Best 4G in rural Scotland/Britain

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Im with Three (cheap data) and whenever I'm in a rural area and struggling for signal, other people are usually getting on fine. My partner seems to have good results with EE but does anyone have the hard data on an even better network? Thanks

 CantClimbTom 23 Oct 2022
In reply to purplemonkeyelephant:

Not tried Scotland yet, but England and Wales I once had 3 and rural signal wasn't great but worst was central city areas where signal strength was high but calls cut off every minute as the cells were hugely over subscribed. I switched to Giffgaff (which is based on O2) and found it much cheaper and as good as everyone else's for coverage/service.

Try asking about the 02 (and so Giffgaff) service and if that's good try Giffgaff 

 Phill_Away 23 Oct 2022
In reply to purplemonkeyelephant:

EE, in scotland, new masts going in all over as EE have the contract for ESN ( emergency services network) which means the whole road network needs coverage.  So very remote places covered now. 

BT own EE  so BT mobile is good and cheaper if you have BT landline/ broadband.

 Luke90 23 Oct 2022
In reply to purplemonkeyelephant:

Not specifically defending Three, because I don't think their coverage is great. But worth bearing in mind that your phone has an impact on the signal as well, so network isn't the only variable. If you're consistently struggling for signal more than other people, it could be your phone being naff rather than your network. But even if that's the case, you might still benefit from switching to a better network.

 midgen 23 Oct 2022
In reply to Phill_Away:

> EE, in scotland, new masts going in all over as EE have the contract for ESN ( emergency services network) which means the whole road network needs coverage.  So very remote places covered now. 

> BT own EE  so BT mobile is good and cheaper if you have BT landline/ broadband.

This. EE are the network to go for for remote areas. I have a very cheap BT SIM only deal with the discount you get for being a BT customer.

In reply to Phill_Away:

Do that mean 4G coverage will actually be better as well though? OP was asking about 4G. Providing a signal for emergency services contract is I guess is priority for voice and texts mainly?

A btw, I swapped from O2 network after a decade of use to EE network in August, and so far it is not as good as I expected*. My phone regularly swaps to 3G or less in places I’ve been going to for years, and a few spots are now no signal with EE. No hard data, just random observations from when I wanted a signal and wasn’t getting it. Generally though when signal is good EE for me has better download speeds than I was getting with O2 and I haven’t had any dropped calls (though I never did with O2 either).

* I trialled EE about 4 years ago with one of their free trial sims. Back then signal strength was much better than O2 and download speeds where in a different league. I generally thought EE had the better overall network in rural areas anyway.

I’m a bit disappointed since I swapped. Maybe I was expecting too much as the network will no doubt be far busier nowadays.

In reply to purplemonkeyelephant:

So I've checked the network websites. Three is offering 30Gb for £12.25 a month (24 months). 

EE has 25Gb plans starting at £21 (24 months).

This is how Three have kept me tied down for so many years 😑

 Ridge 23 Oct 2022
In reply to Climbing Pieman:

> Do that mean 4G coverage will actually be better as well though? OP was asking about 4G. Providing a signal for emergency services contract is I guess is priority for voice and texts mainly?

ESN (If it ever arrives) is reliant on 4G. It has to handle the emergency services' secure voice, data and real time video feeds etc. It should mean much improved 4G coverage, especially in remote areas and also where you wouldn't normally expect a signal (big road tunnels etc.).

 midgen 23 Oct 2022
In reply to purplemonkeyelephant:

Depends if you value having a signal in rural or mountainous areas I guess. We've run one Three and one EE sim between us for years and Three is absolutely useless away from urban areas in comparison.

 Phill_Away 23 Oct 2022
In reply to Ridge:

ESN masts tend to fall into two categories round us anyway in the west highlands, those with links to another mast and so the fibre internet which allow 4G, voice voice and data at a high rate, seen 100Mb and those very remote masts  linked by a satellite only, these show 4G but are low data rate and higher latency, when line of slight just is not possible,  example end of Glen Roy. 

