I have been with Hutchinson Three for 2 years now and can definitely recommend them.
One of the things the detractors raise about Three is handsets, that argument is now very much out of date. When I first became a Three customer in 2003 I had an NEC e606handset, one of the first generation 3G handsets for use on Three. This was very problematic - bulky and many dropped calls, but this is always to be expected with new technology. Thankfully, the handsets have improved in leaps and bounds and now are on a par and if not considerably better than the ordinary GSM handsets. For instance, the LG8120 has a good battery (battery complaints were common about the earlier 3G handsets), more than capable screen and is a joy to use. Handset issues have now more or less disappeared as a factor.
Network
performance in my 2nd year (2004 to 2005) of being on Three has been pretty much flawless. The improved handset was probably a reason for that as many of the problems that were evident when I first joined were down to the first generation handsets. Three has 3G coverage in most towns and cities of any size and the coverage has improved massively in the past two years. Where 3G is not available, you are transferred seamlessly onto 2G coverage, which is piggybacked on the O2 network. Most Three users use the service for phoning and texting so this is rarely a problem. Text message performance has been good, messages usually arrive very rapidly, only on very few occasions have I "lost" messages or received them very late. Voice quality is good, however there have been some complaints lately about the volume being too low, although this could be the phone.
Three's 3G services and content are passable. The travel information has been very useful when trying to plan train journeys and the like. I don't tend to make much use of the vast bulk of the content available as it is in the theme of "posh n becks", "big brother" and other trashy stuff. My biggest bugbear is that Three, and the other 3G companies, STILL do not grant us open access to the WWW, and insist on forcing us to only use their own content, in what is called a "walled garden". This is a real annoyance and more people would use 3G if they were allowed to browse their favourite websites on their phone.
The network in terms of value for money is unbeatable. £25 a month for 500 mins of X-Net anytime minutes is a bargain, that works out at 5p/min. Other companies charge as much as 50p/min to call cross network. Since I got Three my bills, which were high as a result of calling mobiles, have come right down. If you like to make real phone calls to mobiles this is the tariff for you. Text message pricing is competitive too, and they are now bringing out tariffs with free text's thrown in.
All in all, the network is fantastic value for money, the coverage is good, the performance is good, but customer service is quite lacking. This is an area that really lets down Three unfortunately. The main problem is they have chosen to ship British jobs abroad and set-up a call centrein India to deal with most calls. This alone is bad enough, couple that with staff who cannot understand a word you are saying (and I speak very clearly), and generally are confused and inept, and you have a recipe for frustration. If you ever have to change your address on there, expect to spend 20 or so minutes spelling each letter out phonetically, and expect them to STILL get it drastically wrong. Phoning customer services is an absolute nightmare, and anyone with a complex problem is likely to end up spending a very long time trying to explain the situation. Their UK based staff however are much better, for instance, their UK staff cover billing problems etc, and they are very friendly and capable, they contrast hugely with the bargain-basement service from the Indian centre.
If Three wanted to be the perfect network they would open up their service to the main WWW, and please get rid of that awful call centre in India!
All in all, I will be renewing my contract with Three for another year, they still come up trumps!
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3 brings together video calling, video clips, location based services and amazing content to browse and download. 3 has great offers and a huge range of the 3G handsets. Visit the 3 Shop to find more info. on offers
Advantages: 500 mins is good unless you're a mobile junkie, decent quality calls Disadvantages: Coverage isn' brilliant, customer servives are foreigners again!!!
Aug 2nd, 2005
very helpful by (96%):
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