Is there one that is generally better than the others? Wales in particular.

well I would say Orange apart from today as the network has crashed seemingly.

I live in S.Wales and to be fair it really varies where you are as I have had all of the main 4 networks over the past 5 years and they all suffer with coverage in remote areas.

If I'm going far off the beaten track I take 2 phones my contract orange and a pay as you go O2 that is always in the bottom of my camelbak just incase.

But you should never rely on a mobile phone to get you out of trouble as for sure the time you really need it there'll be no coverage – true 999 may still work

http://www.mobell.co.uk/products/satellite/rent/

The sat phone might well be essential in the Amazon, Mongolia, large parts of America and Canada, but is possibly a little over the top for the UK. And those call charges make premium rates on a normal mobi look reasonable!

decent coverage though!!

They're all pretty shite really. IME one will work fine enough on one hill, then will have no signal on the next.

Pick one, it'll be as good as the next

Vodafone is the best in the Scottish mountains, closely followed by O2. Forget the rest.

Mug a Policeman and steal his Airwave handset! Very few spots that aren't covered by them.

Asda mobile is on the vodafone network… Vodafone are the best i have found in scotland, i can only think of one place i don't get a signal… My local trail center car park!

I would say the opposite of onion. O2 best in scotland then vodafone. Not just being awkward, based on experience to date.

I travel all over Scotland, mountains, islands, remote coastal regions & I had Vodafone for years, I'm now with O2(coz I wanted an iphone) & can't tell the difference between the two.

I have heard that foriegn SIM cards will roam to find whichever operator has coverage. If this is true then a 15.00€ PAYG card from Spain will give you maximum coverage for minimum layout. I assume you're looking for a card for non 999 emergencies.

999 calls will route through any available network, in fact I don't think you even need a sim card installed.

Get an unlocked phone and a selection of PAYG sims from all the networks. Standard practice for anyone that spends a lot of time in the more remote parts of the UK.

Vodafone and O2 are pretty gash in Glencoe, but Orange works well.

O2 coveraged surprised me when I got my iPhone, much better than I expected. Get pretty good coverage in the North West. Only place I don't get a service is in Gisburn Forest but it's a dead spot for all networks.

Avoid T-Mobile like the plague, appalling coverage in my next of the woods.

from that Sat phone link up there

"You are used to making a call from just about anywhere, so travelling to an area outside of mobile phone coverage can be daunting…

🙄

I must have spent the first 40 years of my life daunted 😀

Does anyone use one of these (satellite messenger service) – for ~£120 -£170 + US$99 a year might be useful "insurance"

or the next version

I've found Orange generally the best in the Welsh hills. Def varies though and none are brilliant. The coverage guides are a waste of time too. Were you thinking of a particular region?

It was just a question I am thinking about as its time for an upgrade and was weighing up my options.

When I lived nr Caernarfon, I could only get Vodafone but that turned out to be poo in other areas of N. Wales. Still with vodafone now im in West Wiltshire and its really bad in my home – no coverage.

That aside, most of England has reasonable coverage from every network but I have found that the S. Wales trail centres to be dodgy for coverage and my frequent forays back to N. Wales keep me thinking that i need to switch from Vodafone.

I have drifted through every network and have stuck with Vodafone for the last 3 or 4 years now, they seemed to get the best results by and large in the Southern Highlands and Lake District.

Contract renewal time is coming up and I can't decide if I should try someone else again or just stick with them – I am now in the Lakes more than anywhere else (having moved down from Scotland)… not liking these new 2 year contracts that seem to be all the rage, I find the phones don't last much more than a year at the best of times!

I went with Vodafone 9 years ago because they had the best coverage in the peaks. Still seems to be one of the better ones out that way in my experience. Lets just hope the iphone release in a couple of weeks doesn't criple them.