3 Mobile Broadband Giveth then Taketh Away

chris1973

If you have read any of my previous comments on Mobile Broadband then you'll already know my rather poor experience of it which has in turn led to a low opinion to match. However now my own service, from '3 Mobile Broadband' has sunk to a new low...not that i'd actually call it a service any longer, as it stopped serving me on 12th May.

Basically, I choose the 3 Mobile Broadband PAYG package initially, purely on the basis of testing the service before committing to a long contract 15GB / Month package. Advice, which seems to have been worth its weight in gold or should I say, Gigabytes

For the first few weeks after buying the sim and modem everything was fine. I'm in direct line of site to one of the largest communication towers in Bosley, Cheshire which also luckily also houses a cluster of rural coverage masts for 3 Broadband as well as other service providers and needless to say, thanks to the height of my building, an external hi gain antenna and the line of sight proximity of nothing but open fields to the Tx site, the signal was blasting my modem away, full bars and uninterupted HSPDA at most times of day - far better than I get in either of the nearest town centres and most Motorway service areas.

I have to admit, that when connected speeds were not brilliant, and noticably varied up and down a lot during use and were certainly nowhere near what i've heard advertised and read that MSE members have professed to have got, but even 400 or 500k out in the wilds is better than nothing, right?. And at least the connection was solid. "WAS" being the keyword here, because it was all downhill from there.

The honeymoon period was shortlived however, I returned from work on 12th May, to find that my high quality 3G signal had been replaced by those few words which strike fear in the hearts of any 3 Mobile Internet user, namely

Orange GPRS (Roaming)

Arggghhhhhh, the work of the devil and the very service designed to make you go and watch TV soap operas or mow the lawn had taken over my laptop and i'd basically all I have now got is a fast fax machine with a pretty looking modem dongle. Well Whooopeeeee do

Upon checking the 3 Broadband coverage / network update map, it informed me that Engineering work was carried out and completed in the Bosley area on 12th May, so I thought there would still be a chance that normal service would be resumed. Well, its now the morning of the 15th, and i'm still treated to that Devil's Spawn of slowness, namely.....Orange GPRS (Roaming).

Am I cursed?, was I Mrs Hitlers' little boy in a former life?. What have I done to deserve this appalling service. My HSDPA connection, now a distant memory, and replaced with something akin to two styrofoam coffee cups and a wet piece of string.

I've submitted a network report and requested contact from '3' with an update on whether they are going to drag this area kicking and screaming back into 2010 as I was enjoying previously, but the silence is deafening, no updates and no feedback. I'm sorry to report that the customer service is about as reliable as the network.

First impressions - New customer etc etc. One who will not be returning nor recommending their service.

Marty McFly had a Delorean, 3 Broadband have engineers. But both seem able to turn back time and take their 'viewers' to a different era. Here I am with my 53.3k connection which I could be paying £15 a month for and hey!, it feels just like 1997 all over again.

I always believed that companies had a policy of continuous development and this included updating and bettering things, unless of course you are '3 Broadband' where their 'local' network updates clearly make things worse for existing customers in the general area by reducing their signals from strong solid HSDPA to absolutely no 3 coverage at all. I wonder who is responsible for this?, I really wouldn't be surprised to learn that their name was either Frank Spencer or Basil Fawlty.

Either way, i'm glad I found this out before moving from PAYG to a Long Contract with '3 Broadband', after all my top up expires on Sunday, and this was when I was going to sign up for their 15gb package contract package. Phewww, how close was that?!.

So lesson learned, even if you are sat there all smug with your rock solid 3G connection and singing their praises, tomorrow is another day, and should your area ever get a network update or a visit from the 3 engineers, then be afraid, be VERY afraid, because you can bet that the Grim reaper in the form of a Orange Roaming GPRS connection will follow very shortly.

No sign of '3' Mobile Broadband ever coming back to life in my locality and no response from '3' to my request. What is ironic is that their competitors continue to boom their 3G and 3G+ services across the hills from the same sites!. (So guess where my loyalties and all future business is going eh?)

[Deleted User]

Hi,

lovely monologue, interesting,

I too have a 3 dongle, and according to their maps, I'm in the purple, Mumbai says I should be getting a signal, the local 3 shop plugged it in, says, fine, mind you the girl only did the area/post code search, even though I only managed to use about 80p from £25 top up.

