Will it work here?

Being able to use your mobile phone depends on it receiving signal from your network. It is not possible to use a different home network, even to make an emergency call (even though your phone's handbook may tell you it is!).

Visitors to the UK can use any network their home network has a roaming agreement with.

Indoor or outdoor?

The networks estimate coverage on the basis that you will be outdoors when you use your mobile. Many people want to use them indoors, and so in-building coverage matters. The two frequencies used by GSM mobile networks each have their advantages and disadvantages, and it is not true to say that one frequency is better than the other for in-building signal. Some buildings let 900 in better than 1800, and others are the opposite.

Which network has the best Coverage?

Each of the networks have the best coverage in some places, and each of them has the worst coverage in other places. Anyone who unconditionally tells you that network x is the best everywhere is trying to fool you!

As more and more people use mobile phones, the networks are building more bases, and coverage improves all the time. Most of the time, all the networks' coverage is easily good enough for most people.

Coverage maps

Click the network name heading to go to that network's coverage page.

The UK networks are listed in alphabetical order. Note that by creative use of colours, the networks (with the notable exception of Orange) shade their planned or marginal coverage areas in a darker colour than existing coverage to give an impression of more coverage than there is.

3 (three)

3 is is a UMTS (3G) network which is building base stations across the country, but does not yet have national 3G coverage (they call it "Video coverage"). A condition of the licence for this new entrant to the market was that their users should be able to use an existing mobile network. 3 has an arrangement for users to use the O₂ network, so the coverage for voice calls is as that of O₂ (see below). The 3 coverage checker shows both voice and video coverage.

O₂

O₂ have a superb web page at http://www.webmap.o2.co.uk/ that allows you to check the coverage in any given postcode area, showing coverage on a zoomable map, which also shows the cell sites. It tells you about the cell, and gives any planned maintenance downtime information, details of where planned cells will be installed, and shows GPRS coverage. A must for base-station spotters!

O₂ mostly uses GSM 900 but also uses 1800MHz frequencies to increase capacity.

T-Mobile

T-Mobile is a GSM 1800 network. They are now catching up with their competitors, but their coverage area is not quite as wide as that of the others.

Orange

Orange has had a policy of installing many more base stations than its rivals, and uses GSM 1800. Although offering not quite as widespread coverage as Vodafone, they are catching up fast, and the solidity of coverage seems excellent.

Vodafone

Vodafone has always been the leader in terms of UK subscriber numbers, and has consistently been in the lead two in terms of coverage. The Vodafone GSM network is mostly 900MHz, they do have some 1800MHz bases.

Despite being in the lead for coverage, their painfully slow web site makes it hard to find their coverage map, but it is possible!. Vodafone Coverage Map

Sitefinder

There is a government web site at http://www.sitefinder.radio.gov.uk/ which allows you to search by location, see where there are mobile base stations, and get details of the signals from each. Unfortunately, the maps are difficult to use.

You have to zoom in close to see where bases are, and you can't easily find them like that. The base stations are not colour-coded to show which networks they serve. In practice, it is easiest to find the locations by another means, then look them up on the Sitefinder site to see the details. Don't expect too much precision: some of the Sitefinder marks are several hundred metres away from where they should be.

In addition, the information is presented in an odd way. For each cell, the power output is shown in terms of the power level that would be needed to provide the signal level if it were covering a 360 degree circle. This means that it seems to overstate the power of a typical 3-cell base by a factor of 200%.

Despite these limitations (which could easily be addressed, given the will) it is a very useful resource. Perhaps they should ask the developers of the O₂ coverage maps to assist?

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