Best Mobile Network for the Lake district

Could you give us your views on the best mobile network for the Lakes. I have T Mobile and
the connection is rubbish. I have done some looking and Vodaphone and Orange seems to be the
best so far.

I would like your views on which is best and where you use them.

Thanx

"Chris S" <this_is_a_fake@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote in message
news:TMRpb.5921$hx5.44896628@news-text.cableinet.net...
> Could you give us your views on the best mobile network for the Lakes. I have T Mobile and
> the connection is rubbish. I have done some looking and Vodaphone and Orange seems to be the
> best so far.

Vodafone seemed to offer best coverage although none of them are great. Patterdale is a total dead
zone - no signal until you get to top of Kirkstone Pass one side or heading along road to Penrith on
other side(I think around where High Force is). Most of the tops get a signal but as with everywhere
signals dont go through big mountains.

Rob

On Tue, 04 Nov 2003 17:58:11 GMT, "Chris S"
<this_is_a_fake@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote:

>Could you give us your views on the best mobile network for the Lakes.

Any of the satellite based networks are good.....

Apart from that, Orange seem reasonable if you are up on the tops. Patterdale is a dead zone, as are
the central valleys such as Wasdale, hardknott bottom, seathwaite etc. I suspect this may be the
case for all the Big Four.

>I have T Mobile and the connection is rubbish. I have done some looking and Vodaphone and Orange
>seems to be the best so far.
>
>I would like your views on which is best and where you use them.

I don't. I rejoice when the signal goes as the office cannot hassle me.

>
>Thanx
>

--
79.84% of all statistics are made up on the spot. The other 42% are made up later on. In Warwick -
looking at flat fields and that includes the castle.

"Chris S" <this_is_a_fake@blueyonder.co.uk> wrote:

>Could you give us your views on the best mobile network for the Lakes. I have T Mobile and
>the connection is rubbish. I have done some looking and Vodaphone and Orange seems to be the
>best so far.
>
>

Only 100% reliable one that I have used is Globalstar.

No damn good in the pub though !

--

Mike @ www.lefkada-homes.com

In article <TMRpb.5921$hx5.44896628@news-text.cableinet.net>, Chris S
<this_is_a_fake@blueyonder.co.uk> writes
>Could you give us your views on the best mobile network for the Lakes. I have T Mobile and
>the connection is rubbish. I have done some looking and Vodaphone and Orange seems to be the
>best so far.
>
>I would like your views on which is best and where you use them.
>
The best one is the one with no coverage at all.

--
Martin Richardson

216/284 Munros (34/34 'Furths')
217/89 Donalds 389/1552 Marilyns 439/439 Nuttalls

I have a Vodafone phone, and my general rule (for the Western fells) is that I can get a signal if I
can get line of sight to Sellafield. Vodafone may be "the best so far", but coverage is very patchy.
Basically, I never depend on having a signal.

Mark
--
Mark Manning mrm1@msm.cam.ac.uk

Paul Saunders <pvs1@wildwales.fsnet.co.uk> wrote
>Martin Richardson wrote:
>
>> The best one is the one with no coverage at all.
>
>Like the one I use. Costs nothing, weighs nothing, no battery consumption, and best of all it
>doesn't annoy you by ringing. No effort at all to include it in my pack. Literally no effort.
>
And utterly reliable at all times.
--
Gordon

Paul Rooney <paulrooney@aol.com> wrote
>On Wed, 5 Nov 2003 01:06:45 +0000, Martin Richardson <martin@thequiff.demon.co.uk> wrote:
>
>>In article <TMRpb.5921$hx5.44896628@news-text.cableinet.net>, Chris S
>><this_is_a_fake@blueyonder.co.uk> writes
>>>Could you give us your views on the best mobile network for the Lakes. I have T Mobile and the
>>>connection is rubbish. I have done some looking and Vodaphone and Orange seems to be the best
>>>so far.
>>>
>>>I would like your views on which is best and where you use them.
>>>
>>The best one is the one with no coverage at all.
>
>That's all very well for the telepathic, but those of us who suddenly feel an urge for beef rather
>than lamb, at 2 o'clock on a Sunday afternoon on a rocky ridge, require a more reliable method of
>communicating with the wife.