Mmm, wondered about the orange thing coming up, thought they were trying to boost the signal or something.

chris1973

Yes, i'm right slap bang in the middle of a purple full indoor / outdoor coverage '3' area also, and up until the 12th May this was fine, with a full service and non stop 3G connection, thanks to the close proximity to the transmitter, I can literally see the transmission site from my window.

All that stopped on the 12th though, and directly after work had been completed. I don't believe in coincidences, so whatever work was done on the site, obviously screwed up the previous strong signal and 3G access up for me, and any other existing customer in the area, who, no doubt, will also be abandoning this increasingly leaky vessel now that they can't get the service that they previously enjoyed.

I am now wondering whether 3 are actively sacrificing some masts for T-Mobile network access, because suddenly I have a 3G T-mobile connection available in my list of available networks, where I didn't have it before!, and this is despite T-Mobile still stating on their website that coverage is not available in my area.

I believe that the T-Mobile network is currently being merged with '3', so who is to say that a percentage of existing transmitters are not being decommissioned from the '3' Network and configured to serve T-Mobile?. It is a possibility obviously, I can think of no other reason for literally switching off 3G access, in an area previously getting 5 bars and constant 3G network access for weeks.

This isn't simply a case of signal dropping out, or deteriorating, 3 Broadband at 3G / HSDPA level has completely disappeared from the Bosley area, just as surely as if somebody had thrown a switch. All that remains in its place is 2G access from Orange GPRS which is like stepping back 13 years in technology and wading through treacle in speed, and certainly not something which anybody would be happy paying £15 for!.

According to other users on the 3G forums, what I have experienced isn't just an isolated incident because its happening elsewhere too. So if you can currently get 3 Broadband today, it may be a completely different story tomorrow, so if you are considering a contract, then you may like to think again.

Orange GPRS is what 3 Broadband falls back to when 3G access is not available, and its something that '3' would rather you didn't use, probably as it costs them money to 'roam' onto Orange. Either way, if got quite a bit of my top up to use before its expiry tonight, and I fully intend to use it!, and if it costs '3' then so be it!.

These are the decisions of 3 Broadband and not mine, if they hadn't have removed 3G speeds from this area, i'd still be cheerfully using it :rotfl:not to mention getting me onboard tomorrow as a contract customer. Sucks to be them.

Interestingly, as well as 2G GPRS at 5 bars, I can also get Orange 3G / HSDPA as well according to the available networks. I am sure that whatever service Orange provide, at least they haven't thrown a switch and removed 3G from the area, and i'm sure that the resulting 10gb / month service will shine like a bright star in the foggy mire which 3 Broadband has suddenly become.

PlutoinCapricorn

Chris, I love your posts.

I too am having 3 mobile BB problems: I have always used the prepaid dongles, and although at first it was slow in the evenings and weekends, the slowness disappeared after some scheduled updates in the London area in December.
I was delighted, and recommended 3 to everyone.

I had a very good service until the 2nd week in April or so when 3 updated their driver. Since then, it has been difficult to connect and stay connected. It is very frustrating. I am wondering whether old dongles are still good enough.

robt_2

chris1973 wrote: »

For the first few weeks after buying the sim and modem everything was fine. I'm in direct line of site to one of the largest communication towers in Bosley, Cheshire which also luckily also houses a cluster of rural coverage masts for 3 Broadband as well as other service providers and needless to say, thanks to the height of my building, an external hi gain antenna and the line of sight proximity of nothing but open fields to the Tx site, the signal was blasting my modem away, full bars and uninterupted HSPDA at most times of day - far better than I get in either of the nearest town centres and most Motorway service areas.

You are not necessarily connected to that mast of course, it is just an assumption unless you can actually show you are connected to that particular mast? How far away is it?

The honeymoon period was shortlived however, I returned from work on 12th May, to find that my high quality 3G signal had been replaced by those few words which strike fear in the hearts of any 3 Mobile Internet user, namely

Upon checking the 3 Broadband coverage / network update map, it informed me that Engineering work was carried out and completed in the Bosley area on 12th May, so I thought there would still be a chance that normal service would be resumed. Well, its now the morning of the 15th, and i'm still treated to that Devil's Spawn of slowness, namely.....Orange GPRS (Roaming).

I've submitted a network report and requested contact from '3' with an update on whether they are going to drag this area kicking and screaming back into 2010 as I was enjoying previously, but the silence is deafening, no updates and no feedback. I'm sorry to report that the customer service is about as reliable as the network.

