3 network in UK not mickey mouse like ours

Sponge Bob

http://www.telegeography.com/cu/article.php?article_id=31843&email=html

Remember that the UK is only 3.5 times larger than Ireland but that it is getting 10 times more cells.

Furthermore these cells are well sectored in the UK where they are frequently omnis or 3 sectors here. That provides more capacity per cell.

Neverthless you are nearly three times more likely to be NEAR a 3g base station in the UK than you are here

H3G UK announces activation of 10,000th 3G base station British mobile network operator Hutchison 3G UK (H3G) has announced that it has activated its 10,000th 3G base station as part of a project to expand its existing network. The cellco revealed that it had connected the new cell site at Shooters Hill, in south-east London, at the end of last week. The installation of the new site was part of a project under which H3G expects to see its network expand to 13,000 sites nationwide by the end of 2010.

watty

Also the cells are less likely by about x3 to x4 to have "fixed" internet users. Nearly 40% of people don't even have phone lines here, never mind DSL on them. That makes 3G performance up to x5 worse in Ireland than in countries that have better fixed broadband access at a reasonable price, even with same cell density.

I've suggested before that a truely independent audit of 3G coverage might have shown some Irish operators in breach of licence conditions in past. Some coverage maps are frankly not believable.