We only moved about five miles from our old village, but that was enough to put us in a mobile phone blackzone. We have nil coverage here. It's not much of an issue, since I rarely use my phone plus have a landline connection. But various delivery people get a bit freaked out if they can't find our house and have to drive a mile or two out of the village in order to call us for directions.

No mobile access means I can't try out any mobile phone searching, either. So I thought I'd check with Orange about whether things would get better. I sent a message through their online form to say that we have no coverage and were there plans to change that in the future. The response was classic:

I am sorry to learn that you have no coverage in your area and understand your concerns.

Unfortunately, after checking your area, the coverage in your area is extremely poor, and some area only showing variable coverage. This would explain why you have not coverage.

Orange are committed to improving our network, with numerous sites planned to be installed across the UK. If you require further information regarding our coverage please visit the Orange website at www.orange.co.uk and view under 'Coverage'.

If you require further assistance please do not hesitate to contact Customer Services on 150 from your mobile or 07973100150 to speak to an advisor who will gladly assist you. The department is open 24 hours a day.

Got it? The coverage in my area is poor, and that's why I don't have coverage. Duh, I know that. Heck, I told them that. I was asking about whether it was going to get better.

OK, so I get the "committed to improving" response, so maybe life will get better. In fact, it might within the next year. I also had to call Orange to change our address (since the web site kept crashing on my attempts), and the rep there did a check on future coverage plans. A tower's been approved, so it's just a matter of time until it goes in.

But back to that message. Notice the numbers I'm given to call. If I dial 150, that's a free call to Orange. However, I don't have coverage, so I can't use it. That other number is billed at 10p per minute -- which is 7p per minute more than I spend to call the United States. How about a freephone number I can use?

I mentioned offhand this to my rep, that it was semi-annoying to be charged to change my address because (1) the web site crashed and (2) they have no options for customers in black area. Amazingly, he gave me four pounds credit on my bill. Now that was impressive, Orange.

Postscript: One of my readers says 0800-079-5000 works for those who need to call Orange from a landline for support. Just remember to say with 150 if you use your mobile, since Orange now charges 10p per minute for 0800 numbers!

Next Post: Now THAT'S A Multimonitor Setup -- A Wall Of Monitors
Previous Post: Is Sky By Broadband Controlling Your Computer
All Posts: Daggle Archives
Posts By Category: Daggle Categories
Return To: Daggle Home Page

Comments

Want to comment? If you are signed into TypeKey, you'll see a form below. No form? Click on the sign-in link below, and you can sign-in or sign-up for a free account. Sorry you have to use TypeKey, but I use it to avoid comment spam. All comments currently appear automatically after posting.

Leave a comment

Name

Email Address

URL

Remember personal info?

Comments (You may use HTML tags for style)