Tag: coverage
Not being able to get a signal in the middle of a city is still, in 2016, all too easy. In Lichfield I can walk out of a Vodafone or EE store and, just a few metres from the door, I’ll have no signal at all. Even with …
Recently I switched network. I moved to Vodafone after spotting this deal that got me a SIM-only plan with 10GB of data for just £11.59 per month. I’m a bit of a mobile geek, as you’ll know, and like many of you I become aware of the “not …
Hey people. It’s Friday. We can wind down now, possibly get on a plane and go and get some sunshine yeah? Well, if that’s the plan, you can always get yourself a Three SIM and enjoy their “Feel at Home” service. As you know by now, it’ll let …
Are you sick of coming up against a mobile signal black spot (first world problems and all that)? Take my house for instance, upstairs I get a 4G signal giving 40Mbps download speeds, go downstairs Nothing, Nada. Well this is where Anywhere SIM may be the answer. It’ll …
We all want better coverage. In a perfect world we’d stop building offices and houses that play havoc with mobile signals. We’d live in a completely flat country without hills or valleys. We’d have planning regulations that allow for networks to deploy masts easier. But we don’t live …
EE have been in the news lately for their poor customer service. Today, they are back making (good) news, that of expansion and more UK customer service staff. The company is looking to clear away mobile black spots by extending its coverage across the UK’s soil or, in literal …
According to a report published by OpenSignal and consumer watchdog Which?, smartphone users here in the UK only appear to get access to 4G data speeds for about half of the time on average. From the four UK networks tested, EE was found to have the best 4G …
Those guys at Vodafone have already had their data test drive offer running for quite some time, but now they’re adding a 30 day network guarantee. It will, in essence, give you a 30 day no-quibble trial of the network and applies to all customers. Vodafone seem to …
Short version. I’ve been doing this for a good amount of years now and I’ve developed my own way of covering live events. Also, after cycling over the pennines and from London to Paris with nothing more than a backpack, you learn to “go light”. So, here’s my …
Followed us for a while? You’ll probably be aware of Mobile World Congress. Each year in Barcelona the latest and greatest mobile kit gets shown off to the masses for the first time. It’s a frenzy of hastily-built stands, canapes, demonstrations and thousands of people from the mobile …
A couple of years ago I left EE. It was, for me, a pretty big change. For some companies and some services, I’m fairly loyal. A lot of people are. For example, I’ve never switched my bank, despite them being generally dire for several years running. However, for …
About a year ago we covered the not-spot fixing being undertaken by Vodafone. Rural hamlets and villages, traditionally lacking any kind of signal, were getting outdoor “Sure Signal” boxes installed to boost coverage. The “Open Sure Signal” tech delivers 3G and voice / text coverage by hooking into …
We’ve written a bit about not-spots and the various methods the networks and government are using to try and eliminate them; including here, here and here if you missed it. As you may have noticed, progress has been pretty slow to say the least… so Anywhere SIM have taken matters …
It appears O2 is having a rough time this evening. The network says it is having intermittent problems affecting some of its customers in various parts of the country including London and Birmingham. You can see from their with their own status checker that there’s a number of …
You young kids might call it “bantz” now, but I was having a “discussion” on Twitter with a few people about the in-building penetration provided by networks operating on 900MHz. The likes of O2 and Vodafone both seem to get through the walls of my home but, using …
I’ve been somewhere magical this weekend. A place with absolutely no signal. I’ve been with a group of mates and between us we had all the networks covered. One had an EE phone and amongst us we also had an O2, Vodafone and Three device. Not one phone …
You may have noticed a little countdown timer on the side of the site. You may have even wondered what Mobile World Congress, or “MWC” for short, is. The event website details it as being the “very best exhibition for the mobile industry”, and around this time most …
It’s 2014 people. Granted, it won’t be for much longer, but let’s stay in the moment. I take a regular route to and from work. On my drive there’s always a section of the motorway that simply has no signal, so I have to tell callers, “I’m going …
This just dropped into my inbox today. The data friendly Pay and Go network is now offering 4G on their vvarious goody bag deals. This is great news for anyone who is looking for a cheap but reliable alternative to the big four who are currently offering 4G …
A few months ago we brought you news that the government wanted the UK networks to band together to eliminate blackspots by sharing their masts and hence network signal in a similar way you roam on another network whilst abroad. However according to the Financial Times, the networks …
