Is congestion common on SMARTY 4g network?

[MJ_1820130]

I've just joined the unlimited data SIM plan as I'm looking to buy a 4g router to use as a home broadband through tethering.

I've plugged the SIM into my phone for now to test the connectivity, but the 4g seems inconsistent and is dropping out occasionally, leaving me with only H+. Hotspotting from my phone to my laptop is also looking inconsistent, with connection to the hotspot wifi dropping in and out. Looks like I'm getting a max of 15mbps download speed when it is actually able to stay connected.

Customer support chat said there was congestion in my area and that was the reason for connectivity issues. They said engineers are aware and working on it.

Question is, is this going to be a consistent problem? As if I'm planning on using the SIM for home broadband the poor connection is obviously unsuitable.

[SimonGuru]

Use a vpn 

[RobertC_1221692]

How will useing a VPN help its the Internet connection that drops out, I have the same problem when useing my Sim card router.

[jonnyphone]

I think it may depend on the area you live in.

For a long time three had the least 4G capacity of the main networks: 10MHz paired on 2100MHz(IMT Band 1) next to 3G + 15MHz paired on 1800MHz(DCS Band 3) + 5MHz paired on 800MHz(DD Band 20). This worked fine in less busy areas, but could become an issue in areas like central London.

However, in recent years three have now acquired 20MHz Downlink on 1400MHz (L-Band 32) + 10MHz paired on 700MHz(Band 28) for 4G along with an incredible 140MHz of unpaired capacity for 5G.

Not only have three acquired the spectrum, but they are putting new poles in the ground at such a rapid rate across the country, to support the new spectrum. In fact, I think three have the largest roll out of 700MHz spectrum for mobile, thanks to new antennas on their phase8 monopoles being rolled out since 2020. This frequency band really improves indoor coverage and often doesn't get a lot of attention. 

Probably you'll have upgraded three capacity near you eventually 🙂 Without revealing your exact location, where roughly do you live ? You check local council planning applications to see if any three masts are planned, or check on one.network for any telco activity in your area, clicking on them will reveal the company. 

Personally I am very happy with the performance of the three network in the past 18+ months, and at a point of leapfrogging some of the competition in some areas. I appreciate I may be privileged to live in an area where three have installed new masts though.

Best Regards,
Jonathan

[Aabbccddee]

Where do you get information like this? Id like to learn more about the rollout etc 

[SimonCar_165798]

That response seems very generic, but using VPN does work sometimes as it changes information they see , their policy on throttling is questionable. 

[Quin452]

I'm given "congestion" as an excuse a lot with problems in my area.  I don't even know it it's true, as it has been happening for months.

Even COVID was given as an excuse, and if you knew my area, you'd find that hard to believe.

[MSF]

Is there no COVID there? Do you live in Wuhan?😱

[Chalkychap]

Have you checked for network faults @Quin452?

Do this online at https://smarty.co.uk/network-status-checker.  

[fuzzy]

Initially I had good service but since the beginning of March[1], if not a few weeks before, it's crap. Voice and text  are okay but data is very poor between 8 am and 7 pm. Often fails to load pages. When I query the network status, via https://www.three.co.uk/support/network_and_coverage/network_support, I'm told they're fixing the issue. I just wish they'd give some idea as to when it'll be fixed. Have been told if I want to know that I need t do more chasing up of SMARTY. To do that I have to be able to login to SMARTY which requires the login page to load! I think they're having a laugh.  More SMERKY than SMARTY, I think.

[1] Have posted about this on SMARTY.

[Chalkychap]

Sounds like a case of More Malarkey, Less SMARTY, @fuzzy 

For at least the past 6-months, my area has similar message about working on the network. Three UK are in the process of turning off their 3G network now - works are scheduled for completion by end of 2024. 

Maybe things will improve in 2025?

[fuzzy]

I fear technological improvements might be evolving at a greater rate than they can roll out the infrastructure to support it. Thus we'll forever have the promise of jam tomorrow (actually it's all jammed up today). 

It's been pretty bad today, and it's raining. 

[MSF]

Totally agree! It appears that more and more people are welded to their mobile devices and thus want to consume ever greater quantities of data. Competition drives down the price and I can see that networks will be less keen to pump in ever more money to improve those services beyond what they can get away with.

Most of the adult population has at least one mobile device and new cars also all seem to have sim, so demand is unlikely to lessen.

[fuzzy]

What I'd like to see is a decentralise phone network. I think the term is a mesh. Calls are made direct to the recipient if they're in range (at zero cost) else are routed to the recipient by hopping from phone to phone or to modem (in someone's front room?). Each phone/modem along the route gets paid a small fee[1]. Anyone, including you and me, can have our phone/modem be part of the mesh relaying on calls (for a fee) when we're not using it. No need for a contract with a supplier, but nothing stopping them from joining in (but they'd have to up their game - no good promising better service tomorrow).

Tis the future, imo. But what do I know, what with being a baby boomer (sorry).

[1] Likely in bitcoin but via the Lighning Network (LN).

[Chalkychap]

One problem with mesh networks is whenever parts of the mesh are offline or broken, things don't work too well.

We're supposed to be getting a mesh network (from the DCC) to enable SMART energy meters to work in areas WITHOUT mobile network coverage, but this work has been going on for longer than I can recall. 

[fuzzy]

Are you talking about smartdcc.co.uk?

If so, then on this page "https://www.smartdcc.co.uk/our-smart-network/how-do-smart-meters-send-readings/" it says...

"The communications hub transmits the data to an in-home display which shows how much energy is being used or sold back to the grid. The data is then transmitted from the home to a wide area network (made up of mobile phone or radio masts), and from these to the DCC servers."

...which is not a mesh network, it's a WAN (wide area network). 

In a well functioning mesh network nodes can come and go as they please (much like in the Bitcoin network). Calls reroute around (collections of) nodes that drop out. That's not to say mesh is perfect. It's possible for the network to partition in to two or more isolated meshes. But with Musk and others filling our skys with satellites that should become less of a problem in future (hmm, jam tomorrow again!).

Anyway, thanks for making me aware of DCC. Hadn't heard of them before now.