EE's degraded service and coverage - time to leave after 15 years?

NFH

ZhugeEX wrote: »

Not really. They are talking theoretically.

If it was only in theory, how do you explain that locations which previously had very strong 2G and 3G coverage now only have very strong 2G coverage with no 3G signal at all? My understanding is that the 3G equipment at those locations has been replaced with 4G equipment.

ZhugeEX

NFH wrote: »

If it was only in theory, how do you explain that locations which previously had very strong 2G and 3G coverage now only have very strong 2G coverage with no 3G signal at all? My understanding is that the 3G equipment at those locations has been replaced with 4G equipment.

No, those masts have been removed entirely. Like i said before, EE have plans to decommission over 9,000 ex Orange sites by the end of 2014.

2G power output is different to 3G. I was just talking about the Huawei 2G refresh which has replaced old antennas with new ones which has led to an increased 2G coverage footprint. These masts when being upgraded are being replaced with 2G/4G AND 3G equipment/software.

Also there are a whole number of reasons as to why 2G coverage could be in one place but no 3G coverage in the same place. I can assure you it's not the reason that you think it is/

ZhugeEX

New press release from EE-
https://explore.ee.co.uk/our-company/newsroom/ee-to-invest-275-million-in-mobile-calls-during-2014-driving-new-benchmark-for

-EE investment set to improve UK customer mobile call experience and match international benchmarks
-11,000 2G sites being upgraded, and capacity being doubled on 7,000 3G sites
-EE call volumes up 25% since the beginning of 2012, showing more reliance on the mobile and call success rates at all-time high

EE confirmed that, of its total £1.5 billion network investment, over one third will support the company’s ambition to reach new standards in phone call quality and reliability.

“This year, we have been focusing a large amount of our activity and investment on offering consumers the most reliable, highest quality phone call experience. I’m proud to say that we have reached our highest ever call success rate - 99.2% - while carrying over one billion calls every week. But we can go even further.That’s why we plan to invest £275m in our voice call service in 2014 as we strive to set new standards in call quality and reliability.”

To reach the company’s highest ever call success rate, EE has undertaken the following activity:

-Upgraded 20 year old 2G equipment on over 6,000 sites with the latest technology to reduce dropped calls by 50%
-Increased the capacity on 1,600 3G sites to support 50% more calls
-Installed a new HLR (Home Location Register) database to increase call set up success

Ongoing investment in 2014 will see:
-Over 5,000 more old 2G sites upgraded
-Capacity increased on 5,500 more sites on the 3G network, which now carries over two thirds of all EE calls
-Trials of future call services including 4G voice (VoLTE) and voice over Wi-Fi

That trial of the voice over wi-fi solution sounds like the app mentioned earlier in this thread.

NFH

ZhugeEX wrote: »

That trial of the voice over wi-fi solution sounds like the app mentioned earlier in this thread.

No, that was another thread I started:

When will EE launch VOIP app similar to O2's Tu Go?

ZhugeEX

NFH wrote: »

No, that was another thread I started:

When will EE launch VOIP app similar to O2's Tu Go?

I know haha. It was also mentioned briefly in this thread as well

Also, when reading the press release above take note about the word "ongoing".
A lot of the things mentioned above are already underway and have been for some time now.

diamonds

ZhugeEX wrote: »

Being replaced with orange hardware? Orange used Erricson for the majority of their 2G equipment.

The 2G refresh is being done by Huawei and using their all new equipment. All legacy equipment is being taken out. Basically all sites that are planned to be refreshed will be done by Huawei and have 2G/3G/4G capabilities as well.

Orange still have around 2,500 masts to decommission and this will be done by the end of 2014 at the latest. The remaining 6,000 masts will be integrated fully into the MBNL network.

This will give MBNL 19,000 total masts with 99.2% 3G coverage. EE/Three's first phase involves 15,000 masts being upgraded to support 4G with the rest being upgraded later.

Where falling to bits EE are using old O stock to prop up T-Mobile 2G until sites are fully 2G/32/4G refurbished with new stock, I got that from a MBNL engineer, don't shoot the messenger

ZhugeEX

Ah ok. Didn't realise that. But yeh, what i said about 2G refresh still applies.

Well the legacy Orange masts should all be fully upgraded to DC-HSPA+ with upgraded backhaul by the end of H1 2014. A number of them are being done this month.

diamonds

NFH wrote: »

If it was only in theory, how do you explain that locations which previously had very strong 2G and 3G coverage now only have very strong 2G coverage with no 3G signal at all? My understanding is that the 3G equipment at those locations has been replaced with 4G equipment.

1800mhz
2G penetration is easier than 3G on 2100mhz or 4G on 1800mhz (with lower and higher EE MHz to come on 4G) add to that that old Orange base stations are closing down nearby and the nearest base station can transmit and penetrate 2G/4G on 1800 a lot easier than 3G on 2100mhz, thus less sites are needed to save money...the 3G stations are just moving further away and thus not penetrating far enough.


The lower the frequency the further the signal transmits. 4G will save EE a lot more than it spends upgrading to 4G for the long term, 2G and 3G were mobile communication networks in its infancy, analogue was almost a beta test!




The capacity on backhaul has been problematic in my area/city since the merger, I'm in 1 of the main Scots city, I need to lock down to the 'non home' network T-Mobile 3G ONLY on my Orange Blackberry.


My EE 4G Xperia SP has national roaming switched off and I still get speed issues with congestion but less than using Orange 3G which capacity was slower internet than T-Mobile.


Add to that that I have to lock Xperia to 3G only aswell as I cannot choose 3G/4G only - T-Mobile 2G is as flakey as it was before they built their 3G network out.




