As the company behind 3 successfully launched Orange in 1994 (which was later sold to France Telecom), I was optimistic when it came to choosing 3 as a new service provider.
Having spent 5 years with Orange on Everyday 50, I came to the end of my 4th contract at the beginning of January and was given the choice of only 2 mobiles to upgrade to (none of which were remarkably better than the one I had!). This, coupled with abismal customer service from the shop (details in a future review on Orange) made me think long and hard about where to invest my hard-earned cash.
A friend recommended 3 to me and so far, I am glad I have changed. Reception is excellent - I live in Scarborough (not a very big place, if you've never been!) and consistently get full signal or 3 out of 4 bars, and the online service (both mobile and conventional websites) is easily accessible, colourful and clear, with a lot of attention paid to multimedia design principles (the 'rules' of electronic information display/manipulation).
Online content is varied and there any many different genres, catering for almost all tastes. Any costs associated with downloads is clearly displayed, so you know how much you are spending. in addition, you can check the current balance of your inclusive content by one of three methods: calling 333 (free), through the 3G mobile internet service or by logging in to the 3 internet site via your PC.
As for the cost - I went through the Carphone Warehouse and signed up to their web-only Nokia 7600 deal and am now on 3's Talk and Text 600 for only £4.99 a month (usually £30 pcm). No, that's not a typo - for 12 months @ £4.99 a month I get 500 any network, anytime minutes and 100 texts per month. For around £60 a year, despite the bad press 3 has had, I thought it was worth the risk!
As for the customer service, I have contacted them three times now: twice for details on my talk plan - my queries were answered promptly and clearly; Once for a technical fault - MMS wouldn't send or receive, which they were aware of and told me clearly and concisely that repairs were being carried out and service should resume in 24 hours (which it did) . I waited a maximum of 5 seconds to be connected to a real person after the usual automated switchboard, which from my experience of telecommunications companies (BT, Orange, BTCellnet and Vodafone) is the quickest and clearest I've come across.
With the introduction of smaller and lighter handsets, such as the Nokia 7600 (which aren't beta products, despite some reviews that state that 3's handsets are inferior quality), 3 is set to become more popular.
Overall, I would recommend 3 to anyone who is looking for exceptional value for money - the company appears to have taken onboard all the initial teething problems and is now, in my view, a respectable contender in the mobile service providers' war.
NB: If you are thinking of joining 3, have a good look a third-party suppliers (eg Carphone Warehouse, The Link etc.) for the best deals as you could save hundreds of pounds on your contract costs.
You may also find it useful to check current 3 coverage in your area - go to www.three.co.uk and 'check coverage'. This also shows varying levels of service, ie. none, 2G, 2.5G and 3G so you can see if, eg. travelling to work would affect service.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
Advantages: Generous amount of inclusive minutes, reasonably good coverage for voice calls Disadvantages: Absolutely Awful customer sevice from foreign call centres who cant speak English Properly
jennyd60 09.05.2004 (09.05.2004)
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Ciao members have rated this review on average: very helpful
Review of 3 (Three mobile)
Advantages: Cheaper than BT, good customer service, excellent choice of tarriffs, flexibilty, good range of advanced add-ons. Disadvantages: You are surcharged for not paying by Direct Debit (!), occasion boo-boo by customer service, clarity of line not as good as BT (but see review) Mobile option doesn't include Three.
peterkinxl5 30.03.2005 ·
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