3G West of Scotland ?

T

Tex

Well-Known Member
Joined
18 Aug 2008
Messages
288
Visit site
Time to renew my 3g contract and perhaps join the ipad brigade.
Which network gives best coverage for West of Scotland?
 
Very difficult, as the 3G network is pretty patchy due to low population density and geography.
On a recent trip to the west coast, I used both 3 and Vodaphone, but some locations had no reception of any kind let alone 3G.
 
awol said:
Another reason to stay in the safe IT-savvy south ....... and Waitrose don't deliver to the islands!
Click to expand...
Whilst I have some sympathy with dear AWOL's reasoning, it is not the place to come if you need to stay in touch for business/family reasons.
Instead of relaxing and enjoying the sailing and scenery it becomes a hunt for signal cruise.
If you want to enjoy it properly then leave the phones and I tablet things in the car, cast off and let the world take care of itself. We used to manage ok 30 years ago.
 
causeway said:
3 is usually very good in that neck of the woods, voda and o2 not so much.
Click to expand...

It's the other way round here...Vodaphone gives better overall reception in the west highlands and o2 is slightly better in Argyll.

Orange is not generally available.

I have never seen a 3G signal anywhere round here.
 
uxb said:
It's the other way round here...Vodaphone gives better overall reception in the west highlands and o2 is slightly better in Argyll.

Orange is not generally available.

I have never seen a 3G signal anywhere round here.
Click to expand...

Sorry to disagree but I have been with Orange (EE) for a lot of years and there is good reception in most places on the West Coast,thanks to transmitters on the hills.
 
I recently moved from O2 to Orange, now part of EE.
With O2 I never got 3G unless visiting Glasgow/Edinburgh or oddly enough Fort William and other more densley populated areas.
Now I have reliable 3G in Oban, Port Appin and throughout my local area. I had a steady 3G all the way from Oban to Lismore yesterday in the passenger cabin of the Calmac ferry.
The mobile signal is also consistently stronger than with O2 and I can now make and receive calls at home, whereas before I had to go in to the garden.
Hope this is of some help.
CJ
 
Vara said:
Very difficult, as the 3G network is pretty patchy due to low population density and geography.
On a recent trip to the west coast, I used both 3 and Vodaphone, but some locations had no reception of any kind let alone 3G.
Click to expand...

+1. I keep my phone on 3 whilst SWMBO's on Voda for this reason. Not tried the new EE.

Even with both, lots of places lack even text signal, let alone voice so 3G very much a bonus rather than expectation (though some surprising areas do have signal).
Suspect some respondents on here are referring to basic signal / 2.5G data rather than 3G. Having said that we did find enough data signal to get basic weather on android/3 and iPad/Voda, even if sometimes needed paitience.
Have sometimes resorted to hoisting phone up mast in waterproof case to send texts ;-)
 
Fort William and Inverness-providers not prepared to invest in the infrastructure eleswhere.
No problem with 1g in most places.
 
Posted this in the other thread but might be of interest here:

If it was me i'd get a PAYG http://giffgaff.com/ as the primary card (cheap as chips 02 network, has tower sharing agreement with Vodaphone who reportedly have best coverage: http://blog.vodafone.co.uk/2012/11/2...joint-venture/)

Coverage
http://www.vodafone.co.uk/our-networ...-map/index.htm

Then as a backup get a 3 Payg too. (Orange/ 3/ Tmobile share masts: http://www.ispreview.co.uk/story/201...ork-share.html)

Coverage
http://studio.orange.co.uk/coveragechecker/

If you are looking to get decent data coverage A decent high gain antenna on a halyard:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Mobile-Bro...item4ac338ef4b

And a dedicated box to connect it too:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Huawei-E58...item20d17efb7c

Could be worth considering
 
nevis said:
Sorry to disagree but I have been with Orange (EE) for a lot of years and there is good reception in most places on the West Coast,thanks to transmitters on the hills.
Click to expand...
Seems you are right, at least in Argyll. I was asking around and there is 3G from EE in the Lochgilphead area at least. I'm going to find out in a few days if it extends any way out into the watery bits on the nice side of the Mull.
 
Depends entirely on where you are. But if you depend on 3G for work or communication reasons, then there are LOTS of places on the West Coast where you'll be lucky to get a GSM signal, never mind 3G. I'd never rely on getting a signal on any particular network. And a lot of times - especially in sheltered anchorages - the signal is blocked by the hills that give the shelter. Bull Hole in the sound of Iona is like that; the only way of getting a signal is to climb a hill, which we once had to do to allow our crew to talk to his wife! There's also the issue that a lot of good anchorages aren't close to centres of population, so there's no incentive for mobile phone companies to improve their coverage.

FWIW, you may well find that you can get a signal on passage, but not in an anchorage. On the Clyde, for example, you can usually get a decent Vodafone signal anywhere off the coast between Cloch Light and Hunterston - but inshore (e.g. in Kip Marina) the signal is poor to non-existent. That is because the sea is nice and flat with line-of-sight to the transmitters, but the transmitters are widely spaced and things like the hill behind the Big Chimney at Kip block the transmissions.

To get the best of all worlds, an unlocked Mobile dongle with a selection of PAYG sims would seem like a good idea. But you have to accept that there are places - many of them popular anchorages - where you simply won't get a good signal.
 
ive always had orange /now EE , I had been led to believe that Vodaphone better for west coast , however through experience after buying payg sims for phones and I pad , as back up to orange , I wouldnt bother again , certainly vodaphone 3g was useless , and tethered to my orange mobile for much better 3g coverage and performance . vodaphone sim for calls filled in less holes than vice versa , ie Ive found Orange (ee ) far superior for calls and amazed at where I could get 3g , eg watching olympics going through dorus mhor !, even good 3g of south coast of Skye .ardnamurchan , and even muck .

other than these two I believe other networks on west coast a waste of time , especially 3 has very bad reputation , why else would they offer such good deals on handsets and call/data packages ( which you cant use ) , competition wont even match as service isnt remotely compatible . T mobile used to be almost as bad as 3 for coverage , but now under ownership of orange /ee share networks .

my orange works in all clyde marinas , only gaps from clyde to skye ive found , bits of the kyles of bute , craobh haven , but by office you can get signal , and craighouse on jura , mast on isla hidden by hill inbetween , orange even works in bottom of crinan canal locks ,
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Other threads that may be of interest

A
Finding crew
Replies
2
Views
263
Phil_boat
P

Share this page

Top