I know our posts have been a little thin on the ground recently. That has been entirely due to the cabin refit I have been working on. I intend to write a post about that whole experience once the project is complete. But for now a mini rant - after all, I haven't had one for a while!
Yes, it's the thorny problem of mobile comms again. Regular readers will know of my feelings towards Vodafone UK and their patchy (at best) coverage around the waterways network. However, on this occasion Vodafone is not my target for tonight, rather it is Three. Swayed by the general response from readers on Twitter, through this Blog and chatting with boaters around the network, I purchased a Three Pay As You Go broadband SIM card to use in our shiny new Android Tablet. I was looking forward to excellent comms based on the feedback; after all, there is a Three mast close to the marina near the A38/A50 junction.
For the most part the Three signal has been fair getting us 3G and HSPUA whereas the best Vodafone can do here is EDGE but more usually GPRS. The problem is that despite usually enjoying a good, fast signal the Internet (Web, email, etc) has become quite flaky of late. So we can be connected with good signal strength in excess of 3G, but have zero Internet access, which is very frustrating (especially when it happens when you have planned a Skype session with your granddaughter!). However, my annoyance stems from the claims by all mobile telcos' in this country that they provide the best coverage, best broadband access, etc, etc. As I have posted previously our friends were able to Skype with us from the Himalayas and my niece was able to contact home by mobile phone from the Indonesian jungle. So what has happened to the mobile comms dream of the UK? It seems to me despite the hyperbole our country is way behind much of the rest of the world and looks unlikely to catch up! Hardly first divison in the high tech league!
Here's a thought. One thing the new Canals and Rivers Trust (aka BW) could do which would benefit boaters, rural communities and the like, and bring some much needed money into their coffers would be to offer all the telcos more mast sites on Trust property and at strategic points around the network. That would help spread coverage to those of the nation who do not live in cities, conurbations or along major routes, such as the M4 corridor. As for us, well I have just reactivated the O2 broadband dongle so we shall have a choice of 4 telcos in future: Vodafone, Orange/T-mobile, O2 and Three. Surely, between the four of them they can gives us good mobile comms? Can't they?
Ring three and tell them as I had the same issue over the summer with my three connection that for the two years up to then had been fine. They acknowledged the problem and had been working in the software fix so they should be able to fix yours quickly. If you do the ping test while you are supposedly still online you can see if you lost the connection or not.
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