Hello
Guest

Sponsored Links


Topic: Scotland - Mobile Phones / Coverage  (Read 1345 times)

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

  • *
  • Posts: 5566

  • Liked: 0
  • Joined: Feb 2004
  • Location: SoCal
Scotland - Mobile Phones / Coverage
« on: June 01, 2006, 01:42:11 PM »
Can any of you folks up there recommend an inexpensive, pay-as-you-go mobile phone my folks can pick up in London or Edinburgh before they head off into the yonder?
They really only need it for a week (before I go up and have my phone with me) for emergency situations.
Everything I've looked at is about £60 just for the phone, not even looking at airtime, etc. yet.

Thank ye!
Hollywood, CA -> London, UK 2004
London, UK -> Long Beach, CA 2007

Best 3 1/2 years of my life!


  • *
  • *
  • *
  • Posts: 5656

  • Witchiepoo
  • Liked: 3
  • Joined: May 2003
  • Location: Hertfordshire, United Kingdom
Re: Scotland - Mobile Phones / Coverage
« Reply #1 on: June 01, 2006, 01:43:51 PM »
Have you checked with friends, particularly those with kids?  They might have an old one that they can lend you.
Insert wonderfully creative signature here …


  • *
  • Posts: 5566

  • Liked: 0
  • Joined: Feb 2004
  • Location: SoCal
Re: Scotland - Mobile Phones / Coverage
« Reply #2 on: June 01, 2006, 01:48:43 PM »
*smacks self on forehead*

I still have MY old phone!  Duh... thank you for reminding me!

Okay, then what I need is... a SIM card...
I really wonder if it's worth it for a week.

My dad just needs to not get lost ;)
Hollywood, CA -> London, UK 2004
London, UK -> Long Beach, CA 2007

Best 3 1/2 years of my life!


  • *
  • Posts: 3207

  • Does my bum look big in this?
  • Liked: 0
  • Joined: Dec 2004
  • Location: Scotland
Re: Scotland - Mobile Phones / Coverage
« Reply #3 on: June 01, 2006, 02:04:54 PM »
As I recall, sim cards are pretty cheap...maybe 10 pounds or so?  If I were there I'd let you have an orange sim for nothing...I got it back when they were giving them away for free and never used it!

Ooh, actually, just popped onto the carphonewarehouse site and it looks like you can pick up a Virgin Mobile payg sim for a fiver.  Probably worth it for peace of mind.  Don't know how the Virgin Mobile coverage is in Scotland, though...I assume it's ok, but I use O2.

Modified to add - it seems like sim cards usually come w/a wee bit of time on them, so if your dad isn't planning on making loads of phone calls you may not even need to buy any additional credit...
« Last Edit: June 01, 2006, 02:09:36 PM by crabbit.expat »
When I am grown-up I will understand how BEAUTIFUL it feels to administrate my life effectively.

Until then I will continue to TORCH all correspondence that bores me and to dance NAKED over the remnants of its still glowing embers.
 
    ~The Interesting Thoughts of Edward Monkton


  • *
  • Posts: 5566

  • Liked: 0
  • Joined: Feb 2004
  • Location: SoCal
Re: Scotland - Mobile Phones / Coverage
« Reply #4 on: June 01, 2006, 02:08:09 PM »
Thank you!
Hollywood, CA -> London, UK 2004
London, UK -> Long Beach, CA 2007

Best 3 1/2 years of my life!


  • *
  • *
  • *
  • Posts: 5656

  • Witchiepoo
  • Liked: 3
  • Joined: May 2003
  • Location: Hertfordshire, United Kingdom
Re: Scotland - Mobile Phones / Coverage
« Reply #5 on: June 01, 2006, 03:16:26 PM »
Last time I bought a SIM it was Virgin (PAYG).  £10 for the card with £5 free air time.  Might be worth a look.
Insert wonderfully creative signature here …


  • *
  • Banned
  • Posts: 6640

  • Big black panther stalking through the jungle!
  • Liked: 3
  • Joined: Feb 2005
  • Location: Norfolk, England
Re: Scotland - Mobile Phones / Coverage
« Reply #6 on: June 02, 2006, 09:52:34 AM »
Quote
Don't know how the Virgin Mobile coverage is in Scotland, though...I assume it's ok, but I use O2.

There is no Virgin Mobile network as such.  Ignoring the Johnny-Come-Lately 3G services which have yet to make any real impact outside the major urban corridors, there are only four GSM networks in the U.K.:

Vodafone
O2  (formerly BT Cellnet)
Orange
T-Mobile UK (formerly Mercury/Cable & Wireless One-2-One).

Any other VirginNet, AcmeNet, or whatever will actually operate on one of those four networks.   Vodafone and O2 tend to have the best overall coverage in more rural areas, as they're the longest established and also use GSM 900 & 1800 (Orange and T-Mobile are GSM 1800 only).

For what they're worth, you can see some rough coverage maps here:

http://www.gsmworld.com/roaming/gsminfo/cou_gb.shtml

There will be a lot of very localized variations though, especially in mountainous areas such as the Scottish Highlands.

From
Bar
To car
To
Gates ajar
Burma Shave

1941
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dreaming of one who truly is La plus belle pour aller danser.


  • *
  • Posts: 5566

  • Liked: 0
  • Joined: Feb 2004
  • Location: SoCal
Re: Scotland - Mobile Phones / Coverage
« Reply #7 on: June 02, 2006, 09:58:04 AM »
Thank you Paul (and Cait!).
Hollywood, CA -> London, UK 2004
London, UK -> Long Beach, CA 2007

Best 3 1/2 years of my life!


  • *
  • Posts: 178

  • Damn you vile woman!
  • Liked: 0
  • Joined: Jan 2006
  • Location: South Shields, UK
Re: Scotland - Mobile Phones / Coverage
« Reply #8 on: June 02, 2006, 12:19:10 PM »
I use Virgin as my phone provider, and when I initially bought the phone the documentation stated it used the T-Mobile network coverage.

Over the summer texts from virgin to virgin phones are free!
Money talks, but chocolate sings!


  • *
  • Posts: 4024

  • Liked: 0
  • Joined: Nov 2009
Re: Scotland - Mobile Phones / Coverage
« Reply #9 on: June 05, 2006, 11:40:46 AM »
I bought a new SIM card on Ebay for £1. 


  • *
  • Posts: 5566

  • Liked: 0
  • Joined: Feb 2004
  • Location: SoCal
Re: Scotland - Mobile Phones / Coverage
« Reply #10 on: June 05, 2006, 11:42:29 AM »
Thanks for all the input!

Turns out they decided to wing it... I've not heard from them since they left on Saturday, so I'm hoping and assuming all is well. 8)
Hollywood, CA -> London, UK 2004
London, UK -> Long Beach, CA 2007

Best 3 1/2 years of my life!


Sponsored Links





 

Privacy and Cookies

Due to EU data and privacy protection laws (see GDPR), we need your consent to set cookies, which are used for logins and anonymised usage tracking, which we use to provide the best experience on our site. If you continue to use our website, you accept our Privacy and Cookies Policies.

We display advertisements from Google and other ad services, which helps fund website operating costs. We all understand that ads can be annoying, but UK Yankee could not continue to operate without them as they have funded a majority of our operating costs.

These ads are sometimes personalised based on your interests, such as special offers on products you like and sites you've visited before, same as most other websites. Google Ads requires these ad partners to be GDPR compliant. If you are a member, you can disable ad personalisation in your profile settings.

Accept and Continue Disable Personalised Ads