Best mobile phone coverage for sailing around Britain.

[dunedin]

I guess there must be detailed advice though on web on providers in far flung parts of Scotland etc . Why not buy or rent a satellite phone ?

Sat phones are getting much cheaper. But an old mobile phone on a PAYG SIM and coverage of 2-3 different networks works for the vast majority of time and is much cheaper.

Also there is generally good signal when underway, it’s just when in a rock / hill bounded anchorage that the issue arises (and generally also no VHF reception there).
You get used to a procedure of shortly before arrival checking the weather forecast (and taking a screen shot on the mobile), and potentially sending a message to shore based family, before heading into the super sheltered and beautiful wild anchorage you have chosen.

The only real issue is if storm bound for a few days, how to find when weather is changing. And then it is normally just a hike ashore to the highest point to get the view and signal (we carry walking boots, poles and long light coloured trousers for walks ashore - the latter a tick defence).
If too wet for that, set mobile data hotspot on phone and hoist to masthead in waterproof case.

 

[sailingval]

We use Vodaphone on the west coast of Scotland but I believe EE would be the second choice. I may think of getting my husband a new phone on EE then that should cover most places or at least be as good as it will get.

 

[NormanS]

I have a cheap (£80) "phablet" with slots for two Sim cards. Generally find EE best, but there are anomalies.

 

[Sharky34]

This is a question that I thought would be done to death but I'm having trouble getting recent and reliable information and I don't trust the phone operators coverage maps.
Has anyone been around Britain recently? Did you use two phones from two different operators?

Most people do it in a boat, never had a phone big enough for a sail.

 

[jdc]

I have a Huawei MiFi 4G 'dongle' and hoist it up the mast in a plastic bag. The battery lasts a few hours and we get internet connectivity on board in many places where a phone at deck level can't see a signal. I've found Vodafone good for 2G voice but lousy for 4G data, and EE the exact opposite.

Probably best would be to buy your SIM card from abroad (not sure how you do this in these 'interesting' times! And one has always needed an address, however temporary / tenuous / fictional, in the country where one buys the PAYG SIM). The reason this being best is because we have many operators in this country, and the SIM from one operator usually won't work on other operator's networks whereas a foreign operator's SIM can use any network they've an agreement with, which is usually all of the UK ones. It's a slight compensation that we get the same advantage when abroad with a UK SIM card. It's a peculiar example where competitive forces lead to inferior commercial outcomes for the consumer when conventional economic wisdom says the opposite. Actually, not that peculiar I guess, gas bottle incompatibility is another example.

 

[Slowboat35]

I can't imagine there is anything to choose between any of them, on balance. They all offer identical technology and capability and most share antenna sites so coverage is often identical too.
What really does matter is the effectiveness of the antenna in the phone itself, a subject few know anyting about but as others have intimated above can make a huge difference to reception in marginal signal areas. Some phones are simply far more sensitive than others. How you find which is which I have no idea.
As an example I recently ecided to change my lovely Iphone4 that increasingly suffers from constructive obsolescence by app-designers and got a Samsung - not a cheap one. My signal at home is not great but always reliable but the Samsung barely got a useable signal at all. It went back and I still have the iphone working on 3 bars.
What I do find inexplicable is the absence of external high-gain antannae for phones which is easily achieveable, the coil inside a handset is so tiny, but there seem to be no credible ones nor a means of attaching them to the phone, and signal amplifiers are horribly costly and some claim illegal.

I still try to operate independant of - well - not entirely reliant on a mobile, or at least not inconvenienced too much without one. Basic skills are still needed.

 

[dutyhog]

I live by a west coast loch and get good 4G at home but as I drive alongside the loch for 10 miles towards the shops I would need O2, Vodafone and EE to get a signal - and there are still lots of dead spots. It improves when we get away from the shore with most providers. As well as that, the masts are often at the end of a long chain from population centres and are down during bad weather or any maintenance along the chain. We’ve had a total of four weeks without signals in 2020.

But how different now to going ashore, and walking miles to a midge infested red phone box.

 

[Thresher]

Thank you everyone.
I've got Vodafone and so will get EE as a backup.

And I think this:
set mobile data hotspot on phone and hoist to masthead in waterproof case.
Is an excellent idea.

 

[strannik]

Useful thread. Thanks!

 

[westhinder]

Thank you everyone.
I've got Vodafone and so will get EE as a backup.

And I think this:
set mobile data hotspot on phone and hoist to masthead in waterproof case.
Is an excellent idea.

When I did my trip I also had a WiFi antenna/booster that I could hoist aloft. That often enabled me to pick up open access WiFi from pubs or hotels. A useful addition to mobile reception in remote areas.

 

[dunedin]

And I think this:
set mobile data hotspot on phone and hoist to masthead in waterproof case.
Is an excellent idea.

Just remember to put on a good downhaul rope. The halyard is heavier than the phone

 

[richardsn9]

I can watch cat videos with impunity whilst others with later and flashier options fail to get a plain text email through.

I am intrigued? Are we talking Simon's Cat, catamarans or something altogether racier?

 

[AngusMcDoon]

I am intrigued? Are we talking Simon's Cat, catamarans or something altogether racier?

Yes.

 

[jdc]

Re cat videos, in addition to the dongle we also carry a printer/scanner aboard so I can 'work from home'. Full instructions here:

 

[Leighb]

Re cat videos, in addition to the dongle we also carry a printer/scanner aboard so I can 'work from home'. Full instructions here:

Love it ?

 

[Capt Popeye]

Yep some time ago now, whilst often working at EH Dover Castle my mobile connected, accross the Channel, to France

 

[Leighb]

Re cat videos, in addition to the dongle we also carry a printer/scanner aboard so I can 'work from home'. Full instructions here:

On a more serious note, does your printer have a rear paper feed also for heavier grades? Ours seems to occasionally insist on using that instead of the usual tray and obstinately says “No paper in Printer” , not too much of an issue if sitting next to it, but if using it remotely it is b***y annoying as it means going upstairs to check. If the error message at least said “No paper in rear tray” you would know what was the problem.

 

[Capt Popeye]

Worse than that, when I lived in Southsea, my phone often thought I was on the Isle of Wight.

You can but dream of the delights of Seaview but there a million miles between the two.

Well yes guess that there are many differences to overcome, eh ?
Language, time of day
Day of week, Month
Understanding

 

[SimonFa]

I've been retired a few of years but I don't think much has changed, so this is the state of the networks 4 years ago.

In theory EE will have the better coverage as they've been contracted to provide emergency services coverage so they've had to put coverage in to more remote areas, although the other networks generally follow suit.

I have 2 phones both for sailing and when we're "wild camping" in the motorhome. My main one is EE and my backup is PAYG on Vodaphone. Its important that if you do go for a backup that you choose EE and Vodafone/O2 or vice-versa. The reason for this is that EE/3 share masts whereas Vodafone/O2 actually share radio networks and they've split the country East/West, so in theory there should be no difference in coverage.

I've nothing against 3, my best mate was a strategy director there for a number of years and its well known in the industry their main target is the urban and suburban data market. I'd recommend them if you said you wanted to spend your time in cities.

 

[lustyd]

QuSpot with a RUT240 at the top of the mast, TSW100 for PoE down below (also serves your radar and MFDs for network switching). That'll get you much more reliable internet, which you can then use VOIP on top of for actual calling if you really feel the need for human contact. I get 15Mbps pretty consistently (although not yet up the mast!) but not been around the coast with it. I'm told it works up to about 20NM off shore by others who have this setup.

Oh and if you need different networks the other Teltonika kit has 2 sim slots and auto failover which can optionally be based on roaming charges