In my recent travels I have noticed that some wireless network operators have greatly improved their network for Internet access while others have consistently declined. To examples from both ends of the scale:
I haven't used the network of Wind in Italy for notebook access to the Internet a lot in the past anymore since they had no HSPA in their network. Even in the standard 3G mode, connections where slow due high packet loss. Recently, however, they have upgraded their network to HSPA, at least in Rome, and I have since gone back using their prepaid SIM for notebook Internet access. I consistently get around 1 MBit/s in downlink direction (most likely traffic shapped) and 384 kbit/s in uplink direction when sending eMails with file attachments and pictures. Well done Wind!
On the other end of the scale is 3UK. I've bought one of their SIM cards a couple of months ago and during that time, their performance in the UK was ok. These days however, both in the UK and abroad, I consistently get bad throughput and sometimes the connection doesn't work at all. During a week in London last week I got so frustrated with their service that I stopped using it at some point and replaced it with another prepaid SIM. Randomly blocked TCP and UDP ports to keep me from getting eMail and setting up my VPN connection in addition to slow throughput is not acceptable. This week in Rome it's also been pretty much unusable, data rates are just too slow. Well, I guess I will try again in half a year. Not earlier probably, because I don't see a reason to waste 10 pounds to activate the data option just to find out their service is anything but a service...
For alternatives and other countries take a look at the prepaid wireless Internet access Wiki.
Couldn't agree more about 3UK. I tried to activate an internet access voucher over their mobile network just over a month ago, but the connection was so bad I thought it was not activated. Their automated customer service was worse than useless and for broadband support it's not free.
After returning to the UK recently I tried again to activate the same voucher only to find it was activated the first time I tried and had now expired! Needless to say I was not impressed by the waste of a £10 voucher + £?? call charges.
I think their service is a victim of it's own success. Like you, I will try again in a few months once other customers have found alternative access solutions or the network is properly dimensioned according to demand.
Posted by: dominic hayes | August 25, 2008 at 11:55 AM