Three UK network review (2015): everything you need to know

In our five-part UK network review series, we take a look at the UK’s major networks and major virtual network operators (MVNO), including the plans and services they offer and whether they’re about to be snapped up or buying a rival in the biggest shake-up of the UK market in a decade. Today we look at Three, the network that stands to shake the market the most.

Three is technically the UK’s second youngest network – having only been formed in 2003 – but considering that the youngest – EE – is made up of the second and third oldest networks – T-Mobile and Orange – many consider Three to be the youngest carrier in the UK. Its age matches its status; while other networks boast vast amounts of capacity at all levels of the spectrum, Three only offers 3G and 4G services, and its 4G network was built with a healthy donation of spectrum from EE following its creation.

Despite being the smallest in the market, Three is owned by one of the world’s largest communications company – Hutchison Whampoa – and its this backing which is allowing it to shake up the market. Let’s take a look at Three UK – the past, present and the future.

Network technology

Three’s network currently uses the following frequencies:

Frequency	Protocol	Class

1800MHz	GSM / GPRS / EDGE	3G
800MHz	LTE	4G

Three’s UK network has always been data-focused with the network prioritising the data-capable 3G standard ahead of the voice-focused GSM 2G standard. While other networks offer 2G services as a backup plan, Three’s own network only offers 3G and 4G services but a partnership agreement with EE does mean Three customers can drop to EE 2G coverage when needed.

4G LTE

Three was the last mobile network to offer 4G LTE in the UK and has the smallest capacity, making it susceptible to congestion on the network. The likeliness of congestion is further increased by Three’s primary offering: 4G data at no extra cost.

Top LTE smartphones

While its rival networks all introduced 4G services at a premium to customers – before almost dropping 3G contracts in their entirety – Three chose to tease its delayed network with a campaign that offers LTE to all customers with no extra premium to pay. Considering that the carrier’s All You Can Eat data proposition had drawn millions of customers looking for unlimited data, the promise of unlimited 4G data – including tethering until the tethering allowances were introduced last year – was enough to draw even more customers to the network.

Its 4G network will operate primarily on the 800MHz spectrum, although this is currently in the process of being rolled out and 4G was switched on using the 1800MHz obtained through the creation of EE. Although limited in capacity, the 800MHz rollout will mean that Three’s indoor 4G coverage is vastly improved; this fact also has telling ramifications for the future of Three, as we’ll touch on later in this review.

Pay Monthly Handsets

Three’s Pay Monthly handset (PAYM) plans offer a range of inclusive allowances, including up to unlimited minutes and unlimited data but the actual plans available and price depends on which handset you opt to go for.

Using the Galaxy S5 as an example, there are thirteen plans available including an unlimited all you can eat minutes, texts and data plan for £44 per month while the Galaxy S6 is only available on four plans, starts at £47.00 per month and costs £56 per month (and £49.00 upfront) for all you can eat minutes, texts and data.

Alongside unlimited 4G data (depending on your plan), the other key perk for Three’s post-paid customers is Feel At Home Roaming (FAH). FAH was the first roaming offer of its kind in the market and allows you to use your inclusive UK minutes, texts and data free of charge in 18 countries around the world.

While Three’s rivals do offer free or subsidised roaming in Europe, Three is the only one to offer completely free roaming outside of Europe, including popular destinations like the USA and Hong Kong. Simply put, Three’s FAH is the best roaming offer in the UK and a key selling point to buying a handset or SIMO from Three UK.

Overall, Three may not offer the bells and whistles that other networks do but what it does do is offer benefits and features its customers actually use. From no worries about going over data allowances to roaming abroad for free, the UK’s smallest network offers one of the biggest and best packages on the market.

Pay Monthly SIM Only

Like every network, Three also offers SIM Only packages for customers who prefer to buy their phones and contracts separately. Almost all of the same packages are available on both 1-month and 12-month contracts, with plans on the latter costing, on average, £3.00 per month less.

Three doesn’t limit its SIM Only plans meaning some SIM Only plans offer All You Can Eat data, although tethering is limited to a maximum of 4GB per month, like Three’s Pay Monthly handset plans. Here’s the current range of available Three SIMO plans:

Minutes	Texts	Monthly data	12-month price	1-month price

200	All-you-can-eat	500MB	£8.00/m	Not Available
200	All-you-can-eat	2GB	£11.00/m	Not Available
200	All-you-can-eat	All-you-can-eat	£17.00/m	£20.00/m
600	All-you-can-eat	1GB	£11.00/m	£14.00/m
600	All-you-can-eat	4GB	£16.00/m	£19.00/m
600	All-you-can-eat	All-you-can-eat	£22.00/m	£25.00/m
All-you-can-eat	All-you-can-eat	4GB	£21.00/m	£24.00/m
All-you-can-eat	All-you-can-eat	All-you-can-eat	£27.00/m	£30.00/m

Pay as You Go Plans

Like many networks, Three splits its Pay As You Go (PAYG) offering into packs, offering different amounts of minutes, texts and data each month. However, to simplify its offering and make things easier for customers to understand, Three’s 3-2-1 package offers easy to understand call charges for customers who go over their allowances or choose not to use a pack.

