Posted by Bonovox
UK mobile operator Three has quietly turned on its 4G network for 'thousands' of customers in three cities - London, Manchester and Birmingham. Without announcing the move, the company has slowly begun upgrading customers to LTE and expects to have 1.5 million consumers enjoying faster data speeds by the end of February 2013.
Three has confirmed on its official Twitter account that "a few thousand" in the above cities have been granted access to 4G. Unfortunately, should you be waiting patiently for 4G, Three appears to be randomly selecting customers. The company has informed Android Central that a gradual rollout will commence to ensure a smooth transition.
Not all customers will see it that way and many have already taken to social networks to voice their frustration, though it's worth noting that the mobile operator is including 4G LTE into its existing plans at no extra cost. Three is set to fire out a blog post in the near future to clear any confusion consumers may have about the rollout.
Are you with Three and are able to enjoy the 4G network?
http://www.wpcentral.com/thre[....]e-some-customers-select-cities
Posted by goldenface
Interesting! It would be nice to see what speeds people are achieving. I doubt I'll get mine before next year.
Posted by Bonovox
I haven't been chosen
but it's good to see Three doing a gradual roll out so to test the network and not get everyone complaining about service etc. I don't mind waiting to get decent service
Posted by goldenface
Probably the most sensible thing to do. If they roll it out very gradually then they can fix any glitches that might otherwise be a national network outage.
No doubt the tech websites will have some results in the next couple of days.
Posted by Caspa
Haven't had a sudden appearance of LTE on my phone... So obviously not one of the chosen ones!
Posted by Miss UK
I got a Carrier update 15.5 previously now 15.6
There's now a 4G toggle under mobile data
I don't think we will see 4g though till at least
January
[ This Message was edited by: Miss UK on 2013-12-06 17:09 ]
Posted by goldenface
Some speedtests from:
http://www.coolsmartphone.com/2014/01/09/hands-on-with-three-4g/
Also, Three wants everyone 4G enabled by mid February.
Posted by Bonovox
Ah good lets hope so as i was getting impatient
Posted by nicv27
Anyone actually got 4G yet?
Posted by Bonovox
Nope. Seems they are taking their time to make sure they get it right. Also even though for me it's been rare Three have been down last 3 days they have had 2 short outages. But as usual I give Three the credit they always seem to fix things quickly within 3 hours. Couldn't get online for this hours
Posted by Del
Just a quick question guys, is there anyone here who is actually unhappy with Three and want to switch providers?
Sorry for going a little of topic, I'm just curious as I'm thinking of switching to Three
Posted by fluke9
On 2014-02-02 10:54:43, Del wrote:
Just a quick question guys, is there anyone here who is actually unhappy with Three and want to switch providers?
Sorry for going a little of topic, I'm just curious as I'm thinking of switching to Three
I just ended a 2 year contract on 3 and had 2 1 year contracts previously.
The 2 year one was a real pain due to £38 a month and being made redundant 4 months in.
Just renewed with a 30 day sim only contract on the One Plan for £18.
More than happy to stay with them only once lost a signal, data is fast, out of the country call centre but they try to please.
Not what you wanted but thought I would chip in.
[ This Message was edited by: fluke9 on 2014-02-02 19:44 ]
Posted by Del
@fluke9 cheers bud
that one plan for £18 was the one I was looking at.
Posted by goldenface
I've been with them for years now but when my contract is up I think I'll go sim only on The One Plan because it looks like the best value of all.
Posted by goldenface
Three and EE in Billlion pound network sharing agreement?
http://www.gsmarena.com/ee_an[....]rce=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter
Posted by Miss UK
Anyone's signal poor on 3 ? Mines been pants since middle week
Last week I told them of on there Facebook page so let's see if that does the
Trick lol
Posted by Bonovox
They had some downtime during last week but all is fine now for me. My signal is always great
Posted by nicv27
Got my 4G signal now.... Comes and goes depending on where I am but quite happy so far.
Posted by aussieland1
On 2014-02-07 23:43:26, nicv27 wrote:
Got my 4G signal now.... Comes and goes depending on where I am but quite happy so far.
Nice one! Could you test the speed of the internet please? How long have you had 4g for?
Posted by Bonovox
Three told me last night it is still rolling out in phases and they said everyone will have 4G by end of March. They also sent me a text message raising my case to push forward getting 4G. I called and asked them.
Posted by nicv27
"Nice one! Could you test the speed of the internet please? How long have you had 4g for?"
I noticed it Wednesday I was working in Chelsea, I will do a test tomorrow and post the results
Posted by Bonovox
No I haven't got it yet but they told me they've pushed forward for me to have it activated on my account
Posted by Miss UK
Bono, my sig seems to be quite kak
When at home still it's abit better but
Still not as many signalled bars on my
handset as I want
One of my friends told me that they got
Good 4G signal at the Burntree island, West Mids
I've been unable to try as I forgot my phone
A lot this week
Curious to know if 3 have gave me privileges
To 4G
Posted by Bonovox
You'll be notified when 4G is activated on your account what they told me. I rarely have bad signal with Three
Posted by goldenface
Got my 4G signal this morning. First speedtest gave 27Mb DL but less than 1M UL. Ping was 67ms but I was expecting this to me lower.
Not perfect but OK I guess.
