Tea, Crumpets & A New Mobile Internet Provider
Who Doesn’t Love Tea & Crumpets?
I recently posted about how our internet provider, SMARTY, wasn't really working out for us. So, I thought I’d sit here while eating my morning crumpets and slurping a mug of tea to give you an update.
A few hours after my previous post went out on Twitter, I got a message from one of SMARTY’s social media team members who wanted to see if they could help me out. That was a really nice surprise; I never thought one of my random rants would actually lead to anything! After a bit of back-and-forth, they offered a refund on my last payment as an apology for the rubbish service and said there would be no hard feelings if we chose to go with another network. While I have indeed moved on, I have to give SMARTY credit for their customer service.
Moving to VOXI
I’ve moved our mobile internet over to VOXI for two main reasons. Firstly, both mine and Abi’s phones are already on VOXI, and we get great coverage and service from them. Secondly, I will shortly start working for Vodafone, who own VOXI. I no longer feel like I’m "cheating" on my future employer, and this way I can get ahead of any potential rules in my contract—not that I think there will be any—that might prevent me from using other networks.
Once I’m settled in at the job, we will be moving over to fiber broadband (again, from Vodafone), as there is nothing quite like a hardline internet connection. Though I don’t think that will stop Abi from calling the internet "the wifi." It doesn’t matter how many times I explain they are different things; she’ll still call it wifi!
Setting Up
I received the VOXI SIM this morning and have started the activation process using the portable 4G hotspot that we use when we go out and about. For those interested, it’s a Huawei E5776s-32—or as we call it, "the pebble." It has served us well over the five years we’ve owned it. That will probably be one of the things I miss about 4G home internet: the ability to take it with us wherever we go, without being dependent on public Wi-Fi hotspots.
That’s my adventure so far! I’ll keep you updated; hopefully, tomorrow's post will be coming from a VOXI SIM and not a SMARTY one. Have you had trouble with your ISP? Would you consider 4G/5G for your home network? Let me know in the comments below!