9 ms·
Three is also the worst network, switch as soon as you can
by throwaway378037 4y ago
Three is also the worst network, switch as soon as you can
- colesantiago 4y agoIs there an open source phone network that one can switch to?
- deleted 4y ago[deleted]
- lzauz 4y agoWhat is an "open source phone network"? I've never heard of such thing existing.
- gumboza 4y agoWell you can get a ham radio license, spend $1500 on a basic radio and antenna and accessories, erect it in your garden, get on air and feel the joy of open communications all over the globe. Or more realistically get blasted by people on contests or doing DX, hear about numerous health problems and waltz into casual racism, homophobia and sexism. The last bastion is CW (morse) where it's too much effort to be an asshole.
- traceroute66 4y agoTL;DR No, no and absolutely not. Well established UK Wholesale operator Simwood had not one but TWO very good goes at establishing an independent low-level UK network (or at least as low-level as is possible, they wanted to become as close as was humanly possible to a full MNO). They ended up hitting obstacle after obstacle in the usual protection racket vicious circle between so-called regulator OFCOM and the incumbent operators. IIRC they encountered difficulties at every step, be it obtaining an independent allocation of mobile numbers or anything else. In the end, they threw in the towel on the mobile project because they refused to be "just another" MVNO reselling someone else's rebranded service.
- Nextgrid 4y agoDo you have more info on the Simwood attempts? I'd be interested to read more.
- traceroute66 4y ago> Do you have more info on the Simwood attempts? I'd be interested to read more. Publicly it could be tricky. It's been a while and I'd have to refresh my mind as to what bits were confidential and what was public. Simwood are generally fairly open about talking about most things, but mobile was a somewhat special project for obvious reasons. There is, however this blog post from back at the time (2015/2016) when they were going for it though https://blog.simwood.com/2015/04/why-simwood-mobile/ https://blog.simwood.com/2015/04/why-simwood-mobile/ ... which contains a couple of hints at what they were attempting and the associated difficulties. There is also a 2015 presentation lurking on YouTube that includes coverage of, in the presenter's own words, the "bureaucratic, political and just plain incompetent roadblocks that we've experienced, and continue to experience" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZN-DXL8fRsU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZN-DXL8fRsU
- Nextgrid 4y agoThanks for the info - you mentioned a second attempt - is there any public info about it? I remember their first offering which was based on a company called Limitless which ended up going into administration, but I'm not aware of any other attempts?
- Reason077 4y agoThis was certainly true for many years with their awful 4G network. But their 5G network is excellent if you are in an area with good coverage. I’ve regularly seen over 800 Mbps in London, consistently faster than any of the other networks. (On the other hand, I wouldn’t pick Three if you value good and consistent coverage. But if you are using it from a fixed location with a good 5G signal, it’s great)
- secondcoming 4y agoI use 3 as home broadband. To be fair, I have an uninterrupted view of the mast https://www.speedtest.net/result/14072973814 https://www.speedtest.net/result/14072973814
- Lio 4y agoIf you're using Three from a fixed location WiFi Calling is included as part of the package too. I have complaints about Three but coverage is not really one of them.
- denton-scratch 4y agoIf you're in a fixed location, you don't need to use a mobile network. Get wired internet connectivity, then use VOIP.
- Nextgrid 4y agoUnfortunately phone manufacturers (even Apple) are in bed with the carriers and still don't provide VoIP as a first-class option in 2022. VoIP is not as well integrated into the OS as normal cellular calls are, and you can't verify a VoIP number as outgoing number for iMessage/FaceTime either.
- 29083011397778 4y agoHell, even Android, which had built-in VOIP support in the default AOSP dialer app, had VOIP support ripped out. It now requires a third party app.
- bearmode 4y agoThree's a fine network. Haven't had any issues on it for a long time now.
- ThePowerOfFuet 4y ago> Three's a fine network. Haven't had any issues on it for a long time now. As long as you don't want to use Tutanota.
- jonathantf2 4y agoEver been to a city? Good luck trying to even make a phone call.
- Ntrails 4y agoI do this all the time, and have done for the 20 odd years they've been my phone provider. UK and Europe, they've been completely fine.
- bearmode 4y agoI've been in many cities. I live in Manchester and go to the city centre very regularly (in fact, used to work smack bang in the middle). London, Berlin, Barcelona, Birmingham, Glasgow, Edinburgh, etc etc etc I haven't ever had an issue making a phone call
- LatteLazy 4y agoSo are O2, Vodafone and EE. It's almost like they are a cartel of shitty providers...
- gpderetta 4y agoI picked three because they had free EU data roaming before it was the law. Now it is not the law anymore it seems that they no longer provide it to new customers (or those that made the mistake to "upgrade"), but so far I have been grandfathered in. I'll switch the moment is no longer the case.
- benj111 4y agoLebara offer EU (and Indian) roaming. Use the Vodafone network (I believe) and are cheap.
- Dyac 4y agoThree is fine. Been with them for years. I'm grandfathered into an old plan with enough data for my needs, tethering, unlimited calls and texts and free global roaming. I only ever have signal problems in places the other networks also have problems.