Mobile Phones
It is now quite common for Scouts and the older sections to have their own cellular mobile telephone. Such technology is also appearing to be used by the Cub Scout sections.
The availability of good service coverage in urban areas can lead to a false sense of security. Loss of service in rural areas can come as a surprise leaving the user helpless to know the best things to do to obtain service again.
Outdoor Scouting enjoys the wilderness and hence can find that mobile telephony service is not available. Loss of data service on a smartphone can also affect other applications, including mapping.
Mobile phone operators tend to concentrate on population areas as these provide the best commercial return. Government contractual requirements frequently refer to percentage coverage of population, not land area. Sparsely populated areas therefore tend to have the oldest technology, e.g. 2G or 3G, if indeed they provide any service at all. The rollout of 4G and the 5G services seems unlikely to improve this situation (the addition of a new band at 700 MHz introduced in 2021 should hopefully change this). Recent reports suggest that the government is committed to providing better rural coverage, although it will require extensive investment to provide good coverage in sparsely populated areas.
Many people realise that a mobile phone relies on the thousands of phone masts scattered across the country. What is less well known is how the phone 'talks' with these masts, both while idle and when in conversation.
A mobile phone 'listens' to the masts within range and keeps a note of what they are. The phone will automatically select an appropriate mast to use, even during a conversation. The phone will check recently observed masts if service is lost. However, if this is unsuccessful the phone will start to search the radio bands allocated to mobile telephony looking for other masts.
This process takes time as the phone is checking hundreds of radio channels looking for its own network. Therefore, it is no good waving a phone around when service has been lost. It is better to keep it in one position for a while, then move it and try again if unsuccessful.
Absence of mobile phone service is not always due to the absence of a signal or a network fault. Radio interference, either from faulty equipment or intentional jamming can stop the phone from seeing the network signal.
Several things can be done to improve signal reception:
Text messages can sometimes be sent in poor signal areas even when a voice call (or internet based communication) is not possible. Texting is also useful if you are unable to use speech. Please see: www.avonandsomerset.police.uk/contact/british-sign-language-bsl/emergency-sms-service-for-deaf-deafened-hard-of-hearing-and-speech-impaired-people/
The mobile phone needs to be registered before using this service.
Emergency voice calls or text messages to 999 or 112.
The mobile phone will generally only use a service provided by its own registered network, e.g. O2, EE, Vodafone, 3, etc. It will display an absence of service if it cannot find its own network.
However, 112 and 999 calls / texts are permitted to use any network, as are phones with no call credit. So, it is still worth trying to make an emergency call even if the phone is displaying no service.
Try a text message if a voice call is unsuccessful.
More information and some useful advice can also be found at:
www.ramblers.org.uk/go-walking/group-finder/areas/devon/care-on-the-hill.aspx
It is now quite common for Scouts and the older sections to have their own cellular mobile telephone. Such technology is also appearing to be used by the Cub Scout sections.
The availability of good service coverage in urban areas can lead to a false sense of security. Loss of service in rural areas can come as a surprise leaving the user helpless to know the best things to do to obtain service again.
Outdoor Scouting enjoys the wilderness and hence can find that mobile telephony service is not available. Loss of data service on a smartphone can also affect other applications, including mapping.
Mobile phone operators tend to concentrate on population areas as these provide the best commercial return. Government contractual requirements frequently refer to percentage coverage of population, not land area. Sparsely populated areas therefore tend to have the oldest technology, e.g. 2G or 3G, if indeed they provide any service at all. The rollout of 4G and the 5G services seems unlikely to improve this situation (the addition of a new band at 700 MHz introduced in 2021 should hopefully change this). Recent reports suggest that the government is committed to providing better rural coverage, although it will require extensive investment to provide good coverage in sparsely populated areas.
Many people realise that a mobile phone relies on the thousands of phone masts scattered across the country. What is less well known is how the phone 'talks' with these masts, both while idle and when in conversation.
A mobile phone 'listens' to the masts within range and keeps a note of what they are. The phone will automatically select an appropriate mast to use, even during a conversation. The phone will check recently observed masts if service is lost. However, if this is unsuccessful the phone will start to search the radio bands allocated to mobile telephony looking for other masts.
This process takes time as the phone is checking hundreds of radio channels looking for its own network. Therefore, it is no good waving a phone around when service has been lost. It is better to keep it in one position for a while, then move it and try again if unsuccessful.
Absence of mobile phone service is not always due to the absence of a signal or a network fault. Radio interference, either from faulty equipment or intentional jamming can stop the phone from seeing the network signal.
Several things can be done to improve signal reception:
- Go to a high spot, or upstairs in a building
- Go near a window in a building (although some double glazing has an invisible metal film that can block radio signals)
- Hold the phone away from the face while talking, holding the phone by its edges so that its internal aerials are not covered by the hand. Mobile phone antennas can be anywhere in the phone, not necessarily at the top.
- Don't put a phone in a pocket or a bag containing metal objects as they are likely to reduce the performance of the internal aerials (antennas).
Text messages can sometimes be sent in poor signal areas even when a voice call (or internet based communication) is not possible. Texting is also useful if you are unable to use speech. Please see: www.avonandsomerset.police.uk/contact/british-sign-language-bsl/emergency-sms-service-for-deaf-deafened-hard-of-hearing-and-speech-impaired-people/
The mobile phone needs to be registered before using this service.
Emergency voice calls or text messages to 999 or 112.
The mobile phone will generally only use a service provided by its own registered network, e.g. O2, EE, Vodafone, 3, etc. It will display an absence of service if it cannot find its own network.
However, 112 and 999 calls / texts are permitted to use any network, as are phones with no call credit. So, it is still worth trying to make an emergency call even if the phone is displaying no service.
Try a text message if a voice call is unsuccessful.
More information and some useful advice can also be found at:
www.ramblers.org.uk/go-walking/group-finder/areas/devon/care-on-the-hill.aspx