Scots catching up on UK mobile use

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-scotland-busin...

The Scottish mobile market is catching up with the rest of the UK, with the proportion of people using smart phones to access the web growing from 31% to 44% in a year.

Not one mention about 2G/3G/4G coverage, or of the broadband rural divide.

But what do they use them for outside of Glasgow and Edinburgh? Coverage up in te Highlands is still abysmal even for voice.

The mobile operators should have been told - not 4G roll out until you have 99% landmass coverage for voice and 98% for 2G.

Correct me, but thought the Highlands only had about 50,000 residents, so statistically difficult to make an impact

The Highlands and Islands have a population of around 500,000.

But based on my statement a population of 1 or 1 million would be irrelevant. It is possible to drive 50 miles on major roads and have coverage for just two or three miles ... networks rarely overlap and there is no continuity on any network. Add in the Moray region - to the North of Aberdeen and the area become much much larger.

I know of many who are suffering with fixed 256k speeds or even dial up in some areas. The area needs decent mobile comms a lot more than the rest of the country needs 4G.

Found out where my 50,000 is from its the constituency area https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caithness,_Sutherland_...

Confirming MHC's contribution, my lady-wife and I travelled by WiFi-equipped coach from Inverkeithing Ferrytoll Park & Ride to Aviemore earlier this year; and I made the following observations, using my ASUS Eee Netbook.

"
WiFi and Internet
As most of the long-distance and medium-distance coaches in Scotland are WiFi/Internet equipped, I took the ASUS Netbook with me - �Research�!

The WiFi/Internet connection was reasonable up to about Kelty, resuming around Perth, Pitlochry and other similar places at that southerly stretch of the A9, followed by about 50 miles of No Contact.

It then resumed through each village area of Kingussie, Newtonmore and Aviemore. In each of those areas, various versions of BT predominated, around 50%, with SKY about 40%.

The WiFi within the coach was �Four Bars� out of five, so strong enough. Thus it is the external Internet connection via roving Mobile/Cell Phone connections that is troublesome or non-existent.

When working, using BT Wholesale Tester, the speeds ranged from 600 Kbps to 1.8 Mbps.

Hence decidedly slower than at home, 15 Mbps.

I could not get my e-mail Contacts List up at all; and predictive Addressing was very intermittent, so that I generally had to resort to REPLYing to earlier, un-associated messages.

Overall, I was not impressed, unlike my previous tests about 4 years back, Ferrytoll to Edinburgh.

Just north of Perth, I did manage to get Meteociel Satellite coverage and relate the cloud margin to what I saw up in the sky, the boundary between the sunny south (for us up here) to the cloudier north.

I also accessed FlightRadar24 briefly; and the London Underground Live Trains site.
"

Some years back, I travelled by bus from Inverkeithing P&R in to Edinburgh, with contact the whole way, including SKYPE and LogMeIn to my PCs at home, carrying out various actions remotely on them, eg uploading weather data from our garden Met Station and e-mailing it as an attachment to our son, using my now-defunct ACER 101 Netbook.

Interesting reactions from other passengers during the SKYPE contact with my lady-wife, as the TV sound could be heard quite loudly in the background.

Played about using Screen Capture at both ends of the LogMeIn link, as reasonable proof of my activity.

I was amazed at the quantity and strengths of WiFi circuits observed in the middle of the FORTH Road Bridge, bearing in mind the relative "remoteness" when at the middle of that structure.

Isn't that what satellite phones are for?

The BT Wholesale speed test is not designed and scaled to be used for general speed testing

Get a little further north towards Boat of Garten, Cromdale, Advie &c and everything disappears!

Unfortunately TBB and a few other "fancy" testers would not load up, although I would have preferred to use TBB.

Additionally, what Postcode would have been relevant, whether passing relatively slowly through villages which may have several postcodes along the length of their "High Streets"; or at around 60 MPH on the more open stretches, if contact was available?

Kingussie High Street is about half-a-mile long; and has about 8 Postcodes along that length.

The BTW Tester was the only one that would load and run with some degree of success.

In reply to a post by MrSaffron:

Found out where my 50,000 is from its the constituency area https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caithness,_Sutherland_...

Andrew, that's not the Highlands:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demography_of_Scotland...

See the pop, and then click to see the map.

If a generally factual person such as yourself erred on the side of 50K, it might go a long way to explain why as the map gets further North, the South of the country gets less and less informed. My Mum used to say that the average Englishman can find Glasgow and Edinburgh on a map, as long as you don't show any other points of reference.

Back on topic.

Where I live there's 2G and 3G, and I estimate that some of the Fife coastal areas (e.g. Burnt Island) can get Edinburgh's 4G, but it's a side effect, rather than purposeful, as there's 4G interference to freeview being reported.

You can look at the map yourself:

http://studio.orange.co.uk/coveragechecker/

Lots of whilte as you head into the North of England, and masses of white North of the central belt. Also some white in Wales. Where do the coverage decision maker reside?

That map is a little hopeful!

It claims 3G at my Scottish residence ... NO way. I cannot even get voice on Orange or Vodafone and O2 is there on a good day!

As for going over the Cabrach - that is laughable!

Andrew, that's not the Highlands

Have they not left yet ?

The Cabrach is one of those places that in the summer, a mobile phone is unecessary, as it's such a beautiful place. In the winter, only a numpty would go near the Cabrach, so again, not needed (if you're a local).

The house is at the end of the Cabrach!

But if you break down up there - even in Summer, you can wait an hour between cars coming past. But then there is teh Grouse Inn! enough malts there to keep Seb happy for a few weeks.

My dad broke down one time, probably not all that far from the Cabrach. He had some stalking rights up near Tillypronie. The weather was terrible, and he made the call to the AA, got a tractor to tow him to the nearest hotel, and sat in the dining room, watching the poor AA guy fixing the car, while he ate hot food, and toasted his tootsies at the log fire.

Sod.

But still not 500,000 more like 200,000 people which is very spare given the number of sq km's

I think the issue is more to do with profit potential per sq km than any perceived north south divide

In reply to a post by MrSaffron:

I think the issue is more to do with profit potential per sq km than any perceived north south divide

Well that's the bean counters' way of thinking. The gas and oil pipelines find their way South and to Europe from St Fergus, but the broadband and the roads to the North are less quick.

http://www.perthshireadvertiser.co.uk/perthshire-new...

While over in Cymru Twenty-three per cent of households in Wales are mobile-only, significantly more than the UK average of 15 per cent. because Openreach network, well realistically its not open for many and beyond reach for many more.

http://media.ofcom.org.uk/2013/08/01/wales-becoming-...

The pair had been warned that Scotland in March was a little early for camping, but they were determined to set out on their Scottish adventure.

Me and a mate tested out his new tent for a night in Huntly in April. One of the coldest nights ever.