UKC

I know most of you are born and bred British climbers, but some of you may have family and loved ones abroad?

If yes, you may know how ugly it can look when your loved one's parents want to come over to visit you but you didn't reply because your phone didn't work?

I use Three which has worked fine, but since a couple of months ago, I started receiving international SMS/text messages with a considerable delay (even 7-14 days), and since 2 weeks I get no international SMS at all.

After a lengthy attempt to ask Three, I figured out they didn't know either and didn't care.

My phone is also a bit old (never had my own smartphone), so I am considering something new.

In addition to my health problems, this is like I don't know... really bad

Because people may start to think I am a d-head who isn't answering the text messages

In reply to OneLifeOneHeart:

Largely, it's about location, location, location. All of the high band mob; Orange, T and 3; struggle in rural areas away from main roads.

O2 and Vodafone operate good 2G networks on the 900MHz band in addition to some 2G on 1800 and 3G services on 2100. Of those, according to the Ofcom datebase, Vodafone operate at higher power levels than O2. However, power isn't everything and O2 operates a very capable network on reported power levels that are tiny compared to Orange and T.

Some rural areas will work best with O2 and many with Vodafone. Anywhere that Orange, T or 3 is best in a rural area, look up: you are probably standing next to a mast.

I am currently exchanging international SMS every day between my O2 phone and an UK Orange phone being used in northern Germany. Works fine.

And yesterday I spent an hour or so in a coffee shop with my laptop in a wifi tether to my Vodafone smartphone that had only 2 bars on HSDPA, doing all the stuff 3 is supposed to be so good at and it didn't cost me a penny.

In reply to Jim Fraser:
I was told that and also (by a Vodafone engineer, how true I don't know) there is apparently an exponential (?) model used in the Vodafone computer program for transferring texts when immediate delivery is not possible, ie the longer a phone is out of reach/off, the longer the network takes to even try and forward txts, and ultimately it takes a very long time - he said it can be over one week. You can speed it up by sending a text (even to yourself), as then the network knows you are back in range.
I do know that Iused to work in an office where O2 was non existent, and I had to trigger receipt of texts when I left at night unless I could wait up to 12 hrs as they would take that long if left to the network. Surprised me as I could use the phone for calls, but it did not seem to speed up texts unless I sent a text to myself!
To the op, is it possible international ones take longer if phone off network? Or maybe it's just Three - I have never heard anyone using them to be that happy except for the price and all you can eat data!! If you are not receiving any texts, has your phone lost it's SMS centre phone number (corrupted sim)? Just a thought.

The same Vodafone engineer told me that there is often a dead area next to the mast (he baffled me with science not that it took much ! ) so maybe nearby mast .
Is it not in about six weeks that Vodafone and O2 start their mast sharing arrangements? That should compete with the orange and t-mobile sharing, and may mean a better coverage in rural areas?

Wow, thanks for the technical detail and interesting discussion.

In reply to Climbing Pieman:

I do get SMS from within the UK, usually in time. I had already tried the SMS centre phone thing (the Three customer service guided me through it), but it didn't fix anything.

One thing your technical explanation of SMS made me think of is that actually, this problem might have started at the same time I was starting to travel and go outdoors regularly in the UK... indeed, that's when the first symptoms showed...

In reply to Climbing Pieman:

Yes. The safest place around a vertically polarised antenna is underneath it. (Therefore one could theorise that we should have all the masts on top of schools instead of on buildings next to them if don't want the little darlings to be gently microwaved or to be texting during lessons.)

In reply to Climbing Pieman:

Not the same thing as Orange and T. They are not network sharing. This is not a roaming deal. It is a property deal.

Also, the same company has been doing the network development for the two of them for years.

I don't know why people have been making anthing of this at all because as far as I can tell it will usually only make a difference for new infrastructure. That means 3G and 4G facilities rolling out before any moves or enhancements like EDGE for 2G. Most areas with only 2G coverage will probably see no change for many years.

An opportunity missed perhaps but then they run their networks on what appears to be very different principles.

In reply to OneLifeOneHeart:

Why do people rely on text ?

My mobile, a samsung galaxy ace, goes into emergency only mode when I've disconnected it from a PC, or when It's been out of range for a while.

It only fixes itself my turning off and back on again.

But at the same time my email on my PC and on the phone still work, and the land line even has an answerphone so why why why, do people just think I'm being rude if I don't reply to their text?

In reply to Jim Fraser: Ok thanks for that. It was just that I heard vodafone have been telling customers about it and seem to be making out it was a great thing for them. Must be them trying to retain their customers baffling them with details when in the face of competition . Just like O2 recently trying to get me to upgrade as they are gong to be 4g soon, and meantime trying to convince me to buy an iphone 5 would be good. They tried to ignore the fact that that phone will only ever work on EE's 4g network so would have to be changed in a few months time if I wanted to use the O2 4g service!

In reply to New POD:

Because some people may have developed the habit/custom/tradition of communicating important but not urgent messages via sms.

When you are used to communicating with a specific person via a specific channel, the whole identity of your friendship/relationship/link is influenced by that channel.