085 vs 086 vs 087 ......(vs, um, 083 vs 088) - Mobile Prefix Stigma

My number has always been 086 but I've been with all the networks except Vodafone (and Tesco, which up until now, I didn't know was a network!). Currently with 3. Changed over from meteor about a year and a half ago because of the crappy signal with them. As a serial texter 5c texts (going down to 3c texts in April, for no apparent reason ), I love 3, and I've had no problems with signal yet

087= capitalist scum IMO.

Well, to me, anything other than 087 signifies, 'I'm a gadfly who got tired of waiting for an upgrade on vodafone and was tempted by the shiny new phone some then-new operator was throwing at me'. Just looking through my address book, the friends who went for Esat back in the day have a series of telephone numbers after their names as they ditched first Esat for 3 for Meteor... whoever...
On a different tack, I've a friend who is doubly cursed. About four years ago, he came home after a number of years abroad and decided he needed a phone. After looking into all the deals, he plumped for a Meteor. But within a couple of weeks, he discovered that there was no network coverage in his part of the country, so he ended up changing over to Vodafone. The annoying thing is, because he had sent out so many CVs with the 085 number on them, he couldn't change his number in case a potential employer called. So now he's stuck with a flaky telephone number... and a vodafone bill...

Never had a problem with 3 before, signal was great for where I lived, even borderline 3g speeds. Phones were always cheap, texts, calls and data too.

SirDarren wrote: »

I'm 086 but I just switched to 3, keeping my 086 number.

[So I could get my LG Renoir! ]

And yeah it's by far the best network, I'd be proud to have an 083 number, but then I'd have to give it out again, so meh.

I've moved back to 3 for the Renoir too. Never had a problem with the network but I've been lucky enough to not have to call customer support.

My only gripe is that not many people seem to have heard of 083 numbers and so I always end up having to repeat my number and explain what network it is because people think I'm leaving out a 5, 6 or 7 after the 08 part. And it didn't help that my number starts 08333.

Purpose built for vodafone my hole. They just gave RIM a moneyhat to keep it exclusive to them in Ireland.

I find that the stigma associated with mobile number prefixes and/or mobile networks is not as much of an issue anymore. The mobile networks within this country generally offer the same offers, e.g. free calls from Meteor to Meteor, free texts from O2 to O2 etc, and are capable of the same services, e.g. 3G, mobile broadband etc, so the differences aren’t as big as they once were.

There also isn’t as much of an incentive to go with a certain mobile provider, unless you’re interested in a handset that is only on one network, e.g. the iPhone, but this is becoming less and less of an issue, as most handsets are on more than one network and can be bought sim-free easier than in the past.

Pipped at the post due to your network affiliation stovelid? Well that would be a sickener!
What type of job is it? If it was someone on 087 who beat you to it I guess they would be prefered for a "on the road sales job", 086 would be an "accountant" who keeps an excel spreadsheet which calculates how much he is saving due to his price plan, 083 would be perhaps someone who works in a "creative" profession, where the type of handset says more than the network your on.....and 089? Well they're always looking for shelf stackers in the supermarkets......!

My phone makes and takes calls and text messages. It's awesome.