In reply to a post by therioman:

It's significantly more complex than people like to make out.

For 4G, they share masts, backhaul etc - very sensible as the latter will be expensive as usage is drive upwards, but they install the antennas, equipment and so on independently - effectively think of it as them sharing the "connectivity" to the site - whereas they connect up whatever they want after that. There is thus in the 4G share potential for "different heights" although there is more to the theory on height vs coverage than has been made out. This is less cost effective, but means they have more freedom.

For 3G, they share base stations and antennas. - so the theory that three are located below at a lower output is total rubbish because they have the same ones - and they share spectrum, and so on as part of that - saves lots more money but means both networks effectively have to work with each other very closely.

Interesting - I wondered as on MBNL masts near me you get quite different coverage on 3 and EE - and other forums I've read info that 3 and EE have had separate 3G antenna in some locations. Maybe these pre-date the MBNL agreement?

As always its hard to get reliable info on forums

In reply to a post by therioman:

Have you looked at coverage maps recently? In the real world, EE has got the largest coverage (they had a big head start), Three have the next biggest coverage, O2 and Vodafone are so far behind it is laughable.

O2 however should have wide coverage soon enough (speeds another matter) because it has an obligation to do so.

Yes regularly looking EE had a nice head start, and also using the same frequency as their 2G meant less hassle on spectrum planning I assume. Three are making good progress but its assumed their big jump will come when they roll out 800mhz. Vodafone has jumped up a large amount in my area recently but O2 hasn't - but they are working in different areas of the country I think.

I reckon most "delays" are due to getting increased backhaul online, given how long it takes to buy a line from a telco into a building in a town centre, it must be worse into many mast sites !

I wont argue with you but I will say that MBNL does not mean that EE and 3 have identical 3G coverage as you suggest. If this was the case I would be overjoyed with my network 3 mobile and I am not.

The best way to describe the agreement is like I have already said, they share a mast & backhaul but their antennas are independent. The 4G roll out makes them even more different.

MBNL was an agreement between T-Mobile and 3. The T-mobile and 3 signal is identical, they share the same equipment, same transmitters, same towers, same backhaul.

However Orange didn't join MBNL for numerous years. As such there are plenty of transmitters that are Orange transmitting only, without a 3 signal being transmitted from them.

There are even cases of an Orange transmitter on the SAME mast as a T-Mobile and 3 transmitter and the orange transmitter can be higher up with a higher output power. As part of network optimisation this is becoming rare but there are still plenty of masts which are literally only broadcasting an orange signal.

So no, EE and 3 are not identical.
Perhaps 3 and T-Mobile are close to identical but EE also uses Orange. Before Orange and T-Mobile began sharing signals, those of us who had Orange will know that it was already pretty good without the T-Mobile sharing. Orange sites are often very well placed, commonly on pilons for instance at 40m+ in height.

So yes, T-mobile and 3 are the same height, same transmitter. EE and 3, not the same, due to Orange.

In terms of the output power, that can vary. This is because the T-Mobile 2G signal is often a much higher output power than the shared output for 3G & T-Mobile broadcasts both 2G and 3G. So T-Mobile will go further on 2G.

It's very much present over Shropshire too. On the train it will frequently drop to 2G.

It's quite annoying on the iPhone as the iMessage system stacks the messages and pauses delivery for a few minutes, then sends them as an SMS. Outbound it's not a problem as you can override it but inbound it is in the hands of the sender.

I tried a Vodafone 4G sim the other day in my 5S and was pleasantly surprised at their coverage. They've got the majority of the West Midlands covered up to the eastern edge of Wolverhampton.

Still a fair bit behind EE but ahead of Three.

It's still a data connection though which allow an iMessage or whats app to be sent.

It'll call and SMS, that's about it.

The network agreement with Orange / EE is not cost effective for Three at all. Hence why they limit it and have turned it off.

In reply to a post by Benjanyan:

Think my phone would still roam onto 2g at my parent's house about 2 months ago on Three. That was the only place I've seen it.

The coverage for all of them, bar Vodafone, is equally poor there though. I'll keep an eye on it the next time I'm visiting.

http://puu.sh/cgRHv/070a523aa7.png