BZZZT! If you're thinking about the dinner menu, you're not gripped enough.

>As to being annoyed by the ring, which Paul mentions, that's not an issue - they all come with an
>Off button.
>

--
Gordon

In article <3fa96e7e$0$12668$fa0fcedb@lovejoy.zen.co.uk>, Robert Hill <zen13484@zen.co.uk> writes
>
>"Mark Manning" <mrm1@msm.cam.ac.uk> wrote in message news:boafg0$5k5$1@pegasus.csx.cam.ac.uk...
>> I have a Vodafone phone, and my general rule (for the
>Western fells)
>> is that I can get a signal if I can get line of sight to
>Sellafield. Vodafone
>> may be "the best so far", but coverage is very patchy.
>Basically, I never
>> depend on having a signal.
>>
>> Mark
>> --
>> Mark Manning
>mrm1@msm.cam.ac.uk
>
>Also, this thread appeared a while ago. Someone wrote that Vodafone and 02 networks operate within
>so many kms of a transmitter ( I can't just remember the exact figure, but maybe 32?), hills not
>withstanding, whereas Orange, T Mobile etc transmitters are far less powerful.
>
>Robert
>
>
Voda & O2 operate at 900MHz and Orange & T Mobile are at 1800MHz. The higher you go the more the
signal is line of sight (i.e. more susceptible to blockages) so the latter are more prone to
interruptions from terrain.

Another thing to bear in mind is that in marginal conditions your head can get in the way of a poor
signal. Turning on the spot can sometime improve things - using a hands free kit and holding the
handset aloft may prove better sometimes.

--

http://www.dscs.demon.co.uk/

In article <3fa97a29.14438093@news.cis.dfn.de>, Chris Street <despam.c.street@ntlworld.com> writes

><{d-sep03}@dscs.demon.co.uk> wrote:
>
>>>
>>Voda & O2 operate at 900MHz and Orange & T Mobile are at 1800MHz. The higher you go the more the
>>signal is line of sight (i.e. more susceptible to blockages) so the latter are more prone to
>>interruptions from terrain.
>
>I think you will find that Vodaphone and cellnet also have 1.8Ghz system. The old 900Mhz system was
>the old analogue phones, GSM operates on 1.8Ghz. Any network can use it provided that they have the
>required licences.
>
Voda & O2 primarily operate at 900MHz - the standard or primary GSM band.

http://www.vodafone.co.uk/download/CIP.pdf

http://www.freedom-mobiles.co.uk/utmfaq.htm#6.1

In the US GSM is at 1900MHz which is why we have tri-band phones. Most GSM phones are dual band for
900 & 1800.

The analogue networks have been decommissioned and the bands allocated to expand the GSM900 band
available in the UK.

--

http://www.dscs.demon.co.uk/

In article <3fa9a69e.25819125@news.cis.dfn.de>, Chris Street <despam.c.street@ntlworld.com> writes

><{d-sep03}@dscs.demon.co.uk> wrote:
>
>>In article <3fa97a29.14438093@news.cis.dfn.de>, Chris Street <despam.c.street@ntlworld.com> writes

>>><{d-sep03}@dscs.demon.co.uk> wrote:
>>>
>>>>>
>>>>Voda & O2 operate at 900MHz and Orange & T Mobile are at 1800MHz. The higher you go the more the
>>>>signal is line of sight (i.e. more susceptible to blockages) so the latter are more prone to
>>>>interruptions from terrain.
>>>
>>>I think you will find that Vodaphone and cellnet also have 1.8Ghz system. The old 900Mhz system
>>>was the old analogue phones, GSM operates on 1.8Ghz. Any network can use it provided that they
>>>have the required licences.
>>>
>>Voda & O2 primarily operate at 900MHz - the standard or primary GSM band.
>>
>>http://www.vodafone.co.uk/download/CIP.pdf
>>
>>http://www.freedom-mobiles.co.uk/utmfaq.htm#6.1
>>
>>In the US GSM is at 1900MHz which is why we have tri-band phones. Most GSM phones are dual band
>>for 900 & 1800.
>
>Most of the new stuff being added is on the upper band though, this certain was the case a year ago
>when my father was working R&D on base stations and the new 3G stuff as it was then. There is only
>70Mhz bandwidth allocated to the bottom end of the 900Mhz GSM band, there is double that up at 1800
>hence it can carry more traffic.
>

