Jump to content

Recommended Posts

It should be remembered that mobile microwave towers operate significantly line-of-sight. That means that users in ED - which is full of annoying hills, frequently are in microwave shadow. This will lose or attenuate signals. [signals will go through most buildings OK, but have a problem going through the ground, which hills are]. Additionally towers are limited in the number of simultaneous transmissions they can handle, giving priority to ongoing transmissions. So if you are in a location served by a tower with a lot of existing traffic being handled you will have a problem obtaining signal, even if otherwise you are in a good position to do so. If you are near busy roads (ie the EDT) you will find people passing (walking by and in cars) who are already interacting with the towers, so you will be competing more for signal. You may also find (for data) that you have grabbed WiFi access in some places (depending on your supplier and what deals they have done) and not others. By the way, the numbers of 'bars' shown is very unhelpful in judging signal strength - other than a 'no bars' condition.


For ED different service levels frequently reside in which network you are using and where their towers are. So if you are, at home, well situated for one service you will find that 'better' and be surprised that others (served by different towers) don't agree with you.


I live just under the brow of a hill and visitors on some networks can have problems getting service downstairs, but no problems on upper floors. Annoying, but physics.

Their are a lot more mobile cell sites than people realise - https://www.mastdata.com/37/37_map_mobile_mast.aspx?Table=15&AdTyID=43&ROName=SE22&Z=14


T-Mobile = EE.

I happen to know the cell site for EE on top of the Coop is being significantly upgraded.


Most operators have two frequencies 900Mhz and 1800Mhz. They started 4G rollout with one frequency and are now adding the other which has much better building penetration. So all operators are improving their networks but it does take time.

EE sent me a small femtocell for free because they recognise that the signal is poor in the East Dulwich area. This was about a year ago.

A femtocell (signal box) is a small box you connect to your router with a LAN cable so that it sends a 3G wireless signal. Vodafone used to charge for this (no idea what they do now). EE doesn't charge if they recognise the signal is poor. This thingy has improved the signal, but it's still not perfect, i.e. sometime I still get issues even when calling landlines.

ruffers Wrote:

-------------------------------------------------------

> Melford Road is in a bit of a shadow for instance

> - I have a home boost box to cover it.



On 4G? 3G/HSPA cuts out in a triangle from Belvoir Road to Melford Road with EE I've found where the signal from the cell site on the corner of Dulwich Common/LL (the big black pole that looks like a street light) doesn't reach.

I am with EE and am having problems. Just spoken to them again re drop out and was told they have 11 frequency settings they can try. Never get a straight answer from the different operators but have insisted that it is all detailed on computer so I don't have to go through the whole thing again. Yesterday operator said was to do with BT line that they share...!! Thanks for mention of femtocell might ask for one of those next call or maybe even a booster. Not sure if I left them, the service would be any better so will continue for a bit.

If you are having problems with any mobile operator after repeated attempts at contacting them then email the Chief Executive:


EE - [email protected]

O2 - [email protected]

Three - [email protected]

Vodafone - [email protected]


None of them want unhappy customers. They will all have teams for complaints they receive.

You could also look into wifi calling. It means that the phone gets the signal from a wifi conenction; it's all seamless, you don't need to do anything other than enabling it once.

It typically works with most phones supplied by the network operator directly, and with some phones bought unlocked elsewhere. The EE and Vodafone websites have all the details. I have both the femtocell and wifi calling on EE; they're OK, but they're not perfect, and call quality can be a bit hit or miss at times.

If you are having problems with any mobile operator after repeated attempts at contacting them then email the Chief Executive


James, and others. Many people take service not directly from the carriers but from Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNOs) such as Virgin, or TalkTalk etc, who lease capacity on a wholesale basis, from the network carriers you have listed. As such their contractual relationships are with their Operator and not the underlying carrier. It is their operator who has the relationship with the carrier. This makes determining who is 'at fault' more problematical, and CEO's may be less stimulated to meet the needs of someone who is not, directly, their customer.


On the other hand, complaints from an MVNO, who will have a significant financial relationship with the network carrier, may carry more weight. Ideally get your MVNO batting on your behalf with the underlying carrier. Which may mean writing to your MVNO CEO!

Hi P68,

Yes, but I couldn't list all the MVNO's. Between the main 4 operators they have over 85% of mobile customers.

But easy to Google for the CEO email address of any other operator.


For most problems just a mater of an operator adding a frequency better at penetrating building. They pretty much all have plans for this or adding transmission capacity. I happen to know for example that the EE site on top of the Coop on Lordship Lane recently took delivery of a new 1GigE pipe to replace 100Mbps pipe.

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Latest Discussions

    • https://www.assistancedogs.org.uk/information-hub/assistance-dogs-emotional-support-dogs-and-therapy-dogs/   hello   i’d be interested to understand if anyone.has experience of Assistance Dogs especially for autistic children of different ages for emotional support and therapy   There was a prior thread on this topic on EDF 10 hrs ago but it had limited experiences and there was a (claimed) change in UK legislation in 2019. Whilst the industry appears unregulated/unlicensed, there are several providers (approx 15, perhaps more) who claim to have fully trained dogs or say that they can help families to train a puppy/young dog over the 18-24 months.  The latter obviously comes with a need for strong commitment to the challenge. Costs for a fully trained assistance dog are quoted at £13-15k albeit they claim £23k total cost to train the dog. On the one hand, this could potentially be a useful solution for some families if such a dog was truly trained as their websites claim and such a dog was accepted in public places and schools etc… On the other hand, I don’t think that I’ve ever seen an assistance dog of this type or in this context (only for a blind or partially sighted person) and hence a real risk of fraud or exploitation! The SEN challenge for families coupled with limited resources in schools or from local authorities or the NHS as well as the extremely challenging experience of many families with schools offering little or no support or making the situation worse leaves a big risk of lots of different types of fraud and or exploitation in this area.          
    • Hi there  We live on Woodwarde Road backing on to Alleyns Top Field.  Our cat Gigi has gone missing — it’s been about 24 hours now. She is a cream Bengal. Could you please check sheds, garages, or anywhere she might have got stuck please? And if you could keep an eye out or share on any local groups/forums, we’d really appreciate it. Photo attached.   Thanks so much! My name is Jeff on 07956 910068. 
    • Colin.    One for the old school.   Just saying.
    • Signed, and I will share it elsewhere, thank you for posting this. It's got nearly 70,000 signatures at present, and apparently runs till February.
Home
Events
Sign In

Sign In



Or sign in with one of these services

Search
×
    Search In
×
×
  • Create New...