Three has announced that it has taken what was already the UK's biggest 3G network, and made it bigger by adding almost 5000 more sites - with a total of 12,400 now - meaning better coverage for both urban and rural areas.

The announcement comes at the end of the first phase of Three's £400 million upgrade, which has taken around 3 years. The network has stated that its 3G reach now extends to almost 97 per cent of the UK.

Mast-haters out there need not worry either as Three has undertaken this upgrade by "consolidating and upgrading equipment" and sharing sites with other phone networks, meaning 5069 fewer active masts across the country.

Kevin Russell, CEO of Three UK said: "Thousands of people across the country have put in a phenomenal amount of work to build the UK’s biggest mobile broadband network.

"Smartphone and mobile broadband use is exploding and we have built a 3G network that reaches further than ever before, as well as bringing more capacity into urban areas where our customers need it most."

Three has also released some interesting stats with regards to exactly what people are getting up to whilst surfing its 3G waves.

Of the more than 100 terabytes of data that are exchanged on its network each day, 40 per cent is people streaming media from the likes of the BBC iPlayer and Youtube, 38 per cent is straight-forward web browsing and downloading, almost 6 per cent is people updating their Microsoft software, and about 2.5 per cent is instant messaging.

Are you on Three? If so, what do you think of the network, and have the recent upgrades improved your service? Give us a shout below with your opinions.