3G is using 1900MHz to 2170MHz and requires far more bandwidth than GSM which the vast majority of
users have.

http://www.walesinfo.com/3g_spectrum.html

3G market share is tiny and will take rather a long time to roll-out in sparsely populated areas due
to the low demand and high infrastructure costs. At the moment is it only available in high
population density areas and along major routes such as the motorways.

Interesting coverage maps are available here:

http://www.gsmcoverage.co.uk/

--

http://www.dscs.demon.co.uk/

In message <v4jhqvkr31246bhi7fet8atjf7f43f6njk@4ax.com>, Paul Rooney <paulrooney@aol.com> writes
>On Wed, 5 Nov 2003 01:06:45 +0000, Martin Richardson <martin@thequiff.demon.co.uk> wrote:
>
>>In article <TMRpb.5921$hx5.44896628@news-text.cableinet.net>, Chris S
>><this_is_a_fake@blueyonder.co.uk> writes
>>>Could you give us your views on the best mobile network for the Lakes. I have T Mobile and the
>>>connection is rubbish. I have done some looking and Vodaphone and Orange seems to be the best
>>>so far.
>>>
>>>I would like your views on which is best and where you use them.
>>>
>>The best one is the one with no coverage at all.
>
>That's all very well for the telepathic, but those of us who suddenly feel an urge for beef rather
>than lamb, at 2 o'clock on a Sunday afternoon on a rocky ridge, require a more reliable method of
>communicating with the wife. As to being annoyed by the ring, which Paul mentions, that's not an
>issue - they all come with an Off button.
>
So I have to put up with ugly masts and all the other paraphernalia on numerous hilltops because of
your fickle dietary needs?

--
Martin Richardson

Martin Richardson wrote:

> The best one is the one with no coverage at all.

Like the one I use. Costs nothing, weighs nothing, no battery consumption, and best of all it
doesn't annoy you by ringing. No effort at all to include it in my pack. Literally no effort.

Paul
--
The October Project 2003
http://www.wildwales.fsnet.co.uk/october/october.html
http://www.wilderness-wales.co.uk
http://www.photosig.com/go/users/userphotos?id=118749

On Wed, 5 Nov 2003 01:06:45 +0000, Martin Richardson
<martin@thequiff.demon.co.uk> wrote:

>In article <TMRpb.5921$hx5.44896628@news-text.cableinet.net>, Chris S
><this_is_a_fake@blueyonder.co.uk> writes
>>Could you give us your views on the best mobile network for the Lakes. I have T Mobile and
>>the connection is rubbish. I have done some looking and Vodaphone and Orange seems to be the
>>best so far.
>>
>>I would like your views on which is best and where you use them.
>>
>The best one is the one with no coverage at all.

That's all very well for the telepathic, but those of us who suddenly feel an urge for beef rather
than lamb, at 2 o'clock on a Sunday afternoon on a rocky ridge, require a more reliable method of
communicating with the wife. As to being annoyed by the ring, which Paul mentions, that's not an
issue - they all come with an Off button.

--
Paul My Lake District walking site (updated 29th September 2003): http://paulrooney.netfirms.com 114
Wainwrights

Please sponsor me for the London Marathon at: http://www.justgiving.com/london2004

> I have a Vodafone phone, and my general rule (for the Western fells) is that I can get a
> signal if I can get line of sight to Sellafield. Vodafone may be "the best so far", but
> coverage is very patchy. Basically, I never depend on having a signal.

But what if your GPS led you over a cliff and then the batteries ran out ? You'd be depending
upon it then !

--
Boo