EE has announced another raft of locations to be bathed in 4G. They include the Prime Minister’s home constituency of Witney and a rather fantastic town called Burntwood where handsome and intelligent people live. We’ve even got the smallest park in the world, so smoke on that. 4G …
EE have announced their 250th town in the UK now has 4G coverage with the Cornwall area now being included in the 4G rollout which has now hit 0ver 73% population coverage. EE is still plugging away switching as many sites as on as possible to allow even …
Hey. Are you living in the middle of no-where? Have you got a choppy signal or, even worse, no signal at all? Vodafone want to talk to you. They’re looking for mobile “notspots” and are giving the opportunity for 100 rural communities to get piped up to proper …
This is a 2.5TB hard drive. It can store stacks of pictures, plus there’s room for all those “specially backed-up DVD’s” you have too. Now, imagine downloading everything off this drive onto your phone. That’d take quite a while wouldn’t it? Somehow this is how much data was …
I’m sure most readers will be aware of Roaming when they go abroad, whereby their phone connects to a foreign network to allow you to make calls, send texts or access the internet when in a different country. But what if you could do it in the UK …
We recently heard how O2 saw a 62% increase in data usage over the New Year festivities. Vodafone have now been in touch and they’ve seen an even greater increase – their smartphone customers used 80% more data than New Year last year. It seems that texting, although …
Those Google Streetview cars have definitely given us all a valuable new tool. TV shows and news broadcasts always tend to use the Streetview images to get a quick visual and they supplement the existing top-down maps very well indeed. Sure, there was a fair amount of controversy …
We are here at the Nokia event in London ready to see the next Lumia flagship phone and have all our questions answered such as what will it look like, what will it do and when can we get one! Below is a liveblog from inside the event …
In just over one week the first member of the CoolSmartPhone team will be arriving in sunny Barcelona to prepare for the chaos that is Mobile World Congress. This year will be the biggest one so far for us here for a few reasons. First of all there …
EE have been the subject of much less than positive press regarding their 4G offering. From complaints around data allowances to speeds that are less than that being obtained on other DC-HSPA networks, the flak just keeps on coming. One area where EE cannot be faulted however is …
EE have rolled out their premium 4G service to 9 more towns. If you are in Amersham, Bolton, Chelmsford, Hemel Hempstead, Southend-on-Sea, Stockport, Sunderland, Sutton Coldfield or Wolverhampton, you should now be able to access to EE’s 4G network. Apparently this means 45% of the UK population now …
Do you have a bad mobile signal in the one place you want to use it most? It’s a more common problem than you may think. Whilst networks do their utmost to provide the best service they can, it’s hard for them to legislate for people with basement …
During our testing of the EE 4G network we found a blob of LTE coverage tucked away in Sutton Coldfield. Now Sutton Coldfield, along with 16 other towns and cities, are to be bathed in 4G coverage by March. The list includes five other areas close to me …
We’ve covered EE and their 4G service quite heavily over the last few weeks. From a country lane to London, we have tested the speeds of the new LTE network and checked the coverage too. Even EE will admit that, at the moment, 4G coverage is only available …
Bear with me while I try and explain this one, because it’s pretty interesting. Let’s imagine for a moment that your mobile phone only works upstairs, or by the window. There’s a few ways to get around this. You could get a repeater, you could just go upstairs …
Just a few days ago I set myself a challenge. Using only a smartphone, would it be possible to run a website, updating posts, answering emails and responding to tweets? Is it then possible to go mobile, reporting on the biggest event happening right now in London? Snapping …
The third day of our Olympics coverage and I’m on a train to Manchester. This is the big test for me. A 10 minute Tube journey followed by a 2 hour train ride up to Manchester. I’m heading to Old Trafford and I’m not doing the usual “tourist …
For the next few days we’re covering the London 2012 Olympic Games from a Samsung Galaxy Note. There’ll be no laptop and no dedicated press centre, I’m doing it’ll all (including this very post) on the phone. I stepped off the train at Euston to be met by …
I know, by visiting Coolsmartphone you thought you’d found a refuge from all this Olympics stuff didn’t you? Well, no. Sorry. We’re going to be on it like a car bonnet. Right now I’m on a train to London to cover the games in our own unique way. …
So, this summer is going to be rather big here in the UK. The Queen is having a bit of a bash shortly and, in a couple of months, we’ll be hosting the ruddy Olympics. Before each Olympic torch is sold on eBay it actually gets held aloft …
