Mobile coverage- Scotland west coast

E

Ex-SolentBoy

Well-Known Member
Joined
25 Nov 2006
Messages
4,294
Visit site
I currently am on O2 which I use for my phone and data communications via iPhone and iPad.

Can anyone please tell me what the coverage is like generally.
Is there 3G anywhere?
Would we be better off with another provider?

I know many sail to get away from phones, but for various reasons we pike to be contactable an online if possible.

Thanks
 
Mobile coverage in general, away from the east shore of the Clyde can be very patchy in my experience. I think Vodaphone might as good as any, better than Orange, don't know about O2.
3G on Vodaphone is available northwards of around Ardrossan, ie. in the Glasgow direction. I havn't found it elsewhere, but others might be luckier. I'll be interested to hear.
 
SolentBoy said:
I know times are tough, but would it help if us southerners were to send a little more money north of the border?:D
Click to expand...

As far as the phone networks are concerned, it'd be sending people north that would make a difference. Consumer surveys suggest that grouse are extremely reluctant to use mobile phones.

Then again, most visitors aren't attracted by the grandeur of mobile phone transmitters.
 
SolentBoy said:
I currently am on O2 which I use for my phone and data communications via iPhone and iPad.

Can anyone please tell me what the coverage is like generally.
Is there 3G anywhere?
Would we be better off with another provider?

I know many sail to get away from phones, but for various reasons we pike to be contactable an online if possible.

Thanks
Click to expand...

GPRS most places out in the open, especially near roads. 3G only near major centres of population. Coverage patchy to non-existent if you are in a snug anchorage.

Many years ago Vodafone and Cellnet (now O2) were involved in a project to provide GSM coverage for all trunk roads in Scotland, and you should still see the benefit of that, it's much better than some rural areas of England.
 
Vodafone Is Better and Out at Sea is Best

Clyde Areas and Oban Areas out at sea.

I am on O2 and coverage is rubbish. Friend is on Vodafone coverage is much better including 3G sometimes in both areas. Both of us have iPhones.

Vodafone would be your best bet. As others have said in close to land i.e. anchorages its quite poor, but at sea it is much better. Cellphone masts are quite visible out to sea being located at elevated positions. Some major road routes are coastal, hence the better coverage when out at sea.
 
.
Vodaphone is generally a bit better than O2, although O2 works close inshore in most areas. Off Barra only Orange will work. No significant 3G anywhere North of the Clyde on the West Coast AFAIK. We use a Vodaphone dongle for data if we have to.

Best bet is to have an unlocked phone and PAYG SIM cards from all three major providers.

- W
 
Orange has generally poor coverage except on some of the islands its the best, eg Eriskay.
Sticking to the O2 or Vodaphone network the best (cheapest) providers are Asda (runs on Vodaphone network, and GiffGaff, runs on O2 network)
 
webcraft said:
.
Vodaphone is generally a bit better than O2, although O2 works close inshore in most areas. Off Barra only Orange will work. No significant 3G anywhere North of the Clyde on the West Coast AFAIK. We use a Vodaphone dongle for data if we have to.
Click to expand...

Worth remembering, perhaps, that 3 phones roam on to Orange 2G and that Orange and T-mobile have now combined their networks.
 
Agree with most of what's been said - patchy, with Vodafone best. That said if moving most days you will generally be able to connect to the internet and get weather / email a few times in the day - from the Clyde to Skye. 90%+ of the time when cruising up the West Coast we get the Met and other forecasts only over the internet. I find the CG's broadcasts can be very drawn out, also only good for 48 hours which is not great for planning ahead.
 
fmoran said:
Agree with most of what's been said - patchy, with Vodafone best. That said if moving most days you will generally be able to connect to the internet and get weather / email a few times in the day - from the Clyde to Skye. 90%+ of the time when cruising up the West Coast we get the Met and other forecasts only over the internet. I find the CG's broadcasts can be very drawn out, also only good for 48 hours which is not great for planning ahead.
Click to expand...

Thanks everyone.

I think I will get someone in the office to text me the inshore forecast several times a day just to be on the safe side.
 
We sailed the Outer Hebrides last year, after almost three years away from the west coast (the boat all the time, us some of the time). We were a bit dismayed that mobile phone coverage had not noticeably improved. We are on vodafone and as others have said, this is probably the network with the best coverage.

In the gales experienced last year, holed up in remote anchorages and quite often unable to get ashore, we mostly failed to hear the coastguard on VHF, get navtex on our WIBE receiver, or connect to GPRS, let alone 3G. Only the shipping forecast on R4 long wave was any use in these circumstances, but it's a bit general for an "inshore waters" situation.

If we don't go south this summer and decide to sail to the remoter and most attractive parts of the west coast, we have come around to thinking that it's not overkill take our sat phone with us. We happen to have one, but I'm not sure if I would invest in one for a single summer cruise up here.

Good luck with the weather. If you can stay on the move, no problem.
 
Things do change over time. 3 years ago I had no O2 signal from about half way up the East Kyle so I got a Vodaphone sim to use up there. Last year I had no problem with O2 at all, and I did keep switching the phone on to check :)

The Coast Guard broadcast the inshore forecast on VHF slow enough for me to write it down so you should be OK there.

I've no experience with data or 3G.
 
Agree that vodafone is best, have spent some annoying times when in vhf shadows trying to get internet forecasts with phone held against backstay which seems to improve reception.
Always worth carrying a few metmaps printouts. Always an interesting exercise and a nice thing to practise in a secluded anchorage in the outer hebrides
 
Sadlermike said:
NAVTEX coverage has improved out of previous recognition and there are few days when I cannot get an inshore forecast on the west coast.

If all else fails, the Radio 4 0525 inshore forecast and the Radio Scotland 1904forecast can usually be obtained.
Click to expand...

0525???? Are you serious ? That's not my idea of a holiday.:o
 
Inshore waters forecast

It's my experience that the inshore waters forecast is of pretty limited use. There are so many micro climates along the length of the western seaboard of Scotland, that to give one forecast covering an area for example from the Mull of Kintyre to Ardnamurchan Point, is just a nonsense. In my area,(around Port Appin), from most wind directions, the wind will be much lighter than forecast except from the North East, when it will be much stronger. We only pay close attention when strengths of force 9 and above are mentioned and also winds from the NE of force 5 and over.
CJ
 
Ceejay said:
It's my experience that the inshore waters forecast is of pretty limited use. There are so many micro climates along the length of the western seaboard of Scotland, that to give one forecast covering an area for example from the Mull of Kintyre to Ardnamurchan Point, is just a nonsense. In my area,(around Port Appin), from most wind directions, the wind will be much lighter than forecast except from the North East, when it will be much stronger. We only pay close attention when strengths of force 9 and above are mentioned and also winds from the NE of force 5 and over.
CJ
Click to expand...

I find the Inshore Forecast to be a great help, and to be generally accurate. Obviously you have to use the information given, and apply it to the area that you are in. It would seem fairly predictable that at Port Appin, where you are pretty much up a creek, you would only expect to get the full forecast strengths in the exposed directions; namely NE and SW, particularly from the NE when it will funnel down the length of Loch Linne. You can hardly expect a forecast just for your particular neck of the woods.

In general, Vodafone is best, some service with O2, and Barra has only Orange. If you are prepared to go up a hill you will often get a signal, which may be unavailable at sealevel, in an anchorage.

Navtex is now good, since they started transmitting from Malin Head as well as Portpatrick. I don't know what is likely to happen to the Coastguard VHF forecasts after the proposed changes.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Share this page

Top