3G to 4G

[Worf]

Hello

I currently have a Three mobile. I see Three are switching off 3G coverage shortly. There is no 4G coverage in my area (North Wales) and even 3G is patchy. How do I find out when the switchover will happen and what plans Three have for improving coverage in this area. Their online "help" is a joke, dont listen, and just try to sell me something!

I take it that they will enable 4G here before switching off 3G but they seem pretty clueless.

Is there any way to contact someone sensible?

[JonathanB]

Hi @Worf,

Here's a link to some info about our plans to switch off 3G. When you check coverage in a particular postcode on our Coverage Checker, you should also see the current estimate for when 3G will be switched off in the area. The checker defaults to showing 4G, but if you select 3G you'll get more info about the switch off.

Thanks,
Jonathan

[Worf]

Thank you for you reply; unfortunately it doest really help. I had already followed those links before I came here.

You checker just states that NO 4G coverage is available here and mentions NO plans to provide it.

As far as discontinuation of 3G it just states this:-

3G Coverage

Yes – You currently have service
We're phasing out our 3G network and will switch it off completely by the end of 2024. So, while you can use 3G for calls, texts, and mobile internet at the moment, in the future, there will be no 3G coverage available. This will affect your service if 4G and 5G aren’t available in your area.

So sometime before the end of the year??? Not particularly helpful.

To put my question another way, am I to take it that there will be NO Three signal in Aberdaron, North Wales at all once the 3G is switched off???

If that is the case maybe myself and other residents should start thinking about switching providers?

[JonathanB]

Hi @Worf,

The first page I linked you to has the following info the FAQs:

I’m in a 3G-only area; what should I do?

By the time our 3G switch-off is complete we’ll have enabled 4G in these areas. You can keep up to date with our network improvements using our coverage checker.

I'm sorry that we don't have a precise estimate for Aberdaron at the moment, this would suggest that the switch off will be towards the end of the year though.

Just to illustrate as an example, if you were to pop SW1a 2LW into the Coverage Checker, and select 3G you'll see supplementary info confirming when we expect to decommission 3G:

I'd recommend to check back on the coverage checker periodically and there'll be more information about your area later in the year when we're able to confirm a date for the switch off.

Thanks,
Jonathan