Mobile Phone Coverage

Out of personal choice I tend to walk / letterbox on the moor alone.

For safety sake I always carry my trusty O2 mobile phone which I of course can use in the case of an emergency.

However, I am fast coming to the conclusion that I may as well be carrying two tin cans and a very long ball of string! I certainly would have a greater chance of speaking to someone at the other end.

Can someone please tell me the network(s) that work better on the various areas moor before I am forced to set out to buy the string.

Sadly I have found the same, but as I too walk on my own, I carry 3 fully charged phones - one on Vodaphone, one on O2 and one on Orange (Orange works well North moors). I also carry a spare sim card on T Mobile. My vodaphone one is on a contract, but the other 3 are PAYG in cheap £9.99 phones. Best to carry them all to be on the safe side. Of course if you fall in a valleywith no signal then ......

Ever since I had my accident I have posed this coverage question to most of the phone sellers and not yet received a definitive answer or guarentee that 'their' phones will do the job.
I was told that there is a way on the internet to distiguish the coverage areas by most phone companies but had no luck to date.
I will await the resposes in eager anticipation - more so as I want a more modern phone now.

The general view of about five years ago, when I had some links to the industry, were that o2 had about the best coverage throughout the uk.

But on Dartmoor there are, and probably always will be, very lage areas uncovered by any mobile signal because, well, there ain't no masts nor enough population to warrant them. (And people like me would probably object if they did start planting them everywhere!)

Satphones are falling in price all the time - a quick google shows you can get one, with a package, for under 550 american dollars (a search on a uk site shows them at around £700) and while it is much bigger than a mobile, possibly smaller than three mobiles?

Personally, and you may well put these words on my gravestone, part of Dartmoor's appeal is that it's still dangerous at times. Most of my life is cossetted and protected by legislation and cotton wool and to get out on the moor where there are real risks without signing and guarding and hazard tape is a refreshing change - and I'm not even an adrenaline junkie!

But... I do carry a phone because, well, I'm not an idiot

I am on Virgin, and generally not had many problems with connectivity on the moors, and recently Virgin also connects to the Orange network. Ironically it was the lack of Orange coverage in the southwest that prompted me to move Virgin
But having said all that all todays phones should connect 999 call to any available network.
Having said all that - there are spots on the moor that has no coverage, but moving around a bit by a few feet can get a signal

I have/use a dog with a barrel of brandy around his neck, and just in case it all goes COMPLETELY PETE TONG a revolver with two rounds in it! (sorry Reg your coming with me!)
Best thing about the moor?...... no signal SO nobody can tell you to rush home coz the kitchen tap has started to drip etc.
Best advice/ TAKE CARE (FAILING TO PRE-PAIR is PRE-PAIRING TO FAIL?)
I am with you Dartymoor lets live a little?

3 mobile phones?
You must be the walkers I run past with the huge rucsacs and the bad knees

foxy wrote:3 mobile phones?
You must be the walkers I run past with the huge rucsacs and the bad knees

Not so, they are tiny cheapo ones - 2.1/2" x 1.1/2", lighter than your average GPS. BTW I don't have them switched on, so as you say Reg, peace and quiet and no iritating phone calls. Emergency use only - oh and when I get back to the car, ring home to say I am safely off the moor.

Foxy, do you still have one of those 'brick' phones then

Nope. It won't fit in my bum bag once I've got a banana and my windproof in there.

Whilst I agree totally about the appeal of the moor, taking care and preparing thoroughly before setting out, accidents do happen and by their very nature they tend to be unforeseen.

In those circumstances I would like to think that, if I was in a position to do so, I could summon help either for myself or someone else or even report the finding a man with an empty revolver together with a large hound with a barrel of brandy around it's neck. Like the SS I also like to try to phone home when I come off the moor.

If you don't want to be contacted whilst on the moor keep your phone turned off. Having it with you though is surely a sensible precaution and an attempt to minimise the risk when walking alone.

