Mobile Networks - get your act together next year please

[ianianian]

It was like being back in 2001 when trying to send a text message would require 400 presses of the "Retry Sending" button. Why so poor this year?

I am on T-Mobile and the data service coverage was shocking. Timing out all day. Going to get worse next year as more and more people get data-enabled phones and want to quickly check the news or look an act up on Wikipedia to find out a bit more about them when choosing who to see etc.

Mate was on Vodafone and just kept getting Access Denied on trying to send texts etc.

I know they park extra temporary cells around the perimeter but it wasn't enough to cope with everyone's phones this year.

[Jackmypie]

was fine with me..

but i guess im with orange..

[gemsie1904]

I'm on Orange and my phone was fine for the whole weekend, although when I was trying to ring some of my mates, who are on other networks, the calls just kept going to voicemail.

[TokiDoki]

My Orange phone was fine for phonecalls, text and data but my friends phones on o2 and other networks barely worked at all.

[AndyJ]

I'm on O2, and the text service was abysmal. Messages would sometimes take 24 hours to be delivered. Phonecalls would not be connected, despite the person being stood right next to me with their phone turned on.

[LusciousLucy]

Voddyfone worked a blinking treat. Longest I had to wait for texts was 15 mins even at overload post midnight time!

[Scouse Andy]

The text messaging was so ropey for my O2 firends that messages were coming through days later.

Caused a couple of upsets early on before we realised. An important message arrive on friday morning cancelling a meet on thursday night causing some disquiet. All sorted the next day when the message arrived time stamped the night before, but not a fun thursday night!

[FunkyDenz]

Tescos Mobile was ridiculously bad. Half the time it wouldn't let me send texts, I couldn't make or receive phone calls, and texts sent to me could take up to 24 hours to arrive.

I couldn't arrange to meet up with mates at all. Luckily Glasto is so friendly that if I couldn't find my mates again, I'd just make new ones.

I'm going to get an Orange pay as you go sim card for next year.

[gemstarrr]

i'm on O2 and it was terrible!

even when my phone told me i had full signal i wasn't recieving texts.

on the way out at about 10 this morning i recieved a text sent from a friend at home on the friday night!

[Jackmypie]

its only because Orange is the best!

[markeee]

i'm on O2 and it was terrible!

even when my phone told me i had full signal i wasn't recieving texts.

on the way out at about 10 this morning i recieved a text sent from a friend at home on the friday night!

[Sam Crawley]

I'm on O2, and the text service was abysmal. Messages would sometimes take 24 hours to be delivered. Phonecalls would not be connected, despite the person being stood right next to me with their phone turned on.

[johnmcga]

It's been like that for me for the last three years, with Vodafone and O2.

I just give up and switch my phone off and arrange to meet people the old fashioned way. It's quite nice actually.

I did stand next to a bloke who spent 15 minutes holding his phone up so the person on the other end could hear Bon Iver though, which wasn't annoying in the slightest:

Holds phone up.

(Shouting) "Did you hear that?"

Holds phone up a bit more.

(Still shouting) "He's awesome. Can you hear that?!"

Continue for 15 minutes...

[Langdale Wolf]

I'm on O2, and the text service was abysmal. Messages would sometimes take 24 hours to be delivered. Phonecalls would not be connected, despite the person being stood right next to me with their phone turned on.

[WS_Jack_III]

my dad said O2 was bad this year but my T mob was fine, never had a problem.

[Pipine]

O2 was shocking! I never managed to recieve a text in less than 4 hours.. nothing for ages then 6 at once at 5am this morning from various points over the weekend. Great :-(

[pinktequila]

I remember the days when we had to post messages at meeting points. I used a virgin sim and it worked every time.

[BudBrain]

I'm on o2 and my reception was crap at best. Everyone on Orange was fine, where ever they were.

Funny that.

[spammachine]

02 here and I've never had such terrible reception. I only recieved some messages after I got home from the festival. Trying to make a call was an act in futility.

I had to use my wifes orange network phone to meet friends etc.

Edited June 29, 2009 by spammachine

[AndyJ]

It must have been loud this year!

Try sign language. You've got 1 year to learn it.

[chuckley]

it drained off batt life too. i had 4 with me but more or less used loads of 1 on day 1 due to last minute travel plan changes. will need to buy 1 more so i have 1 for each day!

i tried the net once and it didnt work so gave up. texts were bad enuff. some i received 24 hrs later. total craaap. i was on 02. only managed to make calls back @ tent at other stage end of pennards. come sunday tents and calls were back to normal.

[septemberwillow]

o2 was jinxed all weekend! I could barely make any phone calls, they generally went straight to voicemail and ALL incoming texts arrived during the night between 1am and 6am.

Either Orange were jamming the rest of the networks or the Avon & Somerset constabulary wanted to have the first read of the Michael Jackson jokes

[glastoman417]

Aye when I got out my Three contract (it was fine in London, but could barely get a signal in house or at work in Wirral) I signed up with Orange figuring them being one of the Glasto sponsors it should be good on site.

Had no problems at all with text messages getting to off-site mobiles in seconds. (Also works great in Wallasey, rarely not got 5 bars).

Would deffo recommend Orange if your changing network, though have heard their customer service isn't all that (though you can say that about any network I suppose).

[Homer]

I found someone's phone on the floor during Altern-8 and weirdly it died literally the second I picked it up, so instead of handing it in, I kept it thinking that with no battery the chances of them getting it back from lost property were zero.

Only problem is I can't find my old Sony charger. How much effort would you put in to help someone who was stupid enough to let their mobile die by Thursday night?! I have no interest in stealing it but they're obviously a bit of a plum!

[Elstra]

gar gar I've never had problems with network until this year

couldn't ring out, no one could ring me, all my text me threw at 3am

so annoying