You submitted a form yesterday (a Saturday) and are complaining that you haven't had a reply yet? Give it at least until the end of a week day.

chris1973

You are not necessarily connected to that mast of course, it is just an assumption unless you can actually show you are connected to that particular mast?

Given its the only 2100mhz '3 UK' mast in the area I would say that its a fair assumption that i'm (was) connected to it!. Unless one 6 or 7 miles away counts???. Besides its on a site which is higher than and actually dominates most of the surrounding countryside.

How far away is it?

By winding road, about 1 mile - line of sight, well I can wave to it from my Window. Not a tree or sheep seperates us. According to sitefinder its in the same grounds / area utilised by a huge communications mast owned by BT

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sutton_Common_BT_Tower

Do you think its BIG enough?.

Most of the main networks occupy the same location and Whilst I believe that all of the Mobile Transmitters form part of the smaller mast(s) in the grounds - rather than the main concrete mast, it does show how high the site is, and my location is probably closer than the photographer who took the wiki picture. Certainly the GPRS Orange transmitter is part of the same cluster, and gives a solid 5 bars. Previously I got 5 bars with HSDPA also and never knew it to drop below that, at least before the maintenance work!. Now I don't even get the 3G pilot from 3UK, yet everybody elses is present, correct and usable!.

I've even driven to the site, and parked next to the fenced enclosure, still nothing but GPRS. Fairly conclusive don'tcha think?

You submitted a form yesterday (a Saturday) and are complaining that you haven't had a reply yet? Give it at least until the end of a week day.

Where exactly did I state what day I submitted my fault report?. Kindly stick to facts rather than making convenient assumptions, as it avoids further confusion.

The fault report was discovered and lodged on 12th May, which was a working day and I was actually on their site rechecking their coverage when I noticed their maintenance report for the same day and for the same TX (after submitting the advisory), they also had all of the 13th to respond. They are a company whose entire business model revolves around communication, so is it so unthinkable to expect that they'd have their own internal customer communication down to a fine art and also respond with a reply of a few lines or even a simple acknowledgement within their own (48 hour) promised timescale?. How rude and inconsiderate of me to believe what i'm told!. How long and just how much training and corporate team building is required for a fluent typist to type a simple 'Thank you for your email, we'll look into it' acknowledgement?.

Maybe I should give them the same 2 months as other '3' customers with similar issus have waited without any resolution?. Other people who are being punished purely through being a '3' customer!.

Maybe the TV companies should just routinely disconnect its transmitters & repeaters during key matches for the World cup and see what kind of outcry and response that returns and how soon it would be fixed and rectified!. Yet when continuity breaks for days / weeks and months on the Mobile networks we all sit back and just accept it as being normal and acceptable!.

Either way, '3' aren't the only kid on the block, and I don't feel in any way obligated to remain with them or to kick my heels until when / if they choose to bless me with the service I pay for. Neither do I feel compelled to recommend others to join them, quite the opposite in fact. They certainly don't have any exclusivity - unless of course its through their service being recently discovered AWOL from a number of other comparable and still working 3G services originating from the same area.

robt_2

chris1973 wrote: »

Given its the only 2100mhz '3 UK' mast in the area I would say that its a fair assumption that i'm (was) connected to it!. Unless one 6 or 7 miles away counts???. Besides its on a site which is higher than and actually dominates most of the surrounding countryside.

In rural areas, you could quite easily be connected to a mast 20 miles away - it was a genuine question about if you actually know you are connected to the mast which was having work done on it as advertised. I haven't looked to see where else in the area there are 3 transmitters.

Most of the main networks occupy the same location and Whilst I believe that all of the Mobile Transmitters form part of the smaller mast(s) in the grounds - rather than the main concrete mast, it does show how high the site is, and my location is probably closer than the photographer who took the wiki picture. Certainly the GPRS Orange transmitter is part of the same cluster, and gives a solid 5 bars. Previously I got 5 bars with HSDPA also and never knew it to drop below that, at least before the maintenance work!. Now I don't even get the 3G pilot from 3UK, yet everybody elses is present, correct and usable!.

Orange are at 65m, o2 at 40m, 3 at 21m and T-Mobile at 50m.

I've even driven to the site, and parked next to the fenced enclosure, still nothing but GPRS. Fairly conclusive don'tcha think?

Nobody has said otherwise. However you would be far too close for it to work anyway.

