Forum Discussion
Poor download speed in rural Suffolk
Fast broadband access in rural Suffolk remains a struggle. We switched from Three to Smarty because of the lack of a contract and cheaper price, and expected roughly the same performance as they use the same network. However, the download speed has dropped to below 5 Mbps and the signal strength on the router has gone from 5 to 1 or 2 bars. I've tried to get an answer for this drop in performance from Smarty support, but they seem to fail to understand the issue and make pointless suggestions.
19 Replies
I can't believe I live in the dark. I am content with 400 kb/s for a second 1 mb/s in Central London, where the reception is flawless in red. With regard to outdoor calls or not, 5G reached a new frontier today. The Smart Meters, Banking apk is intended for Suffolk residents, not Londoners.
IgorSen_2246626 Poting similar content on multiple threads isn't that helpful I'm afraid.
No idea why you think some apps are for Suffolk residents - why would they need or expect anything different to those who live in London. Have you travelled around Suffolk?
First of all, I apologize to residents of Suffolk. I meant banking global mobile application, when people with outdoor calls can't use it at home. In areas with fine reception, some blocks of flats are out of coverage. It comes with 4G, incompatibility of some phone models, old and new. I mention as well that you are in Suffolk and have better speed (5 MB/s).
DavidEl_2652456 My best guess is that Three customers get a better service for the simple reasons that a) Three owns the network and b) they pay more.
You say you moved for lack of tie-in to a contract and for price; the compromise may be that you get slower speeds and have a service that won't meet your needs.
What can you expect Smarty to say really? Something like: "Oh yes guv'nor, we have to tweak it down a bit for the money. Yer know mate, yer pays yer money, yer takes yer choice" Wouldn't that be even more irritating?
Thanks for your comment. If Three had actually delivered a fast/reliable service, I'd have remained with them despite the contract and the price. The service delivered by Smarty is much worse than I'd expected given just the small reduction in the monthly price, and I think Smarty should be more transparent about the variability of their service, particularly in rural areas like ours. I'm now vaguely thinking about Musk's Starlink, although that will probably open an even bigger can of worms, and at a much bigger cost.
DavidEl_2652456 Hang on a minute!!!! If Three service wasn't that great, I can't see why you would expect Smarty to be any better; surely, at the very best, it could only equal it !
How can Smarty be 'transparent'? They don't know what service you get in your precise location and inside your home - that would be an impossible calculation. Don't forget that some people have signal reduction due to metal beams etc in theirproperpty.
The Coverage Checker is only an approximate guide for given areas.
I do feel your pain, but this is a problem for rural areas, as you say. On the plus side, think of the benefits of living there! Also, I'm assuming that you can get reliable broadband - wouldn't that be better?
This is the Smarty community forum, we are just customers, like you.
Have you checked the network status, to see if mast(s) near you have faults or are being repaired / upgraded ?
