I've been a Virgin Mobile customer since the bearded billionaire first entered the business.
In the last year or two, I'm convinced call quality has declined.
I recently bought a new Nokia handset, but am still suffering from a lack of mobile clarity.
There's no Vrgin signal at the caravan in leafy North Yorkshire, so I have a cheapie Vodafone there, which is much clearer.
So is any one network clearer for voice calls than the others?
Or is there a handset that out-performs the rest?
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Tried one or two networks over the years lured by "better" deals of course. Always end up going back to O2. Coverage is much better in my experience.
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I ran O2 and Vodafone and Orange back to back for a while in work - O2 always best at what it did, I've retained my 02 contract once I finished work.
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>> Or is there a handset that out-performs the rest?
Couldn't say Iffi, but there's a headset that puts all others to shame mobile calls even in truck on the move are crystal clear and those i speak to report equally good reception.
Frightens young kids when they see me (nothing unusual) with it resembling a Cyberman.
www.plantronics.com/north_america/en_US/products/cat1150057/cat5420035/prod5560014
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Virgin is on the t-mobile network which is the worst for coverage. They have some fancy thing to theoretically make call quality better but it doesn't work. I moved from t-mobile as calls would start ok but start dropping out and be un-intelligable after 20 minutes or so even with a full signal. That was about 2 years ago ish. Tried same phone on another network (o2) and that was perfect. Also noticed when you rang call centres with hold music t-mobile would sound like a bad radio with the sound getting louder and quieter for no reason. There was also lots of hissing which wasn't present on any other phone to the same number. Was really annoying. Didn't do it with any other network. Orange was slightly better but has this annoying tick tick tick noise on all calls which drove me bonkers. Has done it on every phone I've had. Don't know what it is. Never used vodafone so can't comment.
I've always found o2 call quality to be much better so always end up going back to them even if their CS isn't always brilliant.
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I think that Tesco use the 02 network as well.
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Another solid vote for the O2 network. I'm on it but wife and kids all with Virgin. They are frequently all unable to make calls when mine is still fine.
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you do get a different class of service on the cellular network depending on who you are.
Corporates get the best service (depending on the deal) and will get cell priority (Ie if I am mobile and and I hand off to another cell thats full, you PAYG people on that cell will get bounced out to allow me in. Contract customers come next, so they should be ok in the full cell and not get bounced. I would assume that Tesco are not paying top dollar so wont get the best service.
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>>you do get a different class of service on the cellular network depending on who you are.
Why am I not surprised...
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No worries with Tesco network at all.... their customer service is UK based and very friendly/helpful too.
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Thanks for the replies, especially Teabelly, whose T-Mobile experience is the same as mine on Virgin.
Looks like it might be time to visit the O2 shop.
Now for the vexatious question of tarrifs and the administration involved in taking my number with me.
Been with Virgin a long time, too, and the call centre, which I think is in Swindon, has alway been helpful.
I shall be sorry to go, but it's daft putting up with an inferior product.
Last edited by: ifithelps on Sat 8 May 10 at 14:55
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VM used to have a call centre in Trowbridge and another in Middlesbrough but I don't know what happened after NTL took them over. I think there may be one somewhere Liverpool way. There's probably more than one but, so far as I know, they are at least in Britain, for which points are awarded. I can't understand the accents from the NatWest call centre in Scotland :-(
JH
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Taking your number is dead easy. You just request a PAC - porting authorisation code. Then give this to your new provider. They give you a new number to begin with then your old number is transferred across. It is usually done within a few days of being requested.
The 02 simplicity tariffs are quite good. 30 day notice so if for some reason they're no good you can jump ship. Also check out carphone warehouse as often they have deals which are better than the o2 shop and o2 online deals. For example my current phone was £50 if I went to o2 online but free on an identical tariff from CPW!
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teabelly,
Thanks again.
I make a couple of short calls most working days, rarely send a text, and all my other portable data needs are catered for by my netbook.
