O2 vs Giffgaff

wallofbeans

I know Giffgaff runs on the o2 network but I've heard that it's their lowest priority so is slower etc. Can anyone confirm or deny this?

I'm currently with Virgin and if EE is supposed to be good, virgin is very patchy for me...

System

It's true but rarely affects actual coverage - more quality of service such as data speeds etc much you say.

EE and Virgin should have identical coverage with Virgin having lower priority.

wallofbeans wrote: »

I know Giffgaff runs on the o2 network but I've heard that it's their lowest priority so is slower etc. Can anyone confirm or deny this?

I'm currently with Virgin and if EE is supposed to be good, virgin is very patchy for me...

wallofbeans

Heng_Leng wrote: »

It's true but rarely affects actual coverage - more quality of service such as data speeds etc much you say.

EE and Virgin should have identical coverage with Virgin having lower priority.

Well, my Virgin coverage is patchy and internet painfully slow at times.......

So that is true then... quality of service is considerably worse?

Three is the only other network with Virgin/Giffgaff type prices.. and they aren't piggybacking onto anther network.. so there service shouldn't be as slow as the others.. although I'm pretty sure their coverage isn't as good...

So they're all as bad/good as each other?

JJ_Egan

<<<So they're all as bad/good as each other? >>>

Really depends upon where you are in relation to masts .

System

To turn around what you're asking:

• The coverage from EE will almost certainly be identical (4G coverage is not available from Virgin currently)
• The internet speed might be exactly the same as the priority only 'kicks in' when the network is busy.
• 3's 3G coverage is shared with EE.

wallofbeans wrote: »

Well, my Virgin coverage is patchy and internet painfully slow at times.......

So they're all as bad/good as each other?

wallofbeans

Heng_Leng wrote: »

To turn around what you're asking:

• The coverage from EE will almost certainly be identical (4G coverage is not available from Virgin currently)
• The internet speed might be exactly the same as the priority only 'kicks in' when the network is busy.
• 3's 3G coverage is shared with EE.

I did not know Three's 3G is shared with EE! Does this mean I can expect the coverage to be about the same?

But will the quality go up?

So does this mean Three are piggybacking on EE like Virgin are? And this is why they have cheaper deals?

d123

Heng_Leng wrote: »

3's 3G coverage is shared with EE.

While this is correct in theory it isn't actually so in the real world. As a long time Three user who is now on EE I have seen some significant differences.

Three admitted my signal at home was so poor they supplied a Home Signal box, on EE, I have 3-4 bars using the same phone. There are a number of other locations where Three has poor to no coverage while EE still has a decent 3G signal.

There are still EE sites not in the MBNL partnership that probably account for some of the changes, but whatever the reason I have discovered that Three 3G and EE 3G are not equal.

System

3's coverage will be very similar to EEs
3's quality is usually better than EEs as it is less congested.
3 have a shared network with EE via MBNL [3 don't piggyback like Virgin]

wallofbeans wrote: »

I did not know Three's 3G is shared with EE! Does this mean I can expect the coverage to be about the same?

But will the quality go up?

So does this mean Three are piggybacking on EE like Virgin are? And this is why they have cheaper deals?

d123

Heng_Leng wrote: »

3's quality is usually better than EEs as it is less congested.

Definitely not, EE has significantly more spectrum, Three is already suffering with congestion, that's why Traffic Sense was implemented and why the old plans like the One Plan are being cancelled.

EE has the capacity to give away free sims with 200GB data on, just to test the network, Three are going the opposite way and limiting use.

The only other network with the spectrum allocation to threaten EE in the future is actually Vodafone.

wiogs

d123 wrote: »

Definitely not, EE has significantly more spectrum, Three is already suffering with congestion, that's why Traffic Sense was implemented and why the old plans like the One Plan are being cancelled.

EE has the capacity to give away free sims with 200GB data on, just to test the network, Three are going the opposite way and limiting use.

The only other network with the spectrum allocation to threaten EE in the future is actually Vodafone.

How do you get a free SIM with 200GB of data? Might have one of those.

d123

wiogs wrote: »

How do you get a free SIM with 200GB of data? Might have one of those.

The offer expired at the end of December, I think there are some on eBay now (obviously not free, though).

Here is the MSE thread, go to the last page to see the discussion about trying to get one now.

FREE EE SIM 100GB - 4G data for two months - no strings, no contract