Driving for miles just to go online

By Jamie White

Monday, August 13, 2012

 

Driving for miles just to go online

David Henshall can only get mobile phone and internet reception if he travels miles away from his Ventnor home. Picture by Robin Crossley.

POOR mobile phone and internet reception is forcing one Isle of Wight man to drive several miles a day just to make a phone callor go online.

David Henshall, a customer for the network Three, says he has been having problems in Ventnor for several weeks.

He said: "I know many residents and holidaymakers in the area, who rely on the mobile broadband network from Three, had been suffering slow speeds and frequent disconnections since late June."

The problems have meant Mr Henshall, who lives in Zig Zag Road, has been forced to drive into Shanklin or Niton, to get a signal.

He added: "It is a huge inconvenience having to drive somewhere just to get a signal and get on the internet.

"I am paying money for a service I am not getting. I have asked about cancelling my contract but have been told I would face a penalty charge of £180.

"It’s been extremely difficult to obtain an update on progress to restore service from Three," he added.

"The problem and inconvenience caused seem of little concern, with the fault apparently being treated as a low priority issue."

A spokesperson for Three said they were in contact with Mr Henshall to try to resolve the problem. "Our engineers were on site and we will resolve this issue as soon as possible.

"We apologise to affected customers for the inconvenience."

Reporter: jamiew@iwcpmail.co.uk

Comments

Log-in or register to comment on this story.

By ticking "Remember me" you agree to a cookie being stored on your computer - no personal data is shared.

Forgotten your password?

Log-in to Report

by Steven Taylor

13th August 2012, at 15:35:25

We had the same problem with t.mobile in newport a while back.We had a contract with T mobile and we could not make phone calls or use the internet and when I complained and said I want to cancel they said it would cost £450. We now have sky and its faster cheaper and always works.

Log-in to Report

by marie sanderson

13th August 2012, at 11:47:29

We live in Ryde and have always had this problem with Three, we use there mobile internet which we cannot use inside our house or business so have to go outside, and recently they sent me a mobile phone when we upgraded, promising it would work inside and outside and again it didn't, NO SIGNAL!

Log-in to Report

by Graeme Egerton

13th August 2012, at 09:13:28

I've had same problems too although seems to be working now. Three have said they will not charge me this month's fees for the inconvenience but I had to phone them several times before they acknowledged there was a problem. In fairness to them though, I have always found them pretty fair and they did phone me up about my new broadband contract to say I was paying too much and put me on a different tariff.

Any views or opinions presented in the comments above are solely those of the author and do not represent those of the Isle of Wight County Press.

Facebook Icon Twitter Icon Delicious Icon

More News

Most Read

  1. Tributes paid after cliff death

    Wednesday, May 22, 2013

  2. Dredger stuck on sandbank

    Tuesday, May 21, 2013

  3. Desalination plan for the Island

    Tuesday, May 21, 2013

  4. Awards for Isle of Wight beaches

    Wednesday, May 22, 2013

  5. Free school gets government go-ahead

    Wednesday, May 22, 2013