One's Mobile - or worse, 3's Mobile

I was chuffed to bits when my wife bought me my first 3G phone – a Galaxy Europa from Carphone Warehouse, on the 3 network. £15 a month for unlimited Internet, 300 voice minutes, and 3,000 SMSs.  It was exactly what I needed. From 18 August, when I was given it, to last week it was utterly and totally reliable. Three months trouble-free 3G - too good to be true?

Yes, it was. Last week the phone stopped working. I went onto the 3 website (three.co.uk) on the lappie, popped in my postcode, and discovered that because of 'maintenance work' there would be no signal for 6-8 hours. Well, fair enough, I thought. We’re a bit borderline round here. Perhaps 3 are boosting the signal.

Hollow laugh.  Since the maintenance work a signal – any signal – is now a rare event.

A week ago the 3 map of our little neck of the woods showed just a few pale pink islands in our area (= indoor reception unreliable) in a sea of dark purple (= strong signals indoor and outdoor.) Now the whole of our area is pale  pink.

3 has reduced the power of the signal to FY6 0xx to boost it elsewhere. Orange signal has also been affected, coincentally or otherwise.

I am now fed up with the circularities of troubleshooting, which take hours and hours and only get you back to where you started. As far as I am concerned 3 no longer provides a reliable service in FY6 0xx.  Shame. It was good while it lasted.

The Vodafone signal, however, is excellent, as is O2.

Back to Carphone Warehouse next week.  Switch me from 3 to Vodaphone or O2, please. I just want a 3G phone that actually connects to a network when I switch it on, and does it reliably. That’s what I pay for, but am not getting. 3’s packages are very good on paper, but no good at all when you can’t connect to the network for days on end.