Country phone signal
Submitted: Sunday, Feb 03, 2013 at 15:43
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sam d47
Hi everyone,
I was camping a little while ago with a mate on a station near
Balranald (NSW) where we were told there would be absolutely no issue getting a mobile phone signal. My iPhone is with Optus and my mate's old Nokia is with Telstra. The station owner's are with Telstra and get a signal anywhere on the property.
My Optus iPhone had an 'SOS Only' signal everywhere on the property (which is all I need) so this led me to believe that there was a Telstra signal available everywhere and no Optus signal.
However, my mate who is with Telstra could not get a signal anywhere on the property! Even when we drove into the nearby small (very, very small) town where the phone tower was, he still couldn't get a signal (we got within 10 metres of the phone tower). There was no 'SOS' signal... nothing at all. But it picked up a signal fine when we headed back
home through the next larger town...
Is there something I should be aware of when looking for a phone signal in the outback? Is there sometimes a different type of signal that they use that requires a different kind of phone or for me to change the settings on my phone?
Normally I wouldn't take my Optus phone and would just rely on my mate's Telstra phone but I wouldnt want to be in that situation again where there is a signal available but his phone wont pick it up at all...
Could someone please shed some light on this issue for me?
Thanks,
Sam.
Reply By: Ross M - Sunday, Feb 03, 2013 at 23:27
Sunday, Feb 03, 2013 at 23:27
Sam
Quite often you won't get an Optus signal in lots of
places where Telstra usually works.
Think about this. If someone is using a spotlight and shining it down the road, but you are lying at their feet, not much light, if any, is going to be shining on you, so closeness may be good for personal relationships but no good at all with radio reception, the black spot you are seeing may be the ditch you are going to walk into when using the spotlight.
Phones a bit safer you just don't fall in.
AnswerID:
504032
Reply By: On Patrol & TONI - Monday, Feb 04, 2013 at 08:00
Monday, Feb 04, 2013 at 08:00
Sam if you travel with Telstra 3G or greater it will give you coverage at all sorts of
places &/or communities. If you want total coverage then your only option is a Sat. Phone.
I have just returned from a round Aust. trip, we had little or no coverage between population/community locations. Near these centres we had quite good service, both data & phone. I was impressed with coverage. No other provider can match this at the moment.
Others have mentioned signal "aiming" this is so true, I was next to a
Telstra tower in the
Flinders Ranges with no signal, I walked around to the front (signal direction) & had full service.
HF radio will also give you wide coverage & should not be dismissed.
AnswerID:
504039
Reply By: sam d47 - Monday, Feb 04, 2013 at 15:48
Monday, Feb 04, 2013 at 15:48
Thanks for the replies.
Sorry if I didn't word my question very
well initially. I am not asking why I couldn't get Optus coverage, that is obvious. I was mentioning my Optus phone to prove that there was a phone signal out there (not from Optus) because it had an SOS signal. So we weren't in a black spot and I don't care that I couldn't get an Optus signal.
I did try rebooting the phone multiple times but that didn't work. I also tried searching for networks in the settings of the phone. This didn't work.
I was looking for an answer more along the lines of what frequency band country networks (Telstra) use and maybe this isn't compatible with that phone... A couple of answers hinted at that in terms of the next g network. Does anyone know what frequency that is? Is that the most commonly used in outback areas?
AnswerID:
504067
Follow Up By: rocco2010 - Monday, Feb 04, 2013 at 18:06
Monday, Feb 04, 2013 at 18:06
Gidday
Was it a blue tick phone (see above abouit phones suitable for use outside cities)? my old samsung will get a telstra signal in
places where a modern smart phone is dead.
Cheers
FollowupID:
780848
Follow Up By: mikehzz - Monday, Feb 04, 2013 at 20:16
Monday, Feb 04, 2013 at 20:16
From Whirlpool.....
2G
2G, other wise known as GSM, is standard on almost all phones (except CDMA phones in the USA). Most new phones come with quad band GSM support. A quad band GSM phone supports 850, 900, 1800, and 1900MHz.
2G is old technology and provides a fall back position when 3G coverage is unavailable.
Australian 2G bands:
900Mhz (Telstra, Optus & Vodafone)
1800Mhz (Telstra, Optus & Vodafone)
3G
There are several 3G networks operating in Australia. 3G frequencies are usually specified as UMTS/HSDPA or WCDMA frequencies on the mobile phone specifications.
Australian 3G bands:
850MHz (Telstra, Vodafone) – Exclusive 3G band
900MHz (Optus, Vodafone) – available in most metro areas on Optus, with both Optus and Vodafone re-farming the 2G 900 spectrum in regional and rural areas
2100MHz (Telstra, Optus, Vodafone) – Exclusive 3G band
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Follow Up By: get outmore - Tuesday, Feb 05, 2013 at 05:14
Tuesday, Feb 05, 2013 at 05:14
YEP pretty simple answer - your mates phone isnt next G capable
I made that mistake a few months ago and bought a second hand motorola defy which I assumed were all next G capable
- it worked great in
perth getting on the internet no probloems etc
as soon as I stepped off the plane at work which only has a next G tower it couldnt get a peep
the defy i got could get onto 2G and 3G but had no next G capability
this was proven to me when telstra sent me out a letter saying my sim had been detected using the 3G network and warning me the network was due to be shut down soon
FollowupID:
780890
Reply By: Member - John and Val - Tuesday, Feb 05, 2013 at 08:36
Tuesday, Feb 05, 2013 at 08:36
There is a very good article
here explaining the differences between 2G, 3G, Next G....
Much simplified -
The original analogue network is considered first generation phone technology. The first digital is second generation, or 2G technology. The next wave of technology is 3G and provides much faster data rates. Having many more towers it is said to reach 99% of households, though it covers only 28% of the country's area. It delivers data speeds of about 0.5 to 20 Mb/s and mostly operates in the 2100 Mhz region. Telstra has also an enhanced 3G system branded as Next G, which operates in the 850 Mhz band and has roughly double the speed of the straight 3G service. Next G phones can use both the 2100 and 850 Mhz systems, whichever is available. Right now, Next G is the pick for travelers, especially those who leave the bitumen....but of course 4G is being introduced, and who knows after that!
Cheers
John | J and V
"Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted."
- Albert Einstein
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