Its all down to knowing and playing with your regular places between the two networks if you still have them, one is EE, the other EE with a H or house = home network, my Orange 2G/3G disappears at home on both handsets at times, but a weak T-Mobile is usually existent.


EE4G is run on T-Mobile as its HOME network. Orange is 'inhouse' national roaming, well until the complete balls up this merger is.


Orange saved T-Mob from liquidation to get MBNL and half its burden of ownership and debts of France Telecoms books, also having to take on T-Mob debts was a small long term price to pay..., France Telecom had to reduce its debts on the books and get a stake in MBNL has France Telecom was near 50 billion euros in debts. It all looks good on paper! Reality...I've been through hell with Orange & more since the merger.


2 wrongs do not make a right...


WISE words!

jolizzie

NFH wrote: »

After 15 years as a happy Orange customer, recent deterioration of the network is making the service unusable much of the time.

After Orange UK and T-Mobile UK merged and introduced free roaming between the two networks in late 2010, customers of both networks enjoyed improved coverage, i.e. two networks instead of one previously. However, soon after the rebranding to EE in late 2012 along with closer integration of the two legacy networks, the following new problems have arisen:

• EE has been decommissioning transmitters, supposedly where it has duplicate coverage from the two legacy networks. However, not only has it removed duplicate coverage but it has also removed coverage that existed before the merger, creating new coverage blackspots which never existed previously. Examples of places where I experience this are at home, the platform at my local train station and several parts of the City of London - not exactly a backwater.
• In order to remedy some of these new coverage blackspots for existing customers, EE has been sending out free "Signal Boxes", a femtocell similar to Vodafone's SureSignal. However, these Signal Boxes are unreliable and often display a red light, indicating no service, until they are rebooted. I have two Signal Boxes at home, and both suffer these symptoms independently of each other at different times.
• Since early 2013, EE appears to have been degrading 3G coverage in London so that only 2G (GPRS/EDGE) is available in some areas where there was previously 3G coverage. One could guess that this is deliberate in order to encourage Orange and T-Mobile customers to upgrade to EE's unreasonably surcharged 4G services.
• It is often impossible to make and receive calls, even where there is a strong signal. In such circumstances, customers with 4G can use data but not make and receive calls, because 4G does not support voice calls. This was covered by BBC Watchdog on Wednesday 18th September.
• 3G data speeds are often unusable, particularly in central London, caused by network congestion and insufficient capacity as a result of a reduced density of transmitters.

Posts by many others in this and other forums demonstrate that these problems are widespread. EE call centre staff appear to be well aware, because some of them volunteer to issue PAC codes. My friends in other parts of London experience the same problems, particularly in central London.

I currently pay £7.18+VAT for an Orange business tariff with 325 minutes, 150 texts, 800MB and unlimited calls to a choice of Orange numbers or landlines. Although I can leave at any time with a month's notice, this tariff is no longer offered, so if I leave EE, I can't go back to this excellent tariff. However, it seems unlikely that Orange will ever offer 4G on this tariff so at some point I'll end up losing it anyway.

EE's service is now a total shambles. Is EE's quality of service likely to improve soon or is it definitely time to switch networks?

I lost my Orange /EE signal 10 days ago. I live near Dartmouth Devon and use my PAYG for texting. Think I will change to vodafone
Jolizzie

jolizzie

NFH wrote: »

After 15 years as a happy Orange customer, recent deterioration of the network is making the service unusable much of the time.

After Orange UK and T-Mobile UK merged and introduced free roaming between the two networks in late 2010, customers of both networks enjoyed improved coverage, i.e. two networks instead of one previously. However, soon after the rebranding to EE in late 2012 along with closer integration of the two legacy networks, the following new problems have arisen:

• EE has been decommissioning transmitters, supposedly where it has duplicate coverage from the two legacy networks. However, not only has it removed duplicate coverage but it has also removed coverage that existed before the merger, creating new coverage blackspots which never existed previously. Examples of places where I experience this are at home, the platform at my local train station and several parts of the City of London - not exactly a backwater.
• In order to remedy some of these new coverage blackspots for existing customers, EE has been sending out free "Signal Boxes", a femtocell similar to Vodafone's SureSignal. However, these Signal Boxes are unreliable and often display a red light, indicating no service, until they are rebooted. I have two Signal Boxes at home, and both suffer these symptoms independently of each other at different times.
• Since early 2013, EE appears to have been degrading 3G coverage in London so that only 2G (GPRS/EDGE) is available in some areas where there was previously 3G coverage. One could guess that this is deliberate in order to encourage Orange and T-Mobile customers to upgrade to EE's unreasonably surcharged 4G services.
• It is often impossible to make and receive calls, even where there is a strong signal. In such circumstances, customers with 4G can use data but not make and receive calls, because 4G does not support voice calls. This was covered by BBC Watchdog on Wednesday 18th September.
• 3G data speeds are often unusable, particularly in central London, caused by network congestion and insufficient capacity as a result of a reduced density of transmitters.

Posts by many others in this and other forums demonstrate that these problems are widespread. EE call centre staff appear to be well aware, because some of them volunteer to issue PAC codes. My friends in other parts of London experience the same problems, particularly in central London.

I currently pay £7.18+VAT for an Orange business tariff with 325 minutes, 150 texts, 800MB and unlimited calls to a choice of Orange numbers or landlines. Although I can leave at any time with a month's notice, this tariff is no longer offered, so if I leave EE, I can't go back to this excellent tariff. However, it seems unlikely that Orange will ever offer 4G on this tariff so at some point I'll end up losing it anyway.

EE's service is now a total shambles. Is EE's quality of service likely to improve soon or is it definitely time to switch networks?

Forgot to mention that the EE website is showing that I have a good signal strength!!
Jolizzie