Tag Archives: three

3 (Three) UK changing PAYG price plans – voicemail will cost

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Yep, sadly from 22nd April (a really bad day to choose for me!) 3 are changing their PAYG price plans and adding a couple of costs.

On all Pay as you Go customers, voicemail will cost and MMS messages will cost more. There’s also a slight increase in the cost of international calls.

From 22nd April:

  • Voicemail, which was previously free, will cost 15p per minute to call.
  • MMS messages will cost 30p each, rather than 25p.
  • Various international costs will increase.

In return for this, 3 are introducing free Twitter and 0.facebook.com access for all PAYG customers, permanently.

I think this is a bit of shame really – I loved the free voicemail. None of the other changes will bother me that much but the free voicemail was a big bonus for me.

In any case, 3 still provide fantastic network coverage and great value plans so I suppose it isn’t all that bad.

Never mind – I’ll just put call divert on and reroute it to my Skype voicemail.

Mobile Broadband traffic shaping at birth with 3

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Three (3) UK, which reports it has the best 3G network coverage in the UK, has recently announced that from Monday it will be shaping the amount of traffic on its mobile broadband service.

It comes after reports that mobile internet is becoming increasingly popular in the UK. Three is obviously becoming concerned that the sharp rise in mobile broadband subscribers has meant that more and more people are putting strain on the relatively small amount of mobile broadband bandwidth available.

Three have said that it won’t affect you if you don’t use large amounts of bandwidth on the network and that the scheme is mainly being used to highlight very heavy users.

So, if you know you use large amounts of bandwidth on your mobile broadband, enjoy it for the last time. You’ve got 36 hours to knock yourself out! After that, you’re doomed to inevitable future of traffic shaping on mobile broadband!

3 (Three) “Mi-Fi” looks very interesting…

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If you’re a big reader of the news from the rather large tech world, you may well be aware that UK mobile operator 3 (Three) are planning to launch a very cool new level of mobile internet.

They are dubbing it Mi-FI, but it is basically your own battery powered router for your 3 mobile broadband package.

It is [apparently] very simple to use – you just slot some batteries in, together with your 3 mobile broadband SIM, and then switch it on. From what GEEK! understands, it will then find the nearest internet connection from available GPRS, EDGE, 3G, and HSDPA connections in your area. As soon as it can connect to a network mast, it will start firing out a Wi-Fi connection that all of your Wi-Fi enabled devices can connect to.

The device itself will be available over the internet from September 17th and will be in 3 stores across the country from September 18th.

As for pricing, see below (quoted from ISP Review)

•‘Broadband 5GB 1 month’ is a one month contract which includes 5GB of data for just £15 a month. With this deal the wireless modem costs just £69.99.
•For an upfront charge of £99.99, Mobile Wi-Fi will also be available as a ‘Ready to Go’ kit. The deal includes a wireless modem and 3GB worth of data which can be used over a 3 month period. After the data has been used up, the modem can be used on a Pay As You Go basis.

So there you have it – looks exciting in my opinion. I wouldn’t say it was brilliant value, but if you’re a frequent user of mobile internet it is probably well worth the cost. I’m looking forward to seeing it in 3 stores.

Upgrading 3 (Three) Pay as You Go phones

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I have my ups and downs with 3 (Three, otherwise known as Hutchinson 3G) – just recently I was raving about their speedy customer service.

Sadly, today I have a small complaint to 3 – their handling of Pay as You Go phone upgrades. It seems to be non-existent. I called up 3′s customer service asking about upgrading my current Nokia 3120 Classic and I was told that there was no way possible of upgrading 3 Pay as You Go phones. I was also told that 3 only dealt with contract upgrades.

I am somewhat confused. How can you have a huge mobile phone company and not deal with Pay as You Go upgrades? Surely someone must have come across this problem before.

I’ve searched and searched across the net but right now I can’t find anybody who has tried to upgrade their pay as you go 3 phone.

I don’t particularly want to move to contract as I don’t like having to be subject to payments when I might not take full advantage of included texts and minutes.

I’ve emailed 3′s support team to ask why they don’t have an upgrade plan for Pay as You Go users. I shall await a response and see what they tell me.

Has anybody else had the same problem with 3?

3 Customer Support is improving…

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I’m very glad to report that 3′s (Hutchinson 3G’s) Customer Service is finally improving.

I’ve had to speak with various people at 3 today because my local 3G mast has become unavailable, leaving me with very little coverage. The only way I can currently get coverage is by using Orange’s backup 2G network.

I spoke to 3 today and told them about the issue. To be truthful, I spoke to a technician online first (as 3 provides online chat as well as free telephone customer support), but he was very helpful and quickly reported the issue for investigation.

I then got a text from 3 this afternoon saying that they’d tried to call me back but I wasn’t available. I was glad to hear they had tried (how many times has a company promised you a call back, but not bothered?), but as I was out at that time I couldn’t take the call. In the text they provided me with an 0845 number to call them back with, and despite having to wait a little while for an advisor, I did get through to a very helpful man.

He told me that the problem would be investigated and gave me some instructions to make sure my 3G connectivity was available as soon as possible. He was very apologetic and promised me the problem would be solved within 21 days.

After lots of discussion, the man finally said that 3 may call me in the next few weeks to check the 3G coverage is available again. I was fine with this and the man I spoke to was very thankful for my co-operation.

In the end, I was also promised a little compensation for the lack of service. I didn’t ask for it – it was simply offered to me, so I willingly accepted it. This means I will receive a free top-up to the value of £10 (so I am told).  I haven’t received the compensation yet, but I have been promised it within the next 24 hours so hopefully I shall get it soon.

In conclusion, I am very happy with the service I received today. There are countless reports of poor customer service, but if you have a little patience and don’t loose your temper, the customer service is really efficient and helpful.