News - Orange and T-Mobile offer joint network to customers

[HEXUS]

Now both Orange and T-Mobile customers can sign-up to both networks as a result of the UK merger.

Read more.

[Infinite]

So all this means is that I will have just generally better coverage?

[Blastuk]

The way I read it, it means if your main network cuts out, your phone can use the other network.

[Funkstar]

OK, so you can roam between Orange and T-Mobile's networks. But when are they going to actually merge the networks into a single Everything Everywhere network? They may still have Orange and T-Mobile as virtual networks on top of that, but at least that way instead of having a choice of two poor signals, you might actually get one decent one.

[Singh400]

Thanks, signed up to notify me!

[Mattus]

OK, so you can roam between Orange and T-Mobile's networks. But when are they going to actually merge the networks into a single Everything Everywhere network? They may still have Orange and T-Mobile as virtual networks on top of that, but at least that way instead of having a choice of two poor signals, you might actually get one decent one.

Surely it makes no difference? You can only be connected to one mast at a time. It doesn't matter whether it's an Orange mast, a T-Mobile mast or an Everything Everywhere mast - you're still going to get the same signal. The merger just means that more masts are available to you.

[jim]

Surely it makes no difference? You can only be connected to one mast at a time. It doesn't matter whether it's an Orange mast, a T-Mobile mast or an Everything Everywhere mast - you're still going to get the same signal. The merger just means that more masts are available to you.

By the sounds of it, if you're on Orange, you'll be connected to a 1 bar Orange mast even if you're standing right underneath a T-Mobile mast.

By integrating them properly, you'd just get connected to whichever one had the best reception, rather than just using the other network as a fail-safe.

[vrykyl]

Snootyjim - thats the impression I got as well - it doesnt seem to be a 'merge', just the ability to jump to the other network when you might have otherwise had no coverage...
I was really hoping they'd properly combine the two...as I have terible t-mo signal at my house, but orange is fine - but i'll still be stuck with poor signal because it probably wont swap me to the orange tower :/

Will cross fingers and hope, but unless iv massively misread, im SOL

[OilSheikh]

O - Mobile! or Torange ?

[Funkstar]

O - Mobile! or Torange ?

T'orange would work pretty well in some places

I'm movin my mobile over t'orange.

there would be no change at all

[Funkstar]

Surely it makes no difference? You can only be connected to one mast at a time. It doesn't matter whether it's an Orange mast, a T-Mobile mast or an Everything Everywhere mast - you're still going to get the same signal. The merger just means that more masts are available to you.

Basically, what snootyjim and vrykyl said.

This is roaming between two distinct networks. I'm sure they have said when the merger was announced, that they would be rationalising the network, taking some transmitters out where there was duplication and adding them where there were gaps. If they combined the networks properly they would end up with not only the largest customer base but the best network as well I'm sure.

[jim]

T'orange would work pretty well in some places

I'm movin my mobile over t'orange.

there would be no change at all

No chance, they'd all be going "I'm moving mobile over t't'orange."

"T't't'orange?"

No, "T't'orange."

[miniyazz]

Many phones (my old one did, anyway, haven't looked at my current one) have the ability to manually select a network. So it sounds like it'll automatically choose your main network if available, but you could manually choose the other network if you preferred.

[Mattus]

By the sounds of it, if you're on Orange, you'll be connected to a 1 bar Orange mast even if you're standing right underneath a T-Mobile mast.

By integrating them properly, you'd just get connected to whichever one had the best reception, rather than just using the other network as a fail-safe.

Ah, yeah - good point.

Many phones (my old one did, anyway, haven't looked at my current one) have the ability to manually select a network. So it sounds like it'll automatically choose your main network if available, but you could manually choose the other network if you preferred.

My iPhone can do that, and I don't see a reason why it wouldn't work - the mast wouldn't 'know' that you're also within range of your 'preferred' network. Unless there's some way of distinguishing between such a 'manual' connection and an automatic one?

Of course, there's the disadvantage of having to manually set your network. My phone won't connect to another network if it loses signal from a manually-selected network. It just says 'signal lost' and asks me to choose a network again.

[Funkstar]

Manually choosing your network should be possible on all phones, roaming between networks is part of the GSM spec. Although you don't see this very much over here, you do see it in other countries. In Nigeria for example you can often see up to a dozen networks (a lot are probable virtual) and depending on whether your home network has roaming agreements with them you can choose which one you connect to. This is good, because may get a great signal on one, but can't actually make a call because their international connections are full. I've seen other countries where their 2G and 3G networks are separate and you have to select between them . Not common, but does happen.

What I would really like, is for the UK networks to enable the kind of roaming that Orange and T-Mobile are doing. So if I'm in the middle of nowhere I can connect to Vodafone (for example) and pay a premium for calls, just like I was in mainland europe. There are times I would rather pay a lot for calls and texts than not be able to make them in the first place.

[circuitmonkey]

This news actually makes me very happy, I was facing moving to an area with no Orange coverage (not even 2G!!!), and now I find it has excellent T-Mobile 3G coverage, quids in!!!