Continue reading »]]> 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.

Continue reading »]]> 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!

Continue reading »]]> 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.

Continue reading »]]> 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?

Continue reading »]]> 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.

Continue reading »]]> 3 (Three) UK Mobile has today introduced free texts and internet to users topping up. It looks like a really nice addition to pay as you go on Three and has definately made me glad to be on Three.

From today (June 2nd 2009), 3 are giving away free texts and internet usage every time you top up.

Here’s how it goes…

Mobile Internet

From now on, you get 150MB of free internet access with every top up no matter how big or small. You must use it within 90 days.

Free texts

This is how it goes:

• Top up £5 and you’ll get 25 free texts to use within 90 days. You can only top up by £5 online.
• Top up £10 and you’ll get 300 free texts to use within 90 days. Top up online and you’ll get an extra 300 texts (meaning 600 in total).
• Top up £15 and you’ll get 500 free texts to use within 90 days. Top up online and you’ll get an extra 500 texts (meaning 1000 in total).
• Top up £20 and you’ll get 1000 free texts to use within 90 days. Top up online and you’ll get an extra 1000 texts (meaning 2000 in total).
• Top up £25 and you’ll get unlimited free texts to use within 90 days, whether you top up in a shop or online.

It’s so amazing and I’m very happy about it. It almost makes Pay As You Go better value than contract now! The best bit is that you get 90 days to use your free rewards, rather than the cruddy 30 days most mobile providers give.

I can’t get over how good it is and am trying to top up now to get my first reward! Thanks 3!

Continue reading »]]> Three UK mobile announced on 1st May 2009 that it was editing its usage policy of Skype on user’s mobiles. From now on, all users of Three mobiles will receive unlimited usage on Skype no matter whether you top up or not. So basically that means that users can now have free calls to anybody in the world, as long as they are on Skype.

The plan used to be that Pay As You Go customers had make a £5 top up once every three months to get Skype calls, and Pay Monthly customers had to have an internet plan. From now on, as long as you are on a 3 mobile you will get free Skype calls anytime, to anyone (on Skype).

I am glad that Three are finally using VoIP to a new level, and hopefully this will cause other mobile operators to follow on.

Continue reading »]]> I’ve been with 3 (Three) for just under 6 months, so I feel it’s about time I do a full review. There’s much argument on the internet as to whether 3 is really a good company or whether it isn’t to be used. I have summed up most of the features available on 3 and how well they compare to other mobile operators in the UK.

Bare in mind, this review is based on pay as you go usage, but some categories (such as Coverage) apply to both PAYG and Pay Monthly.

Coverage

Mobile coverage on 3 is really good. 3G coverage is almost constant (especially in larger cities) and 3 are constantly adding new 3G signal masts into more rural areas. When you aren’t in 3G coverage, 2G coverage is also very good. 3 share 2G signal masts with Orange, which means you can either get 2G or 3G coverage everywhere. There are very few “blackout” areas where you can’t get signal with 3. I’m really impressed with mobile network coverage on 3 – it’s the best I’ve had in any mobile operator I’ve tested.

Internet access (without seperate modem)

I use the internet a lot when I’m on the move. I use it both directly on the phone and also for my laptop when I’m away.

I can easily connect my phone to my PC via bluetooth and I can immediately start accessing the internet. Cheap internet addons are great for this. For 50p I can get 120MB of data to use in 1 day, £2.50 gives me 500MB to use in a week and £5.00 gives me 2GB to use within a month. All of 3′s phones are 3G capable meaning that I can get usable internet on my PC. Typically, 3G will give me file download speeds of 20-40kbps, but internet browsing is fine and online games are playable with ease.

On my phone, I use 3′s internet regularly. 3 offer free Windows Live Messenger and Skype on pay as you go, which is fantastic and I use both regularly. Planet3 is also a very useful site to have on your phone. I can handle my balance, top-ups and addons all from Planet 3. Also, I can use the 3 music store (which sadly isn’t DRM free, but they have recently reduced their music prices) which I’ll explain later.

Overall, the internet features on 3 are very good.

Sadly, I haven’t tried 3′s mobile broadband with a USB modem as yet, so I am not going to review it right now, but I might review it in the near future.

Calls and texts

Calls and texts are, well, as you’d expect them. However, they are extremely cheap on 3 Pay as you Go. Texts are 12p each, which admittedly isn’t the best. But all calls to UK landlines and mobiles (on any network) are just 12p per minute which is extremely cheap for mobile networks. Call quality is good and no worse than any other network.

Bundles and addons

The choice of bundles and addons is really good on 3. You can choose from bundles on texts, internet and mobile TV addons and most of them are really good value. If you want to know about addons and availability, I suggest you take a look at 3′s Price Guide (page 9) and check the addons section. There’s a list there of all the types of addons available.

You can also get a service called ‘Stretch’ which enables the user to pay a certain amount of their top up (minimum £10) to get a split of texts and calls which is better value than the standard top up. Personally, I don’t use this feature, but if you do large topups and like to get good value calls and texts, this may be useful to you.

