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Best UK Network

RetroDude

Well-Known Member
Jun 6, 2010
141
13
Heyy guys, been browsing last few days, and you have convinced me to get the desire, however i have been trying to find my answer to this question.

Which network should i go for between Orange and Vodafone,

I was in Vodafone shop the other day and the offer i got for a contract was

18 months
 
From what i've experienced with being on Orange for about a year now, their 3G/HSDPA coverage is very good, but there are some little black spots around where I live (Cotswold countryside) where Vodafone and O2 get at least GPRS signal.

At work I seem to always be the one with signal and its always at least 3G so I think it's just a bit of a coincidence that the one place I get bad signal is at home lol!

From what i've seen, Orange's bundles seem to be a bit better for minutes and texts, but Vodafone does better on internet allowance at 1gb rather than 500mb.

Once Orange merges with T-Mobile (which will fully complete end of this year / beginning of next year) It should have a big impact on the signal strength I suspect.

Ben
 
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I've just switched to Orange from o2 a month ago and I have to be honest I'm very un-impressed.
I have an ongoing issue with what seems to be their 3g coverage at my home/work (90% of my day then) - if I have WCDMA switched on calls go straight to answer-phone and SMS fail to send intermittently - I drop down to GSM only and all is well ... not great when you have a Desire phone lol.

Technical support have sent me round in circles for nearly 2 weeks now, so my view is I wouldn't choose Orange again personally, but as has been mentioned, it depends where you are in terms of coverage and then fingers crossed you get better service.
 
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The quality of voice calls is very important to me, and by far Vodafone is the best for this. They are generally more expensive though, and very restrictive with upgrades (ie they wont do it early. Ever. Even if you threaten to kick them in the shin).

CS varies like with any operator, and I cant believe I'm about say this, but their newer 'foreign' call centre staff actually seem better trained and more knowledgeable than the UK based ones of yesteryear.:thinking:
 
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Thanks very much for the replies, i think ill go with vodafone. Going to try haggle but we will see where that gets me. Do you think i could use an online deal as a bargaining chip?, im also going back to the same salesman because we had some good banter. And i am a new customer so i agree i think it is a good deal.

Also am i being a total idiot by not knowing what CS is?
 
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Voda are top for signal in my experience but they know it. Their retentions team suck!
I was with them for over ten years, never missed a bill, and all levels of retntions treated me worse than a new customer during upgrade time.
The t moB tariffs are actually pretty good and so is their data allowance. Might have to pay extra though not sure.
I'm not a fan of Orange tbh. Not sure about now but their allowance and signal is pretty poor down south. Used to be 250mb for 5quid a month extra. Unlimited anytime calls (but only to other orange users). Their exclusives (black nokia n82, touch hd, bb bold) all had issues. Im unlucky with them
 
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IPhone contracts aside, I believe o2 are best at retaining. But I'm more than happy with the 'cs' at t mobile too. They reduced my line rental way before upgrade and didn't have to sign up for another term.
With some networks they don't earn commission but most definitely have quotas. I especially like the "ill have to check with my supervisor" to make out you're getting an extraordinary deal.
 
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