18 Years of 2G (GSM 900) and still no decent 2G service in my town.

[Anonymous]

I am extremely unhappy.

O2 can't seem to get their act together with Wigton - a market town of over 5000 people.

There is NO reception on the MAIN HIGH STREET because we have 1 mast in the wrong part of town to be of any use.

And what makes my blood boil is that I was told by an absolute liar of an O2 employee, spent half an hour telling me how O2 had made a planning application for a new mast in  Wigton and that the local council was the hold up.

I listened to endless mistruths about how there would be a second mast in Wigton, with smaller masts running off it.

On the back of those lies, I took out an additional contract to run as an early replacement for another contract which runs out in a few months time - an effective renewal.

To later learn that O2 hasn't made any planning application and that I've fed mistruths, well that just sends me mad.

I'm sick of it. I'm sick of O2 endlessly getting my hopes up, then to find out later I've been fed mistruths.

What about the TuGo debarcile. Every other O2 agent on the phone thinks the service has been launched when it hasn't. One month, we get a date, for us to be told the next month it's been delayed.

Then there is the boost boxes that are only available to business users with a number of phones on their contracts.

Is it right that 18 years after the launch of GSM, I can't get a signal, O2 can't provide a date for an end to it all, can't sell booster boxes to improve the signal, can't seem to get their act together about TuGo, but have all the time in the world to talk about how they are going to set the world alight with their mythical 4G service?

Look, if you can't get 2G right after 18 years, my grandchildren will be drawing their pensions by the time you get Wigton on 4G!

[Anonymous]

People come here and they are going to complain if they have had a bad service. They are going to be angry, annoyed and upset.

That makes them an easy target for trolls, coming along saying that someone who is complaining is being disrespectful etc.

I know what I posted and it was very tame. You don't, because the messageboard software censored the words, so no harm done to anyone.

Considering the way I've been treated, I've been quite restrained and reserved, so unless you have something constructive to post, please stay away from this thread.

EDIT TO ADD :

Nothing I have posted would be a problem on television before the 9PM shedmark so report all you want.

[perksie]

If you are so unhappy why not move to a supplier who can give you a better signal?

There is a site here where you can check for who has masts in your area and where they are:

http://www.sitefinder.ofcom.org.uk/

Sorry you find it necessary to post in a temper, but won't help at at all.

[Anonymous]

Because in all honesty and I even admitted this to the O2 reps at the time, I said something like

"I'm not happy with the signal in Wigton, BUT I have been told by your networking department that they are waiting for planning permission for a new mast AND EE + Vodafone won't give me a decent contract, so I'll stick with O2"

If I had known that there were no plans to upgrade the mast in Wigton, I would have let the contract run out and transfer the number to a PayG number on either 3 or T-Mobile.

I accept that someone verbally telling me something does not constitute a contract, but I don't expect to be lied to and I was lied to, no doubt about it - over half an hour that rep sweet talked me about how that mast was going to be upgraded.

EDIT TO ADD

"Sorry you find it necessary to post in a temper, but won't help at at all."

Please don't patronise me.  I haven't insulted anyone. My post has been factual. If you disagree with anything I have posted, then argue the point with reason.

The fact of the matter is that O2 in it's various guieses over the years has had 18 years to bring mobile phone coverage to the country.

I've put questions in my post.

Do you think it right that mobile phone companies are running around trying to introduce 4G signals to places, when they can't even provide a 2G service to many towns scattered around the country?

"Take your custom elsewhere" doesn't cut it.

[Anonymous]

Can I add in as clarification.

In my last post I talked of a mast being upgraded. That's incorrect, I meant that I was told an additional mast would be installed in Wigton, in the town centre, however it was only at planning stage, where an application had been submitted to the local council.

[Anonymous]

This is the fact, that people (most probably on HSPA+) can't handle.

There are many places around the country, many towns, you know, with shops, people, hustle and bustle - that don't have a 2G service.

O2 hasn't rolled out 2G, it's not complete. I'm not talking about getting a signal when going 60mph down some winding hilly B-Road, I'm talking about being able to get a phone signal while walking around the town centre, of a busy market town. 

