The 3G Congestion Cover Up

It seems that I have managed to reveal somewhat of a cover up with regards to London’s 3G network. Readers will know from previous posts that I bought a T-mobile G1 just over a week ago, with the main purpose of using the internet during my lunch hour to update my blogs and manage my business. However, this is proving to be difficult.

I chose to buy a G1 as I had read good reviews of it. I tried the display model in the T-Mobile shop on Cheapside in London, and was very impressed with the speed of the internet. I spoke with the staff, and received excellent service. According to the 3G coverage reports I was working in a ‘very good’ area. So obviously I am a little disappointed at the poor reception now. Yesterday it took me 20 minutes to open my WordPress control panel. Several times connection was lost completely with the dreaded web page not found message. In a one hour lunch break I succeeded in writing one short blog, and nothing else. Not a great way to run a business.

I mentioned this to a trusted friend that works for Google, and he simply replied with the word ‘that is very wrong, raise it with T-mobile’. So I did. Yesterday afternoon I raised a support ticket on the T-mobile website explaining my problem. This morning a lady phone me, and had some worrying advice. I was told that although the coverage was very good in my area, the 3G network can get congested, especially at lunchtime. Also, tall buildings can interfere with quality of the internet connection on 3G. I mentioned that I had not been advised of this in-store, however she was quick to point out that the 7 day cooling period was over, so I could not cancel the contract on the grounds of not being able to access the internet on my internet phone. It was then that I got the most shocking advice – to try switching to 2G as this is sometimes faster at busy times. In busy places.

Rather than T-mobile improving 3G coverage, they are advising customers to use the slower 2G service, which is like working on dial up at best.

OK, so why do I call this a cover up? Well, I decided to request some advice from a 3G forum, namely 3g.co.uk. This seemed like the best place to describe my problem, and to ask if I could request compensation for the appalling internet service.

My post was something like this:

I contacted T-mobile regarding this problem, and have been told that the 3G network can get congested, especially at lunch times, and that I should try using the slower 2G service as this may actually be faster.

When I bought the phone I was just told that I was in an excellent coverage area. No one mentioned anything to me about congestion problems. My internet is currently unusable (it is fine at home, but I do not need to use it at home). I will try 2G today, but this is slower than dial up according to the speed test on my phone.

So, what grounds for compensation do I have? Has anyone else had such serious problems? I was also told that areas with tall buildings can be a problem. Maybe the good 3G readings are taken from the top of buildings? I work in the centre of London business district. Tall buildings everywhere. Cannot escape them.

Disappointed. What shall I do? (apart from try to live with 2G on a 3G phone).

(It was published here before deletion: http://www.3g.co.uk/3GForum/showthread.php?p=409471#post409471 )

I waited patiently for a reply, thinking that this would be a subject that people would definitely have an opinion about. However, after an hour of receiving no email update (I chose to subscribe to their instant notification service) I went back to the forum. I discovered that the thread I had start had been deleted, and my account disabled. Now, this stinks of a cover up. I emailed the web admin (miles@3g.co.uk) that sent me the initial welcoming email, asking him why my thread had been deleted. Still no response. So, who are 3g.co.uk? And why are they keen to cover up the fact that the 3G network is poor? 

When I signed up to 3g.co.uk, I received the following welcome message:

We are very pleased you have chosen to be a part of our 3G community and we hope you enjoy your time on the 3G Forum.
Here at 3G Forum you can rant & rave, ask for help and help others. 

Their policy of deleting users messages without any notification seems to fly in the face of this. Ranting and raving is only allowed so long as you do not rant about poor 3G coverage in your area.

So this is a warning to anyone thinking of investing £500 over 18 months for a 3G phone – be careful if you live in a crowded area, near tall buildings, or plan to use you phone in you lunch break.

This blog was written using wpToGo. An Android application on the G1. I have not attempted to access the internet yet. Oh, the T-mobile customer service officer has given me her direct number in case of further problems, but I really fail to see how they can help, other than by increasing 3G bandwidth fast.

Tags: 2g, 3G, 3G scandal, g1, London, T-Mobile