Author Topic: Mobile phone coverage advice  (Read 2498 times)

JenKW

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Mobile phone coverage advice
« on: 22:43:37, 26/10/19 »
Which mobile phone provider is recommended for a reliable signal across a range of fells (and lower paths) on hikes around Borrowdale (Gables, Pillar, Buttermere, Dale, Glaramara, Scafell, Haystacks, Bowfell etc)? 

Pitboot

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Re: Mobile phone coverage advice
« Reply #1 on: 00:09:16, 27/10/19 »
I'm on EE and sometimes the signal drops out. It's intermittent and a signal usually appears but I regularly walk these areas and don't find it a problem. Often just a short move or a bit of height gain sorts it out.As I don't live on my phone I can't give a more detailed answer.




taxino8

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Re: Mobile phone coverage advice
« Reply #2 on: 07:06:27, 27/10/19 »
I’ve found that no matter who you are with your signal will be hit and miss up there and that’s why, as a sixty one year old solo walker, I got myself a Garmin InReach Mini.
O2 is ok in some places and I think most will get a signal higher up.

gunwharfman

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Re: Mobile phone coverage advice
« Reply #3 on: 08:50:03, 27/10/19 »
I once met a telephone engineer in the Lakes, which would be about three years ago and he told me that Vodaphone has the most reliable signal. I've no real idea if this is true or not?

gunwharfman

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Re: Mobile phone coverage advice
« Reply #4 on: 08:52:26, 27/10/19 »
Sorry pressed the 'post' button before finishing. I have a 2 x SIM card phone and I always carry a Vodaphone SIM with me, just in case I lose my O2 or 3 signal. I've never had a need to use it though.

ninthace

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Re: Mobile phone coverage advice
« Reply #5 on: 09:35:50, 27/10/19 »
I think the Mountain Rescue Teams are on Vodaphone. I used O2 with mixed results. The nature of the terrain makes the provision of a reliable mobile signal very expensive and it is unlikely to be realised. No phone signal is not the end of the world though, we walked for years before mobiles were invented.
SMS signals will get through even when voice calls will not. Register your phone with the emergency SMS, then in extremis you can call for help on any network. https://www.emergencysms.net/
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forgotmyoldpassword

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Re: Mobile phone coverage advice
« Reply #6 on: 09:47:46, 27/10/19 »
I once met a telephone engineer in the Lakes, which would be about three years ago and he told me that Vodaphone has the most reliable signal. I've no real idea if this is true or not?


Vodaphone have a contract to use O2's network, so in most cases they will have similar coverage - and incidentally O2 was given an award for the broadest coverage, so you've got that going for you if you want a chance at a solid connection - though I expect mileage will vary.


As ninthace says regarding sms, it's a far better bet than a voice call in intermittent signal, but you can't get much better than prevention (don't take route above your ability etc).  FYI from memory Buttermere has a pretty poor signal, Ennerdale was even worse though that was on O2.

fernman

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Re: Mobile phone coverage advice
« Reply #7 on: 09:56:24, 27/10/19 »
The nature of the terrain makes the provision of a reliable mobile signal very expensive and it is unlikely to be realised.

I'm not sure how the technology works. I am presuming that if a mast was high up there would be a signal over more of an upland area (not that I want to see masts placed on prominent summits). But does that mean it then wouldn't reach the communities tucked away in valleys?
I am assuming that at the moment the masts are placed near the communities, where they will be of more benefit, so the signal does not get up into the hills. Is that how it works?

ninthace

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Re: Mobile phone coverage advice
« Reply #8 on: 10:07:43, 27/10/19 »
It is not just siting of the aerial for coverage, the transmitter needs cost effective access to a power source.
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Bigfoot_Mike

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Re: Mobile phone coverage advice
« Reply #9 on: 13:02:15, 27/10/19 »

Vodaphone have a contract to use O2's network, so in most cases they will have similar coverage - and incidentally O2 was given an award for the broadest coverage, so you've got that going for you if you want a chance at a solid connection - though I expect mileage will vary.


I don’t know about the Lakes, but my experience of rural Aberdeenshire is that Vodaphone has wider coverage and a stronger signal than O2. My wife has O2 and I have Vodaphone on a work phone.

JenKW

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Re: Mobile phone coverage advice
« Reply #10 on: 20:13:23, 28/10/19 »
Many thanks to all who took the time to answer my query.  I have an O2 contract and I know that can be hit and miss and not necessarily better at height.  Anyway, I went up Esk Pike today via Seathwaite and Ruddy Gill, thinking I'd try it but it was freezing cold and the mobile stayed in the backpack - fingers in gloves too frozen to work it!  Gorgeous day though - icy paths and rocks a bit hazardous. 

Pitboot

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Re: Mobile phone coverage advice
« Reply #11 on: 21:08:18, 28/10/19 »
Something else to remember is the effect of low temperature on your device battery. My camera battery life is reduced when it's cold out. Lesson learned, I carry a spare battery in a plastic bag next to my body if I know I am going to use  the camera instead of the phone.




ninthace

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Re: Mobile phone coverage advice
« Reply #12 on: 21:18:21, 28/10/19 »
If you are going to carry a device such as a phone in an inner pocket such as a map pocket, I would advise keeping it in a watertight cover such as a ziplock bag or Aquapak.  They can get covered in condensation.
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