Let me leave you with this depressing fact.

In 20 years time, people will be complaining why they can't download their stuff at more than 1Mbit while walking around the town centre on their phones.

I know this, because I only have to look at the company's track record over the past 20 years.

1. O2 is just another rubbish foreign owned company in Britain.

2. As a result, Britain is a backward 3rd world country, that is a communications laughing stock when compared to the Asia, America and other parts of Europe.

[Anonymous]

Can I ask how you know the advisor was lying when they said O2 had planned to erect a new mast in the town centre?

Obviously we don't know what exactly was said so can't really comment on it - but it just seems strange that they would lie about something like that to you.

O2 have, for years, had over 99% population coverage on their 2G network. There are Ofcom rules about minimum coverage areas for networks - so it isn't a case where they can just cover where they want and leave whole areas deserted.

If I remember correctly, when 3G came in all networks had until a certain date after it to get to 80% pop coverage.

On top of this, O2 invest the equivelant of £1m per day on improving their network. They have several things in the pipeline for making the customer experience better - TuGo and a partnership with Vodafone in network infrastructure.

I know this doesn't really help you since you're the one sitting without a signal, and that is obviously pretty frustrating. Do you know anybody else on O2 that has these issues? I just put a random Wigton postcode into the coverage checker and it seemed to have fine 2G service.

[sheepdog]

Given the time you posted, Perksie is being polite about your post. Reading it first thing in the morning it is a rather bad tempered choice of phrasing which overtakes your real problem. Answering your own posts within a couple of minutes won't gain you any sympathy I'm afraid. We're customers just like you so we're quite willing to help you out. 

However, reading between the lines I agree with what you are saying. You've been mislead to sign up for a contract again and you should rightly use the complaints review process. There's a link on some other posts. Putting your points down clearly and what you want to achieve i.e get out of the contract then do use the process. It has worked for many.

[Anonymous]

"Given the time you posted, Perksie is being polite about your post."

Huh? Why should I take into account the time I posted at?

Reading it first thing in the morning it is a rather bad tempered choice of phrasing which overtakes your real problem

Read it any time you want. To me it reads the same way. It's a factual post made by someone who is quite angry. If you believe there is something that I have posted that is outragous, factually incorrect or unreasonable, then please let me know.

Answering your own posts within a couple of minutes won't gain you any sympathy I'm afraid.

Putting additional info up etc isn't the crime of the century - it's not exactly as if I'm sat here pretending to be someone else.

Me "answering my own posts", being angry etc has nothing to do with it.

I've just double checked that Cellnet launched their GSM network in 1994 - that means after 19 years, Wigton still has no coverage in it's town centre.

It's not good enough that customers are expected to simply switch providers in these cases.

As I said before, this isn't about whether I have a signal on some twisting B road that goes through some hilly valley - this about being able to make and receive a phone call from the most important part of a town - it's centre.

You cannot get away from the fact that it's an outrage for O2 to even take about 4G if there isn't basic coverage in towns and villages up and down the country.

"Hey don't worry about the fact that you have no signal, we're investing £1 million a day to give people with fast HSPA+ downloads speeds, superfast 4G speeds! Isn't that great? By the way, we have no plans to sort out coverage in Wigton."

What I want, nothing more, nothing less, is a commitment to give Wigton decent basic 2G coverage - proof that the ball is rolling, that work is being done.

It's no good that Wigton is told by O2 that there is no commitment to give the town basic coverage.

However, reading between the lines I agree with what you are saying. You've been mislead to sign up for a contract again and you should rightly use the complaints review process. There's a link on some other posts.

Well, I'll help myself, search for "complaints review process" and see where that gets me.

Putting your points down clearly and what you want to achieve i.e get out of the contract then do use the process. It has worked for many.

I don't want out of the contract. I want O2, to get off their backsides and use part of that £1 million a day to give a basic network coverage to a town of 5000 people!

[jonsie]

http://service.o2.co.uk/IQ/SRVS/CGI-BIN/WEBCGI.EXE?New,Kb=Companion,question=ref%28User%29:str%28Mob...