Three launching 4G and Wifi Calling (VoWifi and VoLTE)

PH0NER

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122255641#Comment_122255641

Which Vodafone plan are you on?

I’d switch to GoMo or Eir if they ever support eSIM. It’s crazy they still don’t.

Ah-Watch

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122256274#Comment_122256274

Red Max simo (50GB) with the older Red Roaming rate of 2.99. I've an iPhone 15 from US so no sim tray either so definitely limits me to Vodafone or 3

gandalfio

So overall, who's the best network for general coverage and WiFi calling these days? Eir?

babelfish1990

WiFi calling needs the handset vendor to have the IMS server address of each network in their firmware. Eir launched WiFi calling in 2017 so probably have the longest established firmware settings with vendors. Eir is also the only Irish operator to allow WiFi calling when roaming, saving a fortune on roaming charges outside of EU. They also have been expanding their rollout very aggressively with 5G. Where I live, eir has infilled with local fibre-fed 5G monopoles which are nearer than either of the other networks, and this is probably replicated across the country. You should always check local coverage, as all networks can vary at a local level. However, it not so important at home, if you have WiFi Calling. The ComReg maps are worth checking, although not very up-to-date.

KildareP

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122257822#Comment_122257822

I find Eir's 4G and 5G is the most consistent of the three operators. The speedtest figures won't blow you away but it'll work. Rarely see 3G anymore and very rarely have a call drop out. They've done a huge amount of work in the last 2 years - their network before that was dreadful, calls would often be garbled and regularly drop altogether when on the move. Now they're throwing up monopoles everywhere, especially rural areas as their own OpenEir and the government's NBI fibre network expands.

Three - you'll get a speedtest of 1.4Gbps on 5G and then you step inside a building down the road and you've 4G but practically zero data connectivity. Still a few areas with 3G only and I often find data unusable on 3G regardless of how good the signal. Quite a few areas I'm in where calls are almost guaranteed to drop as you pass through. However they are still very much building out their network and, like Eir, seem to be following fibre rollouts with monopoles so I would expect in time their network will continue to get better and if they can get Eir's stability with their best-case headline speeds they're onto a winner.

Vodafone - I would have said they were the most consistent up until about 3 years ago. Sure, they had lots of areas still stuck on 3G but their 3G was often still fast enough to not notice. Call quality was perfect and rarely a dropped call. Now as they turn 3G off it's like being back on Meteor in the early 2000's with EDGE more and more common (effectively unusable data), impossible to maintain a call without dropping when on the move anymore, and 5G practically non-existent. They don't appear to be building out many new sites, don't seem to be into using monopoles at all, and seem very slow to refarm ex-3G frequencies over to 4G.

PH0NER

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/122256510#Comment_122256510

Same here for the U.S. iPhone 15. This year, I think I’ll get the European model if they still have a SIM slot. I want to be able to try out other Irish networks. As far as I can tell, only 3, Lyca, and Vodafone have eSIM. Even if all carriers had eSIM, only GomMo, Eir, 3, and Vodafone have WiFi Calling.

I hope when Sky finally launches mobile service, they’ll have eSIM and WiFi Calling.