Where exactly did I state what day I submitted my fault report?. Kindly stick to facts rather than making convenient assumptions, as it avoids further confusion.

If you are kindly going to ask people not to make assumptions, then kindly don't write half a post in chronological order and the other half not .

PasturesNew

I now have a way of dealing with three.... I can see the aerial from here so when I get "no service" I know not to call the help desk, but first to wait a few hours and see ... next, try my dongle on another PC with a different operating system (my 2nd set up that I use it in, so it's also here and has always worked with the three dongle). If that's got no service, I take the laptop and drive a mile to the next aerial (as I now know where it is) and I fire up the laptop from the side of the road ... and always connect.

I then drive home and phone them, speaking slowly and clearly to say: "I have tried it in two different PCs, with two different operating systems and I get no service. I have driven to my next nearest aerial and connected immediately. There is something wrong with the aerial or service, it is not me."

Last time I did this I got a month's credit back into my account within 2 days. I think my file is marked with a special asterisk or something as they do keep me informed and it usually works again within 24 hours. The last time there had been works on the aerial, they said something I couldn't comprehend (foreign call centre), but it sounded like "sometimes your name is locked on ... we will get your name/account cleared from the list so you can connect again". I just go "mmm, OK" when I get the gist of what they mean, even if I can't understand what they are actually saying.

PasturesNew

robt wrote: »

In rural areas, you could quite easily be connected to a mast 20 miles away

I find that unlikely. I have an aerial at the end of my road that I connect to. If that one's down, I have to drive 1 mile to the next one to get in range. They seem to have a very short coverage area. My town is 2 miles long and 0.5 miles deep... then nothing, nothing at all for a radius of 15-20 miles around it. Nothing but hills and beaches. With two aerials in my town (one mile apart and evenly spaced along the length of it), there are many areas that have no coverage and if one aerial's down then only half the town can get a signall at all.

robt_2

PasturesNew wrote: »

I find that unlikely. I have an aerial at the end of my road that I connect to. If that one's down, I have to drive 1 mile to the next one to get in range. They seem to have a very short coverage area. My town is 2 miles long and 0.5 miles deep... then nothing, nothing at all for a radius of 15-20 miles around it. Nothing but hills and beaches. With two aerials in my town (one mile apart and evenly spaced along the length of it), there are many areas that have no coverage and if one aerial's down then only half the town can get a signall at all.

You may find it unlikely, but it is true, under optimum conditions obviously. I think GSM has a fixed maximum range of about 40km.

chris1973

Either way, i've now got a sim provided by another service provider, popped it into my unlocked dongle and guess what i've got a 3g+ signal and 5 bars once again.

now have a way of dealing with three.... I can see the aerial from here so when I get "no service" I know not to call the help desk, but first to wait a few hours and see ... next, try my dongle on another PC with a different operating system (my 2nd set up that I use it in, so it's also here and has always worked with the three dongle). If that's got no service, I take the laptop and drive a mile to the next aerial (as I now know where it is) and I fire up the laptop from the side of the road ... and always connect.

I have another effective way which doesn't involve spending my time needlessly driving around the town wasting £1.22 a litre in fuel, or making endless phone calls to its call centre.

Its a novel little idea which isn't utilised by consumers in the UK very often and its called taking 'three' completely out of the equation and so deprive them of any further business. You could also call it taking charge of your own situation as a consumer and doing what is the best for YOU rather than simply 'putting up' and appleasing the company who is set up in order to provide you with a service in the first place and giving them second, third, fourth or endless loops of chances to sort things out to actually provide you with that service.

If you have no other service provider in your area or you signed up to a contract then I sympathise, however for those who have all / most of the major networks on their doorstep then I can't understand why anybody would put up with a substandard service from one provider and listen to their excuses for weeks / months when there are other options, just a sim card away.

Price and Bandwidth allowances are all well and good, if you have the service and speed where you stand any real chance of actually using and experiencing it. I certainly wouldn't even be considering a large monthly GB allowance or a long term contract where there is so many variables as to the presence of a signal and such a gamble as to the quality of that service, or whether I would be literally paying anything upto £25 a month on a contract, for what can turn out to be the equiv to a late 1990's dial up connection. Anybody who would do that without a second thought, really shouldn't be on a Money Saving Forum!.

Oh, and just to keep facts chronological I still haven't had any reply from '3', So thats yet another working day passed by with no response. Dress it up how you like, and reach athletically for the book of spin, but the fact remains that you can't polish a turd can you?