3GSM / MWC : And the prize for the worst network experience goes t o…

I fell being set back in time at least 6 or 7 years these days as far as wireless data connectivity is concerned. Last year I picked up a Yoigo prepaid SIM in Madrid as they offer an affordable daily rate for data connectivity with their 3G network. Even back then I noticed that the network is quite slow and a high packet drop rate was greatly impacting web browsing experience. Now, half a year later and back in Barcelona things have even gotten worse. Since I arrived last Thursday the network keeps crashing and is unavailable for hours. How is this possible? What kind of gear are they using? What kind of service agreement do they have? Note that this is not a NETWORK TECHNOLOGY issue as other networks keep performing fine. This is purely a Yoigo thing. If coverage is not back within the hour I’ll put my Vodafone SIM card back in the mobile and life with the 15 euros a day rate for Internet access. Let’s hope that nobody with a Yoigo SIM card reports that the 3G networks in Barcelona are not capable of handling the load because one company can’t get it right.