Mobile broadband coverage?

Where I live, the O2 voice signal is very good, but the voice signal
for the other networks I've tried - Vodafone, T-Mobile - is quite poor
because of the local topography.

Thinking of getting mobile broadband now. Can I expect the O2
broadband signal to be similarly stronger than the others - will it
come from the same local transmitter as the voice? Many thanks.

(E-Mail Removed) wrote:
> Thinking of getting mobile broadband now. Can I expect the O2
> broadband signal to be similarly stronger than the others - will it
> come from the same local transmitter as the voice? Many thanks.

Yes, probably. 3G comes on a different frequency (2100MHz against 900 or
1800 for GSM) which may mean signals propagate to you in a different way.
Usually 900 or 1800 will propagate further than 2100, except in urban areas.

But in general if you can't get voice you haven't a hope for broadband. But
try moving around and seeing if the signal gets any better... if you find it
works best on top of the wardrobe, say, it's always possible to put your
dongle up there on a long cable.

If you can borrow a 3G phone it's worth also checking whether you can get
any 3G signal. If you can't, you're limited to ~50kbps GPRS or (unlikely)
~200kbps EDGE.

I'd recommend trying mobile broadband on the basis that you can take it back
if you have no signal as it sounds like you're marginal at best.

Theo

<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:aa996042-fb79-415a-b854-(E-Mail Removed)...
> Where I live, the O2 voice signal is very good, but the voice signal
> for the other networks I've tried - Vodafone, T-Mobile - is quite poor
> because of the local topography.
>
> Thinking of getting mobile broadband now. Can I expect the O2
> broadband signal to be similarly stronger than the others - will it
> come from the same local transmitter as the voice? Many thanks.

There is a coverage checker at http://www.webmap.o2.co.uk/ It's the dark
blue (video coverage) areas you are interested in for minimum broadband
coverage and preferably HSDBA for decent high speed data.

Paul

On 1 Feb, 12:22, "Paulg0" <zd...@ukgateway.net.nospam> wrote:
> <fonn_volt_w...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
>
> news:aa996042-fb79-415a-b854-(E-Mail Removed)...
>
> > Where I live, the O2 voice signal is very good, but the voice signal
> > for the other networks I've tried - Vodafone, T-Mobile - is quite poor
> > because of the local topography.
>
> > Thinking of getting mobile broadband now. * Can I expect the O2
> > broadband signal to be similarly stronger than the others - will it
> > come from the same local transmitter as the voice? * *Many thanks.
>
> There is a coverage checker athttp://www.webmap.o2.co.uk/It's the dark
> blue (video coverage) areas you are interested in for minimum broadband
> coverage and preferably HSDBA for decent high speed data.
>
> Paul

Thanks to you both for your help. I'm going to start off by trying
3 (PAYG) - they claim coverage in my area is excellent and I can bring
the dongle back within 3 days if I find it's not. I'm told that O2
is the only one of the big four that doesn't allow users to turn off
image compression, so they'll be second choice for PAYG mobile BB.
They've got a 50 day return policy.

In article <96aa743a-a7b7-45bd-afbf-
(E-Mail Removed)>, "" wrote:
>
> Thanks to you both for your help. I'm going to start off by trying
> 3 (PAYG) - they claim coverage in my area is excellent and I can bring
> the dongle back within 3 days if I find it's not. I'm told that O2
> is the only one of the big four that doesn't allow users to turn off
> image compression, so they'll be second choice for PAYG mobile BB.
> They've got a 50 day return policy.
>
One warning with 3G on 3 (What a daft name) is that it's very dependent
on the geographic topology. This probably applies to other networks
also, but these I haven't used.

We're in an area in which I've seen >3Mbps indicated on a speed test,
yet someone else nearby can only connect at 2G speeds, using the same
modem. They have a rising ground behind their house, between them and
the aerial, so they don't have line of sight.

3's coverage map indicates there are a couple of doubtful areas but I've
had a good 3G connection in the middle of one of them, even inside a
(modern) building - and the bad connection is in the middle of a
supposedly good area. It shows that their maps are too coarse, so make
good use of your 3-days trial by not just using it in the one location,
if your intention is to be mobile.
--
John W
To mail me replace the obvious with co.uk twice

In news:96aa743a-a7b7-45bd-afbf-(E-Mail Removed),
(E-Mail Removed) <(E-Mail Removed)> typed, for some
strange, unexplained reason:
: On 1 Feb, 12:22, "Paulg0" <zd...@ukgateway.net.nospam> wrote:
: > <fonn_volt_w...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
: >
: >
news:aa996042-fb79-415a-b854-(E-Mail Removed)...
: >
: > > Where I live, the O2 voice signal is very good, but the voice
: > > signal for the other networks I've tried - Vodafone, T-Mobile -
: > > is quite poor because of the local topography.
: >
: > > Thinking of getting mobile broadband now. Can I expect the O2
: > > broadband signal to be similarly stronger than the others - will
: > > it come from the same local transmitter as the voice? Many thanks.
: >
: > There is a coverage checker athttp://www.webmap.o2.co.uk/It's the
: > dark blue (video coverage) areas you are interested in for minimum
: > broadband coverage and preferably HSDBA for decent high speed data.
: >
: > Paul
:
: Thanks to you both for your help. I'm going to start off by trying
: 3 (PAYG) - they claim coverage in my area is excellent and I can bring
: the dongle back within 3 days if I find it's not. I'm told that O2
: is the only one of the big four that doesn't allow users to turn off
: image compression, so they'll be second choice for PAYG mobile BB.
: They've got a 50 day return policy.

Bear in mind that all except Vodafone cut off your credit if not used
within 30 days. With Voda it's much like a PAYG phone in that your credit
is valid for 180 days for Voda and it doesn't expire if used once within
that time. They have a 14 days return policy. £15 a gig but for my usage
(occasional email checking, no large downloading etc.) it's fine.

Ivor