Vodafone: Best coverage in scotland bar none

[motoman]

Hello.

Just wondering if anyone has seen the new posters claiming vodafone has the best coverage in scotland, I think it's quite clever and it's certainly the only network I can get reliably in my town!

Tom

[delinquentwoody]

they're doing the same campaign in england, saying they have the best coverage in england bar none. I cant comment myself, having never used the network though!

[A1c]

It's probobly accurate. They have the biggest coverage in the UK, 02 might argue that point but both most certainly have the biggest geographical footprint by a long shot!

[Gunner]

Yeah, it's just a shame that their 3G footprint isn't as big as it's rivals yet. It had a good head start on it's 2G coverage. I'm not yet convinced that the biggest network by revenue will ever reach the less profitable areas with its high speed network.

2G wise, awesome.

[simonlant]

in nottingham i have seen a poster saying best coverage in the midlands bar none. i guess its regionalised too..

[A1c]

The campaign is careful not to specify the technology that applies to the 'best coverage' claim. That's no surprise really as most customers dont care about the technology they just want reliable talk and text, so in that respect its quite possible they (Vodafone) have a valid claim.

[JB's Best Mate]

Our recent independently-audited tests have shown that Vodafone has the best call success rate of all networks in Britain. These tests, which took place between April and September 2004 on all national GSM networks, also show that Vodafone has the lowest percentage of dropped calls for any British network.

In a nutshell, it means Vodafone customers are more likely to get through first time and are less likely to be cut off. That’s why we’re proud to call ourselves the best network in Britain.

We aren’t going to rest on our laurels just because we’re the best. Far from it. We won’t be happy until 100% of calls on our network are successful. That’s why we’re continually investing in our network to make this happen.

Having the best network is important to our customers. But it’s even more important to us.

From Vodafone UK Website

Fightback to O2 campaign last year that focused on dropped calls for business customers

Voda site (http://www.vodafone.co.uk/cgi-bin/COUK/******/ep/browse.do?channelPath=%2FVodafone+******%2FAbout+V odafone%2FConnecting+to+Vodafone%2FBest+network&promoOID=1073858272&BV_SessionID=@@@@0590170715.1110326450@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccckadddmikdkmdcflgcegjdgnfdffo.0)

[sngd2.1]

i've never had a dropped call with vodafone. it's also passed two tests!!

test 1 the mall in cribbs causeway. get a signal in there and you've probably got a satelite dish connected to your phone.

test 2 my nans house the walls are like so thick you have to go outside to get a decent reception even if its a landline!!!! (those cordless ones)

i

[A1c]

Ah, so its GSM they are basing their survey on...... no surprise they came top of the relibaility list then. Have to admit whilst I have always thought Vodafone were more expensive than others they do have a reputation for bredth of coverage in Scotalnd and i know some folks who are happy to pay the difference as they travel to Highland and Island areas.

[3gusr]

Same in London: Best coverage in London Bar none
Can't say I agree....I have used all exept T-Mobile and find Orange to be consistantly the best. Not surprising as they infact have more live transmiters than any other UK network.
This is a really intensive advertising campaign, I have seen these vody posters everywhere.
O2 don't seem to happy as I noticed at a major London train terminal billboards everywhere claiming O2 is 'Giving your Business the coverage it deserves' using the same posters as they did for there 5 Star network campaign last year with the buildings representing a signal strengh.....Also the new posters have at the bottom in huge print 'O2 Covers 99% of the UK population'
Looks like they are keen to prey on Three's bad press re. network coverage.
Wonder what Orange and T-Mobile will come up with!

[A1c]

When it comes to the emergency services both Voadfone and 02 seem to be the networks of choice. I suspect organistaions like the police, ambulance and fire services do some pretty intensive research before commiting themselves to mobile networks but neither of those two ever capitialise on this. I dare say these 'significant' contracts get some mention when big deals are being tendered for (in a subtle manner) but its doubtful if the public services would like to be used as an endorssement for any particular brand.

[3gusr]

I think you will find the the majority of emergency/public services use O2 Airwave actually.
This is a TETRA based service whice fits better with the service/reliability model that emergency services require. The network opereates completely independantly to GSM networks at ~400MHz

You can find out more at:
h t t p :/ / w w w . a i r w a v e s e r v i c e . c o . u k /

[A1c]

I am aware of this as I have some friends in the police but presently they are using Vodafone for CID etc in Strathclyde. 02's new system is set to replace this though I believe..... years late and over budget and with few of the refinements that consumer products offer, so i am told!

[zooniverse]

i always thought O2 had the best coverage... :rolleyes:

[3gusr]

In terms of land mass Vodafone do indeed come out top.
This isn't to say they are best mind you,this just meants they cover more remote areas that other networks may have chose not to include. The Highlands and Islands program (joint with O2) ensure Vodafone have the best coverage north of the border, but I have a pal who works in central london that can't get a vodafone reception in his office, yet on a highlands mountain top a climber may be able to use his phone.....Its swings and roundabouts really. O2 actually manage to run their network with the least amount of transmitters of all the GSM networks, yet still claim to be the best, no surprise to learn their coverage claim is based on using a car mounted antenna and high power booster. Although I think they have done well with the shambles thay they inherited from BT, they are still behind, just look at their 3G roll-out for example! Orange have the greatest number of live transmitter sites by far (some 2000 more than O2) however they have concentrated on extremely dense coverage in urban areas and have many micro cells and omni-directional fill in sites in operation, however their rural coverage although OK is not as good as Voda (the 900MHz has advantages here as well) T-mobile are running a tight ship these days as well, they were keen to dispell the old image of the one2one days and have had a couple of years of intense network roll-out to get where they are today.
Make what you want of that, but it seems this is how these guys are looking to compete now!

[Daddycool]

The best bar none adverts are for the GSM network so not really relevent in this forum. Untill 2007 when providers are legally bound to have their own fully functional network (ie not shared like orange and T-Mobile) I don't think anyone will be making Best Network claims.

[Neil201]

Shared networks? Are you meaning shared base stations for T-Mobile and Orange? I wasn't aware of legislation whereby providers are going to be bound legally to have their own network infrastructure? I presume this means quite a bit of re-enginerring work needed in Scotland then!