Before I invest in my large ball of string I would still like to hear your experiences of mobile phone networks that work better in the NSWE and middle of the moor.

If I WAS to empty the revolver I would empty the barrel FIRST! Hic.
Still have me phone turned off though.

Sense prevails eh?

Damn I was looking forward to that brandy.

Best carry 2 bottles then Reg just in case the pair of you meet up in and fall in a hole .

As an exercise, next time I go out will test all sims - next trip probably up to Ter Hill, then have to go along the Ring road up Okehampton. Another test on the GSD walk Great Links, Ryders Hill etc...

Perhaps others could do the same when they go to a different area and post their findings to help others.

Sowerby Streaker wrote:
Perhaps others could do the same when they go to a different area and post their findings to help others.

I think that would be a really good idea, I will do the same, only have a vodafone phone though. If enough people did it I think it would be simple enough to bulid a map with the coverage for each mobile service provider for each each grid square.

Orange/ T mobile are good on the northern moor hill tops, not bad in valleys but a few weak spots in shadow of hills.

[quote="Sowerby Streaker"] Best carry 2 bottles then Reg just in case the pair of you meet up in and fall in a hole .

BETTER PUT ANOTHER BULLET IN THE GUN TO? Wouldn't want anybody feeling left out?

Being well prepared I always wear my bulletproof vest on the moor. You never know who you will meet! Try and make it a decent brandy.

More of a Single Malt person myself.
How about a nice 15 year old Speyside?........... and a HEADSHOT?

You should have no problem recognising me on the moor - I am the person carrying a rather large white flag! Oh and just to be sure, a rather good bottle of single malt together with a generous supply of dog biscuits.

With all this talk of whiskey and guns you're making Dartmoor sound like the wild west
Hope you're a fast runner KK

Not really. But as I see it I only have to be faster than Reg's master and oh yes be able to dodge a bullet!

I would phone for help but as we know, it is unlikely that I would find anyone to chat to!!

You MIGHT be able to outrun me but don't think you would be able to outrun Reg? He can get a bit of speed up which is surprising for an eleven and a half stone DOG! I saw him chase down a red dear once in Gorton Woods. (Even the dear was surprised!) and if he catches you?..............
HE'LL SLOBBER ALL OVER YER.............. YUK!

There is something truly special seeing a big dog running at speed. A wonderful and memorable sight.

Anyway enough of that. Full waterproofs it is then and of course Reg will be bringing the brandy directly to me away from his master (unless you can outrun him). Just need to dodge the bullet now!!

White flag lowered.

Yes you will be safe enough. I am a crap shot.

We moved a bit away from my original post!

Any information would be most helpful and would assist both myself and others.

Well, in summary, you won't get mobile signal everywhere on dartmoor.

o2 have (probably) the best coverage. Not enough? Carry another PAYG sim with a few quid on it from another provider (but not one that shares masts, not a lot of point). Even several PAYG sims don't add any weight - but read the T&C's, most get suspended if they're not used for X months. (They may still provide emergency cover, but you should get that if you can pick up another provider's signal anyway)

If you want 99% cover, satellite phone is the only real answer.

you don't need a SIM card for emergency calls

Nik - be interested in any reasonably reliable source for that. I've looked and seem to be finding two stories - one what you say, and one saying that the gsm standard that allows sim-free emergency calls is disabled in the uk unless your phone is active on a network.

I've also found some info that says some phones will only work with the 911 or even 112 emergency numbers, not 999 - useful to know if that's the case!

Also I know phones display the "Emergency calls only" message without a sim, but also without any signal at all, so it's clearly not a checked service from the phone's end.

I wouldn't want to rely on my phone working without a sim without having tested it, but how do you test it without abusing the service?

I do know all UK phones can dial 999/911/112 even if they are locked, but as most UK phones are sold with a SIM card anyway I can't see a problem