you'd get a better signal from Three directly.

Thanks, have corrected my post!

Take a look at http://siteviewer.comreg.ie and check the locations you mention. See what networks are nearby. But if you've tried Meteor and Three without success, that only leaves Vodafone.

ED E

greensheep777 wrote: »

Am looking to switch from ID because I get no signal in 2 important places - the gym, and my parents house. I had the same problem with Meteor and switching to ID didn't solve it.

If Meteor and Threes hardware isnt covering it your only option is Vodafone but when 2/3 are dud you're either rural AF or the location itself is the problem.


Is the gym new? Big steel building perhaps?

Same for the parents house, new/cottage/insulated in the past 6-8yrs?

greensheep777

ED E wrote: »

If Meteor and Threes hardware isnt covering it your only option is Vodafone but when 2/3 are dud you're either rural AF or the location itself is the problem.


Is the gym new? Big steel building perhaps?

Same for the parents house, new/cottage/insulated in the past 6-8yrs?

The gym isn't new, no, it has a lot of glass if that makes any difference!
The parents house is a new build with excellent insulation, but they both get signal fine (they're on Tesco and Meteor, I had no luck with Meteor myself).

Vic_08

greensheep777 wrote: »

The gym isn't new, no, it has a lot of glass if that makes any difference!
The parents house is a new build with excellent insulation, but they both get signal fine (they're on Tesco and Meteor, I had no luck with Meteor myself).

Glass doesn't substantially block mobile wavelengths unless it has a heat/sun resistant coating which can be very effective at blocking mobile phones. If the glass is mirrored from the outside this may be what's happening.

While it is possible that the networks give lower priority to MNVOs and roaming customers this wouldn't effect the signal directly, you would still get the same signal level showing on the phone but connecting may be difficult, data in particular may be very slow.

ED E

Have you tried another handset? From your description its not unlikely to be that.