It's now signal over price

I was supposed to get a phone call from Vodafone on Monday 24th June, to discuss a switch to SIM-only six weeks before the end of my current phone-purchase contract. (The precise end date is 8th August) It didn't come. I eventually phoned Vodafone myself, and was told - surprise, surprise - that they didn't let customers do such a switch. I'd been misinformed. I could upgrade to another phone before the end of my contract, yes, but not move early onto a SIM-only deal. I'd have to wait until 9th August, then choose from whatever SIM-only deals were being offered by Vodafone at that time. Meaning that I was likely to miss out on at least one current deal that would have expired by then.

Silly me. I thought it was a little too good to be true!

I like my Samsung Galaxy S8+ smartphone, and it's only two years old. It makes sense to keep it, and, ongoing, just pay for a SIM card. That would probably save me £45 a month. And then in 2021 - in two years time - buy a new smartphone outright, swap the SIM card into it, and enjoy the same monthly saving of £45 indefinitely. As good as a pay rise.

It's irksome, having to wait another month until I can do anything about this. I've been with Vodafone since 2012, and my experience with them has been pretty good, but my long-term loyalty is beginning to waver.

In fact I'm having a rethink altogether about what I want from a mobile phone provider. Great deals and super-keen pricing aren't everything. Forget the freebies and other inducements - what am I supposed to be buying? A mobile 4G service that I can use whenever I need it. The really essential thing is to get a good calling and data signal most of the time, in most places. At home or away. Geographical coverage matters.

I live in the sticks, not in a city. At the best of times, the 4G signal I get at home from Vodafone is hardly more than 'just about OK'. It's never strong, and it's often marginal. If taking a voice call while indoors, I usually need to move near a window. And there are often times - depending on the weather - when I can't get any mobile internet, and have to switch to Wi-Fi - ironically my BT home broadband. Not good, Vodafone!

And yet it isn't at all uncommon, when pitched on a Club or farm site somewhere in the country or on the coast - at places where I ought to expect poor 4G - to get a better signal than at home!

When on holiday it's important to get decent mobile internet. At all times I'm updating certain key spreadsheets, so I want Dropbox to work. In the evenings I want digital radio, and the ordinary DAB signal doesn't always come through. I need mobile internet if I ever want to stream a particular TV programme (live or catch-up) onto the phone. I need it to publish a blog post, complete with photos. And remember, I spend a quarter of the year away in my caravan.

I have to ask: why doesn't Vodafone always give me the best 4G connection possible?

Next question: could somebody else give me better 4G? And if they can, wouldn't it be logical to give them my custom instead? Then I might not only have a stronger signal at home, but do better on my travels?

When you begin to ignore price, and concentrate instead on availability of service, you get different answers to the question of 'which mobile provider is best for me'.

Well, I summoned up the coverage maps on Ofcom's website (see https://checker.ofcom.org.uk/mobile-coverage) and found that - for home, and the caravan sites I frequent - Vodafone was generally quite good, but not always the very best. In fact O2 or EE would be the better choice for wide and strong coverage at most of the places I go to, as well as at home.

I think, then, that between now and 9th August, I will have to look seriously at what kind of SIM-only deal O2 or EE can do for me.

EE is owned by BT, and since I have my broadband from BT, it makes sense to study BT's SIM-only deals.

If I do make the switch from Vodafone to BT/EE, I'll need a porting authorisation code (a PAC), to transfer my mobile phone number to the new provider. Something to get on 9th August. I've already obtained a network unlocking code (an NUC) from Vodafone, to be used after inserting the new SIM card. (If this NUC has expired by mid-August, I do at least now know how to generate another)

I dare say there will be some downtime while going through the switching process, but I'll warn my friends and wait it out.

So Tigerlily (my Samsung Galaxy S8+) may well, from mid-August, be using a new SIM card (a nanoSIM, actually) and - I hope and trust - be showing more reception-bars on the display than she usually does at present.

One thing about BT, they do have some good offers. Currently there's a £15 for 12GB twelve-month SIM-only deal going on, with a free JBL bluetooth speaker chucked in, plus a £65 voucher to spend. What a good deal - it ticks all my boxes and more - but it ends on 25th July. And I have to wait until 9th August. Grrrr.