Struggling to decide on a network

Spipov

Hi all.

i have been on 3 for more than 2 years on their 30 euro flexi 30 day sim thing - and while it has been a great offer, the 3g coverage is appalling, and the going to 2g and never coming back to 2g has gotten to me at this point.

i switched to pay as you go now and have cleared everything off, so i am free to move networks.

Now, i need to figure out what is the best for me and how to get the most of what is available.

1. Coverage

3 was appalling where i worked, near heuston station. 2g all the time, granted, it was in a hospital and there were ground floor areas, but my friends on vodafone and o2 had NO problems whatsoever. i think meteor was fine as well.

I am going to be moving jobs, and will be in UCD and Rathgar areas, so coverage is going to be important, with the odd drive to limerick or belfast, depending - but thats not going to be frequent at all.


2. Voice Calls

I would make cross network calls a lot as well as calling landlines - as its important in the job. as much as 3 were good in giving free landlines, it still isnt the deciding factor.


i went over my bills and here are the usages for 8 months:

April 227 minutes
March 205 minutes
February 228 minutes
January 228 minutes
December 296 minutes
November 186 minutes
October 156 minutes
September 143 minutes


So Its an average of 200-ish minutes including landlines, and other networks, as well as 3 calls (there was no demarcation in the list). the significant other is on vodafone by the way.


3. Texts

Mostly cross network i think, i dont tend to text as much to be honest (thats what i thought until i went over the bills!).

April 110 texts
March 185 texts
February 123 texts
January 120 texts
December 184 texts
November 229 texts
October 128 texts
September 148 texts

Which gives and average of 140 ish texts. again, most of them would now be to the significant other (and do not say i should text her less - thats not going to go down well!!)


4. Data

I thought i used a lot more data to be honest. it primarily needs to be on all the time, to get emails, as i will be working from emails a lot, and as well as checking up on and off on things online. may sometimes even be used for webtexting.

April 110mb
March 150mb
February 173mb
January 260mb
December 364mb
November 422mb
October 233mb
September 143mb

so it doesnt go much more than 200mb, and to be on the safe side, 500mb would be plenty.


i would be looking for a 30 day sim plan to be honest. i have an iphone 4, and until the 5 comes out, ill probably keep using it, or change on and off with an android as i like to change that, but its not to be factored in the cost. i dont stay with a phone long enough to warrant getting a phone on contract. and i am waiting for the 5 to decide whether to go for a contract then.

Vodafone - Ideally, i would have liked to be on vodafone as the OH is on it, and there is international webtext, as well as the better than others coverage, but i think its too expensive and doesnt give me enough of what i need.


Tescomobile - is good for what it offers, but i am so sceptical about them, and also, i NEED the phone and network to not have problems, as i will be working from the phone a lot (Receiving calls - setting calendars and appointments).

O2 - They dont seem to have anything that would fit me, but i am open to correction.


Meteor - they seem to have the best offer i think 200/200/1gb 20.33 euros, but what i am wondering about is 2-fold - 1. coverage, 2. customer care. ive had to deal with them in the past, as i was with them for about 4-5 years until 3 came along with their great deals, so i dont know how they have changed in the last 2 years.


Emobile - seem very good. i am not sure which plans offer free landline, but i dont know about amount of network minutes and texts.


What budget? 20-30 euros, ideally nearer to 20 euros. I had the 30 euros deal with 3, and despite the above usage, i was still going over quite a lot and paying at least 10 euros on top of the 30 euros every month, which puzzled me frankly.



Would Gladly welcome people's feedback on this.

Thanks....

You are sceptical about Tesco for coverage but they use the O2 network so you should not have problems with coverage. They have very good plans and deals all the time. On the downside i have heard a few sorry tales about their customer service.
I have been with Vodafone since the late 90s and can honestly say i have never once had a problem with them therefore don't know what their customer service is like. It is a company phone though! They are not the cheapest.
Shop around or maybe get a prepay sim from a few providers and test them out until you find one that suits.
My OH is with O2 and seems happy with their service as prepay for the last several years.
As for me.... If i had to have a personal phone Tesco would be my first choice.

ED E

Three coverage is grand in Rathgar area.

Tesco is grand, as long as you dont want data. If you do, forget it.

Spipov

ED E wrote: »

Three coverage is grand in Rathgar area.

Tesco is grand, as long as you dont want data. If you do, forget it.

i need data, very important. is it that bad speedwise?

its when it goes to 2g and never cycles back to 3g that annoys the c**p out of me with three.

Spipov

Deleted User wrote: »

You are sceptical about Tesco for coverage but they use the O2 network so you should not have problems with coverage. They have very good plans and deals all the time. On the downside i have heard a few sorry tales about their customer service.
I have been with Vodafone since the late 90s and can honestly say i have never once had a problem with them therefore don't know what their customer service is like. It is a company phone though! They are not the cheapest.
Shop around or maybe get a prepay sim from a few providers and test them out until you find one that suits.
My OH is with O2 and seems happy with their service as prepay for the last several years.
As for me.... If i had to have a personal phone Tesco would be my first choice.

what monthly plan are you on and what do you get in it?

customer care good at vodafone?

Mimikyu

This post has been deleted.

Spipov

Captain Morgan wrote: »

This post has been deleted.

i am pretty much coming to that conclusion.

has meteor been ok customer care wise and policy wise in the last 2 years?

i thought of emobile because of free landlines, but plans are too steep and not enough on the 20-30 euro plans.

o2 - only 30 or 37 euro plans, but they offer less than the meteor equivalent.

ED E

Spipov wrote: »

i need data, very important. is it that bad speedwise?

its when it goes to 2g and never cycles back to 3g that annoys the c**p out of me with three.

Oh yeah, think officially the limit(800KBps) is gone but you're lucky if you can hit it. Its an MVNO on the o2 network and o2 reserve most of their bandwidth for their users so they can get like 3M d/1M u.


The three/vodaphone switching issue is a pain alright, I've been doing some research so keep an eye on the thread here on it Switching to WCDMA only will help, but will disconnect you completely when you go outside 3G range.