All You Can Eat from 3. Yeah Right!
Are they on drugs? That’s the first question that comes to mind when I think about the 3 Network provider. They must be stoned. They provide a less than mediocre service here in the capital, I shudder to think what it’s like in rural Ireland, and as far as I recall they were commissioned to roll out the Rural Broadband Initiative, I could be wrong. Yet with all of their failings, there isn’t one iota of explanation coming our way. Don’t even bother with customer service, that’s a complete waste of time. In fairness, this isn’t the customer service representatives fault, they’re doing the best they can with what little they have, in a completely different country, the other side of the planet.
When 3 announced that they were offering “All You Can Eat Data” on pay as you go, I thought all of my dreams had come true at once. I am a glutton for data. I spend most of my time out and about and a reliable data connection is a must. I don’t bother with the 3’s calls or text as I have a dual sim phone (two sim cards in one phone, two numbers, it should be standard, but it isn’t) and use the other sim card (Eir) for both calls and text, and indeed data too.
I suppose the immediate question is; why do I use data from Eir as well as 3? Quite simply, Eir data is faster, more reliable and continuous. The downside is that I only get 20GB of data with Eir and I eat through that in under 10 days within a month.
Hold on to your hat for this part. 3 Ireland announced earlier on this year that they will start their 5G roll-out this year! So I have to ask, how good is this service going to be when they can’t even get 4G right? In 2013 Three Ireland bought out O2 Ireland and now owns their cellular infrastructure too, meaning they own 40% of Ireland’s cellular infrastructure. Yet, they have the worst service of all of the networks. Even Tesco Mobile offers a better service and it piggybacks off the 3 network. Is it just me or is there something not quite making sense here?
When I hear “All You Can Eat Data” I expect All You Can Eat Data, instead all that I’m getting is more like Drip Feed Data. Browsing web pages on my phone is relatively painless, but Netflix or Youtube is a headache. They take ages to start, then stop and start and stop and start. It’s a mind f##k, and quite frankly makes me angry.
The image on the right-hand side is of the comparison of both Eir and 3 on my phone. Bare in mind, both these sim cards are side by side in my phone, and the phone doesn’t prioritize either sim when it comes to data. If I’m honest, I don’t understand the technical data in this image, but it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to see the difference between the two network providers. Even the signal indicators on the top left tell the whole story.
So, I have one question for 3 Ireland;
WHAT’S GOING ON?!
About the Author
Gorjus Greg Gregory Donaghy: Homeless, unemployable, misanthropic alien life form with a penchant for stating the obvious. Follow @GregoryDonaghy
