three mobile

[Theas18]

would you or not?

feed back appreciated. May be getting SIM only deals for the kids

I've been on Three for the past twelve months having been with either T Mobile or O2 for the last 20 years. I would not recommend them. Their coverage isn't as extensive as the other networks. This is probably to do with the fact that T Mobile customers for example can use Orange networks if T Mobile signal strength is poor. Three has no such partnership agreement.

I have been with them for over 3 years, no problem whatsoever, clear signal, suppose it depends which area of the country you are.

Conversely I have found them to be far the best out of O2, tmobile and three. I am in London/Surrey

I've been with 3 since 2004 or thereabouts. Never had a problem with them except the coverage in certain areas (lake district and countrysides) but luckily I am a city girl.

Not for Internet. Says the person on three. Intermittently. When they feel like providing me with a service...

No problems in my area, Surrey/Berkshire border. Internet via handset works well. Coverage can be patchy at times but I would expect this of all networks - I tried Vodaphone once and it did not work at my home, where as Three does.

No doubt there are various pros and cons, you need to weigh them up in your own personal situation. Looking at mast locations may help: Ofcom SiteFinder

Had dongle and used 15 GB a month every month from October 2008 to Sept 2012 with no problems (most of the time in N Wales, but also in Staffs and on Merseyside). Used in place of a landline when moving.

So happy I had a SIM only deal from Feb 2012 (started at 15 quid, went up with a minor price rise) providing 600 minutes, 3000 texts and unlimited internet. Used 20 to 30 GB a month on the mobile, near enough 600 minutes and a hundred or two texts. They upped the limit to 5000 texts on that plan (Ultimate 600).

If you have reasonable coverage then pricing starts from 6.90/month for 200 minutes, loads of texts, but only 250 MB of data. Really depends what you are after... other networks might have good deals too, such as Tesco, T-Mob (data), Orange (minutes).

I know you can cap the amount you will pay on Tesco and Three, so those might be worthwhile (and means going over the limits won't hit you with big bills - Three has a per MB data charge if you exceed the limit which means 1 Gb costs about 100 quid. It's frightening if you aren't on an unlimited plan!)

Must add I'm using T-Mobile as i got a deal offering unlimited calls, texts and data, and it's effectively about 8 quid a month (16 quid charged, but I got 101 pounds as cashback within 2 months of signing up, so halves the effective cost).

Three had a Nokia listed on three-clearance.co.uk with unlimited data 200 minutes etc for just 11 quid a month. I wanted that deal, but when my contract was near to ending, and I asked, they said they couldn't offer it as they were out of stock with that Nokia phone... I asked if they'd do it SIM Only instead and they wouldn't.

Same day saw the T-Mobile deal on HotUKDeals.com and took it, as Three could only offer more costly deals.

Unfortunately the cheapest PAYG phones for Three are about 50 quid (unless you get one on Ebay), and I'd recommend trying any network first, if you can... so consider getting an 'unlocked' phone and then you can test any PAYG SIM to see what signal strength is like in your area. Also check the 'coverage maps' that some networks offer.

Have to ask [regular starting point]: what are you after (minutes, texts, data) and what amount of money are you willing to spend ?

There are loads of combinations, lots of moneyback deals, and so forth, to consider (which may mean another network is better than Three perhaps).

what I want, and what has worked well till giffgaff withdrew it was the 5 pound unlimited text goody bag ( which also got them free calls to me). at least 1000 texts but few mins and no data.

three 6.90 deal or virgin 7 pound seems the next cheapest. not sure about ovivo -

An alternative would be from Tesco Mobile (via O2 network, unless that has poor coverage in your area). It's a SIM Only deal:-

£7.50/month on 12 month contract gives 250minutes, 5000 texts, 500 MB

(and you should be able to cap this one so cannot cost more than 7.50)

It's slightly more generous than Three with 25% more minutes and 100% more data for only 60p extra...

Hmmm, I was wrong. The same amount of data on Three as Tesco (and Virgin).

Yes, the Virgin deal (150 min, 3000 texts, 500 MB) is similar but only 30 day rolling contract, so perhaps one to consider as it's more flexible and can be cancelled more easily if something better comes along, though the Tesco one may be fine if you bother with Clubcard points...