3-2-1 is Three’s way of not overcharging customers and the carrier has a big point: if a single minute costs a fraction of a penny, why do some networks charge 40 pence per minute on PAYG? To this effect, 3-2-1 means you’ll pay just 3p per minute, 2p per text and 1p per MB of data if you go over your allowances or don’t have an active pack.

Compared to the competition, 3-2-1 is vastly cheaper (others charge up to 40p, 25p and 35p respectively) and a great reason to buy a Three PAYG plan, especially if you use your handset infrequently. Considering than even PAYG customers get access to 4G without charge and your PAYG credit never expires, the case to choose Three on PAYG is certainly large.

If you do choose to go for a Three PAYG pack, you’ll find there’s only two available; as the 3-2-1 offer is such good value for money, it renders most packs useless. The two plans are:

All In One 10 Add-on: costs £10, lasts 30 days and gives you 100 minutes, 3000 texts and 500MB of data each month.
All In One 15 Add-on: costs £15, lasts 30 days and gives you 300 minutes, 3000 texts and All-You-Can-Eat data each month.

If you’re undecided about the packs there’s something worth remembering: while customers using 3-2-1 can’t take advantage of FAH, those with a PAYG pack can; this means if you choose a pack and go to any of the included countries, you’ll be able to use your phone abroad without charge just like post-paid customers.

Overall, Three’s PAYG offer is arguably the best on the market, especially as it offers 4G without charge, gives you unlimited data for just £15 per month and lets you use your phone abroad.

Three Perks

For most customers on Three, the inclusive perks are up to unlimited 4G data and free roaming but Three does have a couple of other benefits it offers to customers.

One of the biggest problems with all networks is being able to use your phone when your phone signal is none existent and Three’s InTouch app aims to fix this, letting any Three customer use a Wi-Fi signal to call and text even when there’s no signal. Usage of the InTouch app is free with calls and texts coming out of your existing allowances and if you do go over your allowance, you won’t be charged any more than the standard rates of your plan.

The other perk to buying a phone from Three on PAYM or PAYG is that unlike other networks, Three phones either come unlocked or the network will unlock them for free without making you wait months after purchase. As an example, other networks charge up to £20 and make you wait up to 12 months to unlock your iPhone, Three will unlock it for free the same day you get the handset.

In a market where the majority of carrier revenue comes from add-on services, Three making it easy to use a different SIM in their phones is certainly refreshing. Overall, Three’s perks are similar to Three as a network; customer focused and offering real benefits as opposed to unuseful benefits.

Quad-Play

The drastic increase in demand for data-driven services has meant mobile networks are encroaching on traditional fixed-line service providers to offer their customers TV, broadband and landline services.

Unlike its chief rivals, Three does not offer any quad-play services to its customers nor has it mentioned any current plans to offer quad-play services in the near future. But it’s likely that Three will eventually enter the quad-play market, especially after the major UK shakeup where the network has a lot to gain.

UK Outlook: Who’s Buying Who?

We’ve been teasing the UK shakeup throughout this review and for good reason; in the biggest shakeup of the market for nearly a decade, Three is set to be the network that gains the most.

There are two major deals that will irrevocably change the UK market: the biggest network, EE, is being bought by one of the oldest communications companies in the world, BT, and Three is set to buy O2, and in turn, establish the UK’s largest mobile communications provider.

Image credit: Huffington Post

As mentioned, Three is currently the smallest network in the UK, but is backed by Hutchison Whampoa (HWL), owned by Li Ka Sheng, who happens to be the richest person in Asia with a net worth estimated to be $31.9 billion.

The buyout of O2 for £10.25 billion (approx. $17 billion) will make Three the largest network in the UK with an estimated user base of nearly 40 million active monthly subscribers. As mentioned earlier, Three currently has a subset of 800MHz spectrum with which to deploy indoor 4G coverage and O2 will complement this, offering the largest allowance of 800MHz spectrum in the UK (as part of a deal it made to offer indoor 4G coverage to 97% of the UK by 2017).

It’s still likely to be 12 months before HWL completes the buyout of O2 and there’s very little known about what this will mean for customers but one thing is certain: Three has managed to make a lasting impression as the UK’s smallest network and once it becomes the biggest, it could dominate the industry for years to come.

Final thoughts

Three’s network has certainly undergone major transformations and improvements over the past few years; at first, the company had the worst coverage in the UK but over the past few years, this has changed drastically and the buyout of O2 will change this status forever.

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From All You Can Eat data to 4G at no extra cost and Feel At Home roaming, there’s a lot for Three to offer its customers and the buyout of O2 will give it a lot more bargaining power. I’ve personally used Three on and off over the past few years and have noticed the changes the network has undergone, with its network now proving a reliable, if not the fastest network.

As a network, Three ticks all the boxes and has enough unique points to make it an intriguing proposition for all customers. Feel At Home roaming and AYCE data alone are enough reasons to draw two segments of the market and with the additional benefits that O2 has to offer (which we’ll touch on in our O2 review on Thursday), Three is definitely a network to watch.

More UK reviews

Vodafone UK review (2015): everything you need to know
EE network review (2015): everything you need to know
Best Vodafone Android phones (UK)
Best EE Android phones (UK)

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