You can also join “clubs” such as the 3Games club which gives you offers and discounts on games. Sadly, they do send you a large amount of texts which can annoy you after a while, but if you are an avid mobile gamer this may appeal.

Planet3 Stores

The 3 Music Store is generally good, if a little expensive. Songs cost between 99p and £1.29. You can download the songs you purchase to both your phone and PC, but sadly the songs aren’t DRM free (yet).

You can also get Music Videos from the Planet3 store, and these cost £1.69 each (in general).

Realtones cost £3.49 each which I feel is a little expensive, but I don’t use realtones so it is not much of a concern to me.

The 3 store does not currently sell albums – you have to by each song separately. This is annoying, but when you think about it, trying to download 12 songs over a 30kbps connection is going to take a long time.

3 also offer a “club” which costs £5.00 per month and gives you access to unlimited streaming radio direct from 3. There are no advertisements and you can choose between a range of stations. You can also get this service for 49p per day which can be handy if you are on a long car trip. To listen to streaming radio (and on that matter, browse the internet on your mobile) you must be within a 3G connection.

Customer Service

Despite the fact that the whole of 3′s customer service is controlled and handled by foreign countries, the customer service is generally good. All customer service is free from a 3 phone (by calling 333, pressing 3 after entering mobile number, and then 2 to speak to advisor) and I’m pretty sure their customer service is available 24 hours a day. It was even open when I called at 8pm on Christmas Day which was handy.

The advisers are always very polite, despite the fact it is sometime quite difficult to recognise their accent. They are good English speakers most of the time.

Their knowledge is generally good and most of the time they give me helpful information. Sometimes they aren’t 100% accurate but most of the time they know what they are talking about.

Topping up

Top ups are generally easy to do. They will accept debit and credit cards both over the phone and on their online My3 service. Also, you can get top up vouchers from most supermarkets, general stores and post offices. The minimum top up on both credit/debit cards and vouchers is £10. Topping up is quick and credit is applied immediately.

Checking your balance and account status

This is easy thanks to the two free services 3 provides. If you are on your phone, you can call 444 free from your PAYG phone and press 1. This will tell you your account balance and the status of your addons.

You can also use My3, both on your computer and on Planet3. On your computer just go to www.three.co.uk/my3 and log in. Or, on your mobile, just hit the Planet3 button and head over to the My3 section. Simple.

Overall

I’m really happy with 3 at the moment. It’s simple and easy to use, plus there are some handy features to use when you want them. The PAYG tariff is really good value, the addons are cheap and useful, and the customer service is really helpful. Network coverage is really good as well.

I hope to stay on 3 for a long time to come, and maybe I’ll move to contract in a few months. But if you are looking at moving, I give you every recommendation. Especially if you want PAYG.

Continue reading »]]> I’ve been on Three for quite a while now, and have done a range of posts about them – good and bad. Anyway, I have decided that since Three don’t tell you how much data usage you get for buying Internet Addons on Three, I would ring them up and post it up for the benefit of readers. This is not usage information for the separate USB modem mobile broadband – this is for general Internet addons with Three. I believe this only applies to pay as you go customers, as pay monthly customers have to add an internet bundle to their monthly bill.

Anyway, according to Three’s customer service, the current usage allowances are as follows:

Internet Daily: 120MB allowance to be used in one day.

Internet Weekly: 500MB allowance to be used in one week.

Internet Monthly: 2000MB (2GB) allowance to be used in one month.

At the time of writing, the only way you can find out your current internet usage on an addon is to ring up Three’s customer service on 333 free from a Three mobile (pressing 3 on keypad when you get through, and then 2 to speak to an advisor), and they will quote you if you ask them.

You cannot check your usage on My3 as it will just say ‘Fair Usage’ which really annoys me with companies, as it doesn’t tell you anything.

Anyway, that should solve any queries and save you having to ring them up.

Continue reading »]]> I love 3 (Three), they are fantastic. Calls and texts are cheap as chips and generally it’s an all round good network.

I have just one bone to pick though. Their 3G coverage in the UK is generally good but in my area there isn’t very much. If you live in a city, it’s a slightly different story as most cities have consistent 3G signal. But I, for one and many others, don’t.

So it becomes a problem when I can only get GPRS and EDGE where I live, as Three restrict access to the Internet so that you can only get to it when you’re in 3G. Try and get to it on 2G or 2.5G, and you’ll just get a timeout when going to an external site (any site other than Planet 3).

It’s a pain in the backside and I’ve made countless calls to Three about not being able to get Internet in 2G, but they won’t do anything about it other than repeatedly sending me Internet settings I already have.

Why can’t they just allow internet access in 2G signals? Is it only me that can’t get internet in 2G? If you are on Three and can get internet access (other than Planet 3) please post a comment so I can contact Three and investigate this further.

It just annoys me… why have mobile Internet if you can’t access it most of the time?

Update: I have recently been able to get internet on a 2G connection which is somewhat strange. It suddenly seemed to start working as soon as 3 introduced the free mobile internet when you top up. Can anyone else now get an internet connection from their phone when they are in 2G, and browse the web?