I have only just gone onto the "3" network on a nokia N95 8GB,and my signal is excellent much better then the signal i used to get on the vm/t mobile network,and my 3G coverage is top notch,all in all i am very pleased so far with "3" and yes i would recommend them.
I would think reception goes like most networks on an area by area basis,where i live orange is not much cop and t mobile is very patchy.Which is why i changed networks from vm/t mobile to "3".