So I'm firmly in free phone territory on a contract, or a cheapie handset on PAYG.
I like the basic Nokias because they are simple to use and they don't need charging every five minutes.
A pal of mine has just bought a £15 or £20 Nokia from Asda.
Nice clear calls, compared to Virgin, but I realise now that's not saying a lot.
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>> you do get a different class of service on the cellular network depending on who
>> you are.
>>
>> Corporates get the best service (depending on the deal) and will get cell priority (Ie
>> if I am mobile and and I hand off to another cell thats full, you
>> PAYG people on that cell will get bounced out to allow me in. Contract customers
>> come next, so they should be ok in the full cell and not get bounced.
>> I would assume that Tesco are not paying top dollar so wont get the best
>> service.
>>
I'm really baffled as to how they can make that work; I'm aware of the fact that some degree of service prioritisation was built into the network specs. many moons ago now, to allow emergency calls to boot other users off the network when full, but to offer a multi-tiered service like this, based on phone number, sounds very tricky. I can't see what system messages they'd use to implement this - OK I can't recall every system message in a mobile phone network off the top of my head mind you; I'll ask some real network boffins at work how they could manage this.
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>> you do get a different class of service on the cellular network depending on who
>> you are.
>>
Thats utter rubbish, and i work in the industry
The only time calls are "bounced off" a cell site, is to make way for a emergency 999 call which has to take priority.
There is no way a cell site can tell if you are corp, business, domestic, contract or PAYG until your call is routed to a switch site where your call is handled through the base stations.
Last edited by: Redviper on Mon 10 May 10 at 12:53
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what do you do in the industry?
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As an alternative viewpoint. I’m currently with Vodafone. They are great in London, but everywhere else you generally don’t get a good signal indoors, if any signal at all.
In comparison, I used to be on T-Mobile and my gf still is. I got a good 3G signal pretty much everywhere urban, and pretty good coverage elsewhere. Certainly it was far superior to Vodafone’s coverage, and I have every intention of returning to T-Mobile just as soon as my contract is up. Saying that, I’m also heavily influenced by their excellent data packages, my move was handset availability driven.
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I have always had the best coverage from 02. I always found Orange and TMobile inferior.
BUt it has always depended where you are, and will matter less with infrastructure sharing.
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Vodafone seems to be the most popular choice of lorry drivers for coverage almost anywhere in the country. If there is a bad spot, it can usually be avoided by moving a few feet as opposed to a few miles with other networks.
Like AC says on another thread theier mobile dongle is excellent and gives 3G coverage most of the time.
Don't worry about how much you download as it's very hard to reach the limit.
Another tip, ring them and threaten to leave every year as I've now got mine down to £10 per month for 9 months of the year to keep me!
Pat
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Pat, I just can't agree about Vodafone's 3G coverage - it's really excellent in town, and they do a better job of covering service stations that T-Mobile, but generally it's patchy at best.
Probably just shows how much individual usage patterns can distort 'facts'. :-)
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3g coverage is patchy outside major centres of population or transport hubs on every network.
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...update...
Virgin Mobile is history - the future's Orange.
The general consensus of the thread was O2 for clarity, but I decided to try Orange for a couple of reasons.
There is a £15 a month Raccoon tariff which has unlimited landline calls - a benefit I will make some use of.
Existing Orange users can have a low-use Orange internet dongle for £5 a month.
I currently have a Vodafone dongle which I use nearly every working day, but only to send a few emails, so my data usage is low.
The Vodafone dongle is £15 a month, so switching to Orange should save me £10 a month - great joy.
Call quality on the voice phone is OK so far, I've only used it half-a-dozen times, but I'm convinced it's better than Virgin.
I was also putting at least £15 a month on Virgin PAYG, so I'm hoping my call costs will reduce a little with Orange.
My thanks to everyone who contributed to the thread.
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I use Orange and have no real problems at all. The only niggle is sometimes patchy 3G/data availability, but that affects all mobile networks in the UK. The only places I can't get signal for voice are inside some big, metal roofed buildings or in the middle of nowhere.
