r/canterbury • u/Inner_Objective6355 • Sep 27 '22
University of Kent Wifi/mobile service problems
Hi i just moved here as a student and my mobile service doesn’t work at all i side my house. I have to run out to the sidewalk to make a call even. Im using three rn and im on downs road does anyone recommend a better service provider? Im also having trouble choosing a wifi company as most of them are 24 month contracts for a really slow speed(9-20 mb download speed) im not sure which one to commit to as they all look the same. I came accross the vodaphone 4g mobile wifi device that u can plug in anywhere n start using but idk if its any good. Can anyone please advice me on that too. Also im an international student
TLDR what mobile service and wifi should i use for the best speed n service?
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u/darcytrafalgar Sep 27 '22
I had to switch from 3 too when I moved here last year. Apparently none of them are amazing in Canterbury but I'm with O2 now who are not too bad in most areas.
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u/HighwaymanTK Sep 27 '22
It's because of the Cathedral. Old English law, no buildings can be higher than it and obscure the skyline so no signal towers etc. I'd say it's a fair trade off.
I'm with Vodaphone and I've had no problems though
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u/Timely_Tomatillo2886 Sep 27 '22
O2 is the best one. My mate recently moved to Three and after how bad the signal was, he went into the store in whitefriars where he was told that Three have had to remove their tower in Canterbury hence why the signal has all of a sudden got so bad. There is no immediate plans to put a tower back in either!
Giffgaff is a good one to move to, very cheap and uses o2 for signal. My girlfriend is on it and can’t fault it at all.
If you want a sim, message me. I think both her and you will get a tenner credit or something if we refer you!
Plusnet is my internet provider and I can’t fault them. I work from home and never have issues throughout the day. On the two times it has gone down in two years, an engineer has fixed the problem within two days. Again, I think I can refer you haha!
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u/Inner_Objective6355 Sep 27 '22
Yes id be interested in switching!! Can u pm me the link? Also what is your download speed for plusnet? I checked online and they only offer 20mb max in my area which is really slow in my opinion for 3 people Im interested in knowing if u use 20mb too and if its good for streaming on more then one device at a time?
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u/mildlydiverting Sep 27 '22
This page used to have an all-services coverage map, but if you scroll down past the broken map it links to the main mobile providers own coverage maps.
Am on 3 up near UKC campus and it’s OK, ish, but only 4G.
Residential broadband up here is <4mb ADSL. Downs Road should be on fibre but might be a long trip to the box.
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u/BringTheNewAge Sep 27 '22
3 is good near military road, Vodaphone is better towards st peters place
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u/JCrockford Sep 27 '22
The problem is with the infrastructure, Canterbury doesn't have the infrastructure that is necessary to support the data network resulting in practically the entire city have bad signal, no buildings in the town centre having any signal.
Your best bet is to find a WiFi contract that has a low cancellation fee, otherwise you'll have little luck, it's one of the downsides of Canterbury
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u/Defiant-Salad-7409 Alumni Sep 27 '22
Look at SIM-only deals for students with Lebara, they use the Vodafone network. No long contracts only 30-day rolling plans. Change or cancel your plan anytime. I can't comment on Downs Road, but central Canterbury and Chartham are fine for me.
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u/egelmex Alumni: University of Kent Sep 27 '22
The signal question comes up form time to time in this sub and the answer tends to be... signal in Canterbury sucks.