 CLYoung 23 Oct 2022
In reply to purplemonkeyelephant:

You could go with one of the companies that use the EE network. If you go to the Money Saving Expert website and look for a cheap SIM only deal, it allows you to filter by network including companies that use a particular network. That shows quite a list for EE, including eg Plusnet offering 30GB a month for £12/month.

In reply to Ridge:

Thanks for that.

 CantClimbTom 23 Oct 2022
In reply to purplemonkeyelephant:

If EE network is better for you, use someone like Plusnet

If O2 network is better for you, use someone like Giffgaff 

Sim only... Shop around (on the same network infrastructure) you should be able to get comparably good or better deals with the best ones of the big networks directly, but with Zero tie in (or possibly a 30 day rolling contract depending on your choice). You pay the months network fee in advance and have no contractual tie in. So if during month 1, you find it was the wrong choice EE versus O2 or whatever, you don't have 23 months of regret (maybe just 30 days regret depends on your choice)

Post edited at 16:08
 Toccata 23 Oct 2022
In reply to purplemonkeyelephant:

For years in the White Peak the only signal we got was with EE. Today I walked up Seanna Braigh from Inverlael, which covers some pretty remote territory and had good 4G all the way (at least in the bits where I had my phone out). Curse them as most were work calls (does no one check you are on holiday these days?).

 skog 23 Oct 2022
In reply to purplemonkeyelephant:

> does anyone have the hard data on an even better network?

There's a map here if you want real data:

(Zoom out after entering a postcode)

https://checker.ofcom.org.uk/en-gb/mobile-coverage#pc=FK82PJ&uprn=12201...

As said by others, though, EE are definitely best for the Highlands in general. There are a few corners where Voda or O2 are best, but they're localised and probably irrelevant unless you live or work in one.

Post edited at 17:20
In reply to skog:

That map is great, really shows the difference. If I went with Plusnet who use the EE network, is there any difference at all, or is it simply a matter of price? 

 skog 23 Oct 2022
In reply to purplemonkeyelephant:

Same coverage; I use Plusnet personally and EE for work. Their service can vary for other reasons, but the signal will be the same.

In reply to purplemonkeyelephant:

> That map is great, really shows the difference. If I went with Plusnet who use the EE network, is there any difference at all, or is it simply a matter of price? 

There are differences, but whether they matter to you you’ll have to decide.

I’be never directly compared as Plusnet provide the things I wanted. You should therefore check the package and T&C for all the differences. A couple of differences though are Plusnet don’t have 5G access on EE’s network, nor get Wi-Fi calling. This could well change over time though. There may also be differences with roaming features and costs, and technical support.

https://www.expertreviews.co.uk/mobile-networks/1417100/plusnet-mobile-revi... . This is worth a read.

 Michael Hood 24 Oct 2022
In reply to Toccata:

> Curse them as most were work calls (does no one check you are on holiday these days?).

Try not answering work calls when you're on holiday 😁, if it's really important they'll bombarded you with messages and you can call back at your convenience.

Edit: don't just let them ring out, actually reject them; one of the main problems IMO with stuff like mobile phones is the expectation of 24x365 availability (not just work)

Post edited at 07:10
 LucaC 24 Oct 2022
In reply to purplemonkeyelephant:

EE feel expensive compared to others, but they do seem to have the best signal in remote places. For me, this is worth the premium. 

 Fiona Reid 24 Oct 2022
In reply to purplemonkeyelephant:

EE have 4 frequency bands available, Plusnet use only 3 of those. They don't use the 800MHz band (aka band 20). This is the one that travels further and thus most likely to improve coverage in rural areas.

Thus you won't get exactly the same coverage. Plusnet will be slightly inferior to EE. An example being in a rural area one person on EE had a connection both phone and internet and myself on Plusnet had nothing. 

1p Mobile uses all the same bands as EE but their deals aren't as good. 

Post edited at 09:01

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