The handset is a huge variable in terms of call quality / reception. Look at the iPhone 4...
Last edited by: DP on Mon 19 Jul 10 at 17:10
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Orange!? Aargh! The company I worked for switched to Orange. We had Orange branded handsets which were rubbish, coverage where we live is rubbish, I frequently stood outside to have a telephone conversation and the service is brain dead consumer oriented. I used to go bonkers setting my voicemail message. A voice would drone on telling me what voicemail is. Yes, I know what it is dearie, now can I set it! At least it changed (evetually) so that you could interrupt her and go ahead and record. Originally you had to wait for her to finish :-(
Wife still works for the same company as I did and they've just switched from BT to... Orange. She's been given an out of date Nokia handset, an older model than the one she's handing back and it doesn't have UMA which would at least have solved the local reception problem.
On holiday in N Yorks recently my Asda Vodafone was getting max signal, she was getting stuff all on Orange. Still it does provide entertainment. She found that putting up the umbrella on the patio of our rented cottage and lodging the phone in the spokes got her 2 bars. Move a few inches and it's gone.
Orange - pah!
JH
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Do hope it works for you Iffy. Afraid I had a similarly bad experience to that which Tooslow describes. Wouldn't feel able to give them a reference so to speak.
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...On holiday in N Yorks recently my Asda Vodafone...
Yes, my 'caravan mobile' is a Vodafone, although my new Orange one did work there when I tried it yesterday.
I have someone stopping in the 'van for a night or two.
I'm in Ifithelps Towers and they have just called me on my new Orange phone.
They are on Orange and we had a clear enough conversation.
My old Virgin Mobile phone used to cut out all the time in the house, so Orange is definitely better - for me...so far...
Last edited by: ifithelps on Mon 19 Jul 10 at 19:39
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Iffy, if it works for you, go for it, I need hardly say ignore my mini-rant :-)
I was in Bellerby, just North of Leyburn. But NY is a big place. I don't get there very often so I'm jealous of you! You do frequent Thomas the Baker?
My consumption of local ice cream, Chelsea buns, scones, fruit cake, Swiss roll, not to mention eating out on a night (Sandpiper off the square in Leyburn - recommended!) had to be offset by l o n g walks.
JH
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...I need hardly say ignore my mini-rant...
Not at all, perfectly valid contribution.
On to more important matters - food.
As someone who enjoys their comestibles, might I suggest the following:
The Wensleydale Heifer at West Witton - a few miles outside Leyburn towards Hawes - has a good name, and is a cut above the normal.
www.wensleydaleheifer.co.uk/
Moving up another half a notch is The Nags Head at Pickhill, near Thirsk.
www.nagsheadpickhill.co.uk/index.shtml
This is approaching fine dining and is in treat territory. Slightly eccentric/bossy owner, but he has high standards which he insists are kept.
You can get a decent dinner in the Heifer for about £25 a head, reckon on a tenner more at the Nags.
Everyone has their own ideas about the worth of restaurant meals, but I reckon these two places demonstrate that you do get what you pay for.
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Thanks for the tips. I went past the Heifer several times :-(
I'm not sure they'd let me in the Nag's Head by the sound of it! The next visit will be near Pickering next year, so I'll bear the Nag's Head in mind and keep the Heifer in long term memory.
Thanks,
JH
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...I'm not sure they'd let me in the Nag's Head by the sound of it!...
I might have given the wrong impression there - the place is welcoming enough to anyone who is reasonably smart and prepared to spend a few quid on a decent dinner.
Popular with the racing set, so you never know who you might bump into if there's a meeting on at one of the many local tracks.
It might be worth giving mine host - who rejoices in the name of J Edward Boynton - a bell before arrival.
The other good thing about the Nags is that it's open on Monday nights - many pub/restaurants in North Yorks are not, or if they are, they do not serve food.
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Mobile phone call clarity - Runfer D'Hills
