I joined the 3 network in August, taking advantage of the 1p NEC e808 from OneStopPhoneShop (see my other ops for reviews of both). The idea of video calling was tremendously exciting and I was looking forward to trying out the new technology. It seemed like a real leap forward in mobile communication, and something I really wanted to try for myself.

However, three months later, I am now back on Orange, with my NEC e808 passed on to a new owner and a 2g Motorola v500 on order to replace it.

Here's a brief summary of my own experiences with 3, some other views I've read as I've researched the network, and why you shouldn't join - yet.

--> WHAT IS 3?

'3' is the brand name for the new 3G (third generation) mobile services in the UK. The same brand is operating in some parts of Europe and Australia. 3G - theoretically - provides better voice call quality, video streaming and downloads, and broadband-speed wireless mobile internet access. The handsets on the 3 network offer varying amounts of gadgets and gizmos, from video recording and calling to voice notes to sport, information and entertainment downloads and touch-screen handsets. You can also (again, theoretically) use your 3G phone to find a 'quick map' of a postcode area, or see up to date weather forecasts and news headlines. The service in the UK also has a limited email service.

3G coverage is not that great, and you are likely to only get a 3G signal on major motorways and rail routes, as well as city centres. Where 3G coverage is not available, the phone will switch to o2, which only offers 'normal' 2G services. No downloads, no video calling, and voice calls are actually more expensive when in a 2G zone.

--> WHAT CAN 3 DO FOR ME?

Aside from the obvious selling point - video calling - Three are selling their service cheap and cheerful at the moment. Credit checks are easy to pass, free minutes are handed out by the bucketload and handsets with a supposed RRP of £500 are being given away free to anyone who'll take the risk on the new network. These things all sound very impressive at first glance, especially since everybody is looking for the best tariff with the most minutes included - but the reality is that the Three service is not as great as it looks on paper.

--> MY EXPERIENCE WITH 3: HANDSETS

My NEC e808 handset certainly looked impressive, but I was shocked at the size... it looked like a sandwich maker with the ergonomics to match. The standby time was about 18 hours, which meant I had to charge the phone every night without fail - and when I had been using it, it would run out of juice before I even got back home to plug it in.

When moving around with the phone - driving or walking - it would beep every few minutes as I moved in and out of 3G coverage areas. While on 2G the phone constantly searches for a 3G signal which only makes the battery life drain faster. There was no option on my handset to 'lock' the phone to 2G, so the beeping and battery draining continued, even in a city centre - and when the phone was completely stationary, sitting on my sofa.

Once every two or three days, I would open the handset to find the message 'USIM Error'. This effectively meant that the phone had crashed and needed a restart. But because my phone was a clamshell (flip) model, I was never aware that it had crashed until I came to open it - for example when I was expecting a text or a call. I missed all calls on my birthday because my phone had crashed and I hadn't had cause to open it up and check.

Finally, the so-called phone/PC synchronisation won't work with Macs or older versions of Windows. Very, very disappointing.

--> MY EXPERIENCE WITH 3: NETWORK

Aside from the phone problems, the Three network itself has inbuilt flaws which seriously hinder its ability to work effectively.

For example: calling someone while out and about, something we'd all expect a phone to do. Three Customer Services advise you to "stand still" while using your phone to avoid having your call cut off!! (Yes, this is honestly bona fide advice from the call centre!). Obediently following their advice one Friday, standing outside a supermarket, my call was dropped after about 2 minutes. I checked the display - it said 3G - so I redialled and was cut off again after about 15 seconds. In the end, I gave up.

The dropped calls are not uncommon on Three. As the phone moves from 3G to 2G (i.e. Three to o2), it cannot carry the call with it, so it has to disconnect you and force you to redial (at the more expensive rate) to continue talking. People just called me less and less because they could never get through to my phone.

The supposedly useful 3G features, such as finding a map of your location from your postcode, are fairly useless. Think about it: you're unlikely to get lost in a major city centre or on the M1, and if you're anywhere else, you won't have a 3G signal anyway.

And let's not forget that 50p-£1 for a few minutes of video is, at best, a joke, and normally a rip off. The movie clips for example - great quality but certainly not worth the money at all. I suppose some people might want to download football highlights and goals, but why not just tape them off the TV instead?

--> SUPPORT

I won't go into support and Customer Services in too much detail here - needless to say, they are useless, and it's a waste of money calling them to get the simplest of information. I don't have a problem with call centres in India or anywhere else, but I do have a problem when staff don't have knowledge of the products they are supposed to be supporting. People who have had dropped calls have phoned to complain and been told to take their SIM out and blow on it! I'm not expert but I can tell you that this kind of technical support is not going to satisfy frustrated customers. When I left Three and went back to Orange, I thought about calling them to port my number to a new SIM, then send me another Three SIM with a backup number for my 3 handset. But decided it would be far too difficult to get any of the staff to get it right, so I just put my 3 SIM in a drawer.

Other people have had ongoing billing problems which, thankfully, I have not been subjected to.

-> THREE REASONS NOT TO JOIN

And now we come to the top Three reasons not to join the UK's newest mobile network.

3. The inability to send MMS (photo messages) to anyone on any other mobile network. The cameras in the handsets are excellent, and the screens are brilliant - you WANT to use the cameras to take photos and MMS them to others, but you can't, if they're not on Three. I have no idea why that would be, and can't think of any real reason for that restriction. But as I have no friends on 3, it made the inbuilt cameras quite useless.

2. Even if you can use video calling with other friends on 3, what are the chances that you're both in a 3G area, AND have remembered to take your handsfree headsets out with you? You can't video call without wearing the headphones - and when you're already carrying a pocketfull of phone everywhere it's unlikely you'll want to dangle anything else off it.

1. Unlike Three subscribers in Europe and Australia, theres' no internet access on 3 handsets. In 2003 you'd think this was a basic requirement! But no - no WAP, never mind GPRS, and none of the mobile internet browsing and super-fast speed that Three subscribers in other countries already enjoy. You can set up your 3mail email account to check your POP email, if you can get it set up without being cut off from the service (yes, this happens even while "standing still"!), but you can't check the 3mail any other way but through the handset.

--> MY CONCLUSION

I was initially so excited by Three, but was let down badly by an awful phone and absolutely abysmal service. I have tried using my 3G SIM in my old Nokia 3210, but I can't use texting or the phone book, nor can I lock the keypad. So I went back to Orange and enjoy blanket coverage, cross-network MMS, reliable and long chats and four or five days' battery life. No Customer Service call centre is perfect but at least I feel the Orange staff know what I'm talking about when I ring them.

If you want to try Three, I would advise that you bear in mind your statutory right to a refund within 14 days if you are not satisfied. Travel a lot, test your phone in all conditions, and don't be romanced by hundreds of free minutes - you won't be able to use them because your calls will always get dropped after a few minutes anyway.

Luckily I joined 3ToGo (not available to new users any more) so I have no line rental to pay if I decide to chuck my SIM in the bin. But the last thing anyone wants, in my opinion, is to end up on a 3 contract for a year, finding that their phone, tariff and service is useless, then calling a 0870 call centre for hours on end to get out of it.

My advice? Children of the revolution need not apply.