2G for emergency in remote areas

[#1]

I have read that a 2G 900MHz signal can have the best chance of being received by the emegency services when you are calling from a remote (e.g. UK mountainous) area. Is this correct and do Plusnet use this band?

[#2]

Hi Pat100,

Only Vodafone and O2 have spectrum allocated in the 900MHz band.

So only those two Mobile Network Operators (MNO) and their resellers Mobile Virtual Network Operators (MVNO) provide a 2G 900 MHz signal.

Plusnet mobile is an MVNO operating on the EE MNO, so does not support 2G on 900MHz.

The EE 2G signals are on the 1800 MHz band.

As to whether 2G on 900 MHz gives better coverage in rural areas, it can but this is could be due to Vodafone and O2 leaving some rural area base stations/masts as 2G only. There are two base stations local to me that are 2G only.  Neither cover a main road or a town so were omitted when Vodafone rolled out 3G and 4G coverage a few years ago.

Regards

Richard

[#3]

For the benefit of others, Richard's answer is correct as far as 2G & 3G use is concerned. It's only partly correct in the 4G arena.

EE as a network operator, have 4G service on 800Mhz, and this is extensively used in parts of the UK for extending coverage in rural and remote areas. EE have coverage obligations under the ESN (Emergency Services Network) contract, and 800Mhz coverage is a key part of this.

This 800Mhz EE coverage is 4G-only, and is reliant on VoLTE/4G-calling to work - it's currently only available to EE & BT-Mobile pay-monthly customers.

EE do have many radio sites that only provide coverage on this band, and don't have 2G or 3G service. The low-frequency 800Mhz & 900MHz bands are ideally suited to low-demand, indoor and rural areas, and EE's 800Mhz service substantially reflects this.

[#4]

I did not attempt to describe EE's 800MHz 4G signal and coverage as it not available for most of EE's MVNO's including Plusnet mobile.

[#5]

Thanks for taking the time to provide me with that information, guys. Accepting that there are many variables, can I twist your arms and ask, generalising, if I needed to send a) a voice call to 999 or b) an emergency SMS message to 999 from a remote area, would using either o2 or Vodafone give me a better chance of success than other mobile operators. I am guessing that frequency trumps generation technology.

[#6]

Of course you can ask...

I'd say that is far too bland a statement.

What will ultimately give you the best chance of having coverage is by having a radio site closest to you. It is true that lower-band frequencies are better at "range" but that's not to say it's that simple - just that they generally cover more area. There are many other considerations in "best".

Let's say that you're in a rural area where O2/VF's nearest mast is 10 miles away but EE have one only 2 miles away, then that closer distance will more than compensate for the (potential) difference in frequency range.

I could go into a lot more detail around radio planning and coverage techniques, but that would be way-OT for this forum. If rural coverage is big concern to you, then you need to be comparing with a 4G-service from EE-direct.

One fair comment would be that O2 & VF don't have some of the techical restrictions that have led to EE's 800Mhz coverage needing to be restricted. In other words, an EE PAYM customer with access to 800Mhz coverage, can get better coverage than a PN customer without it - that situation generally doesn't exist on O2 or VF. But the reasons for that, are complicated.

[#7]

At the risk of causing eye-rolling and sighing:
Hypothetically:
I standing on a mountain 20 miles distant from two hypothetical masts, an EE one and an o2 one each of which covers the operators full band range.
My dual-SIM phone hypothetically functions identically using either its Plusnet or its Giffgaff SIM. They must be switched in manually and exclusively.
I want to voice-call 999 or, failing that, send an emergency SMS message (I’m registered for these) to 999.
Which SIM has the greatest probability of successfully making contact?
(The emergency SMS message cannot be answered.)
My hypothetical battery is on its last legs and will probably only last for one call.
The mountain top has no WiFi.
My beer supply is running low.

[#8]

Just reading this, if you are concerned about accessing 999 and 112, I don't believe it matters whose sim is in the phone as long as it has one, even if it does not have any credit. A call to 999 or 112 will use any means available to connect using any band the phone supports and any network it can find by a method called camping-on if the home network fails. But you can not receive a call back if your phone is camped-on. And yes, a 999 call will drop someone else's normal connection if the cell is at capacity.

The problem is, Network providers often share the same sites and provide similar coverage that is based on % of population.

So you don't find cells where no one lives. Like our village!

If you are big at being in the middle of nowhere and safety is an issue, then get Spot or a 406PLB.

I hope this help.