Bit of a brand dilemma here, but I'm also interested in hearing views on the O2 network.

The O2 brand

What's it synonymous with? Quality? Offers? Music? I honestly don't know. To me it still means EDGE, quirky services and gadgets, and free SIMs!

The O2 network

"Safe" was my thoughts until recently... pretty widespread 2G, not much 3G to speak of, some O2-specific flaws and bugs (like the ABSENT_SUBSCRIBER thing I've raised here before). Not-spots existed without much interest to filling them in, or generally rolling out a footprint much larger than BT gifted them. What I do remember is that data on the iPhone, even if it was slow, always worked pretty reliably. Stark contrast to Vodafone, then.

Now they've gone 3G900 and I'm seeing 3G all over the place, even on 2100MHz, suggesting Telefonica haven't just been sitting on their arse after all. So what's the story? Any praise on or qualms with the O2 network for you?