Posted by Bonovox
Ah OK cool. Well Three did post recently what customers should expect as realistic speed's. All too often companies say we have 100mb speeds etc yet no one ever gets that high. Highest I've got on Three so far with their HSDPA is 24mbps which is amazing
Posted by goldenface
Yeah, I've achieved 25mb DL so I am expecting quite a big increase from LTE.
Posted by nicv27
Cant upload the Pic for some reason but did a Speed test this morning at 07.03 at Woolwich Arsenal train station I got
Download 26.38Mbps
Upload 21.50 Mbps
Ping 53ms
Posted by Bonovox
That's a nice upload speed
I think Three are doing it gradually to make sure things go smoothly. We all recall the complaints from customers about EE [ This Message was edited by: Bonovox on 2014-02-10 19:08 ]
Posted by Bonovox
When will I get 4G?
You'll be given the ability to access our 4G network between January and March 2014. Once that's done, and when you're in a 4G area, you'll get 4G on your existing plan. No extra charges, no hidden fees, no new contracts. Just fast, dependable, internet on the go. We're aiming to roll out to 50 cities by the end of 2014 and to cover 98% of the population by the end of 2015. Find out if you're in a 4G coverage area using our coverage checkers.
On their website
Posted by nicv27
Tomorrow I am working in Leyton East London So If I get 4G there i will do another Speed test and hopefully be able to upload Pics,
Posted by goldenface
Right now I'm getting the full five bars on DC-HSPA but only one bar when switched to 4G. Are they not using same masts?
Not much an improvement, glad I'm not paying extra for 4G right now.
Posted by Bonovox
That was always my worry with 4G 1 bar signal draining battery.
Posted by nicv27
Today I was in Leyton East London and didn't get a 4G signal but now I am in Stratford near the Olympic stadium and I have 4G and 4 Signal bars.
Posted by Bonovox
It's always going to vary early days. I luckily have full Three five bar coverage in my house even downstairs
Posted by nicv27
Two speed test results
This one was Stratford East London
This one was Erith Kent
Posted by aussieland1
nicv27
That looks good. I would love to know the criterial based on which Three is connecting people to 4g. I am on payg so I am assuming I will be one of the last people to get it. Oh and I live in South Woodford and am going through Stratford everyday to work so I will be thinking everyday how people are getting 4g and I am not. If you have a chance to go through the city (Liverpool str, Oxford str etc) could you please check if you have 4g connection? I am assuming you will...
Posted by goldenface
@nicv27
Yip, they're kind of the speeds I'm expecting.
When I'm in Liverpool city centre next I'll check if the 4G signal is stronger. I was expecting the ping to be lower though too as this makes the connection better for gaming.
Posted by nicv27
On 2014-02-11 23:23:46, aussieland1 wrote:
nicv27
That looks good. I would love to know the criterial based on which Three is connecting people to 4g. I am on payg so I am assuming I will be one of the last people to get it. Oh and I live in South Woodford and am going through Stratford everyday to work so I will be thinking everyday how people are getting 4g and I am not. If you have a chance to go through the city (Liverpool str, Oxford str etc) could you please check if you have 4g connection? I am assuming you will...
I am a Pay Monthly Customer and have had a 3 Contract for about 10 years.. Don't know if that's why I have it. On Friday I should be working in Blackfriars So I will do a test there and hopefully Sunday, Weather permitting I will be going to Oxford st and Covent Garden and I will try there also.
Posted by Bonovox
I wonder what the fastest speed anyone has had on any 4G network so far?? Better upload speeds is welcome too
I can't wait to try my LG G2 in white on 4G as it's super fast already!!!!!! Three told me it is just rolled out as & when they get round to activating it on your account. They told me nobody takes priority over anyone else. But I guess they would tell me that 
I am on my 5th month paying my bills on time they should be giving me 4G now 
£38 per month & I look forward to using tethering on my computer with 4G all being well i get a signal
Posted by aussieland1
I got my 4G as well- very happy considering that I am on payg...
Posted by Bonovox
Posted by nicv27
When and where you get signal is very strange I worked in Blackfriars yesterday and couldn't get 4G at all..
Posted by aussieland1
The 4g coverage is not great. I live in South Woodford and there is no 4g after Stratford. Also I work near Bond Str but I could only get 4g coverage near Oxford Circus. I don't know about Vodafone and O2but EE 4g coverage is much better (I have a EE 4g sim card as well)
Posted by Miss UK
Lol that's pretty much what my signal is like
On 3G @ Aussieland
But if I walk up the road into another near
Town I get full signal it's just absolute crap
At home and it makes my battery run out
Really fast :/
Posted by Bonovox
Didn't you check signal before you joined??
Posted by aussieland1
On 2014-02-15 13:26:01, Miss UK wrote:
Lol that's pretty much what my signal is like
On 3G @ Aussieland
But if I walk up the road into another near
Town I get full signal it's just absolute crap
At home and it makes my battery run out
Really fast :/
That sounds terrible. My 3G signal is quite good it is just the 4g that it is a bit of disappointment
Posted by Bonovox
Well,as they say all networks are not perfect in all places. All networks have black spots it's just the way it is. Always get a pre pay sim to test signal before you sign up
I rarely am ever without a signal on Three even travelling around UK. As for 4G it's always going to be patchy to begin with just like 3G was
Posted by aussieland1
I am hoping that the 4g coverage will be expanded fast. Their website says that the area where my work is should have 4g coverage from March....hopefully that's true
no mention though about when the 4g will be available where I live 
Posted by Bonovox
Well I'm in Birmingham which is one of the four first cities to get 4G am still waiting