Kevin S writes:
As a user of O2 for my mobile phone for longer than I can remember, I have been getting increasingly frustrated by their intransigence and lack of respect for loyalty. Having just had another very unsatisfactory call with O2, I have now decided to leave for an alternative service provider.
I’ve currently got a very good offer from “3”, but since the mobile reception in the village is so poor, I would like to ask readers of the blog for their experience of the signal on “3” in Parwich.
Indeed, I am sure it would be interesting to everyone to hear people’s experiences on local reception for any of the service providers.
From my perspective, I feel that the O2 signal strength has been dropping of late – but that could just be a reflection of my frustration.
Thanks,
Kevin S
PARWICH.ORG 
Hi Mike, I would recommend against 3. I was with them for a number of years because they kept promising that the area was due to be upgraded and their coverage would improve. It never happened and in fact got worse to the point where I was nearly at the Bentley Brook before any sort of signal appeared. In the end they admitted that there weren’t any plans for this area and they didn’t know when there would be so ironically I switched to O2.
I switched to Vodafone simply because they provide you with a box that gives you a 3G signal at home. That’s why if you check their coverage map, it indicates that there’s great reception near your house.
I have used Vodafone for some years, but have never had any reception in Parwich. However, this is plus point for me in that I am not a great fan of mobile phones.
I switched from Orange to O2 and now I am reasonably happy with the reception. Texts are never a problem, but sometimes during the day I have to try out different rooms to get the best reception. Nothing is as good as the landline so I couldn’t rely solely on the mobile.
Mobile reception in Parwich is very hit and miss and there are only two or three service providers that thier signal is strong enough for people in Parwich to pick up. O2 is one of the best ones, tesco mobile also uses the O2 network. Orange is also not to bad. I have had very little experience with vodafone so cannot comment. Many things can affect the signal to be picked up, i.e the two foot thick walls in many of the older buildings and being in the shadow of a hill or being surrounded by trees
Thanks for all the feedback. I suspected that O2 had the best coverage. However, their pricing has become ridiculous. Their own sales team seem to be getting frustrated with the high prices, saying that they are losing business. For example, an iPhone 4S from O2 would be £99 up front cost, other providers can provide the same phone with lower monthly tariffs for the same package and no up front costs.
I think O2 will still be losing my business, and maybe a little less intrusion is no bad thing.
Kevin Try Tescomobile who useO2 but I think are much cheaper. I have good reception on top of the hill!
There is always the option of tesco sim only, which depending on your needs can cost as little as £7.50 per month with enough texts,calls and data for the ordinary joe. The only draw back is that you need to own your own phone, and you do not get a new one when your contract runs out. I recently bought an up to date android phone off ebay for very little money and it works perfectly