Get the best mobile phone coverage

Fed up with receiving poor mobile coverage? Follow these top tips to improve it!

Last month, I wrote an article about the most unhappy broadband customers. In the comments section of the article, one of our readers, ohmigod, requested that we write an article about mobile phone coverage and which provider offers the best coverage.

So I decided to take a closer look.

The UK’s worst mobile operator

Unfortunately, it's difficult to say which mobile provider offers the best or the worst coverage, simply because it’s so dependent on where you live.

However, what I can tell you is that in a recent Ofcom report, Three was the most complained about mobile provider between October 2010 and February 2011. Here’s the full breakdown:

So it's Three and T-Mobile that were the two most complained about networks, while O2 fared pretty well in comparison.

You could assume this means O2 offers the best coverage overall. However, it’s important to note that the exact complaints have not been disclosed – so they could be anything from poor network coverage to terrible customer service.

Of course, this study was only carried out over a period of months, so you shouldn’t completely base your decision on which provider to choose on this information. However, it will still give you some idea of which providers may be more difficult to deal with.

And if you’re concerned about network coverage or you’re not happy with the coverage you’re currently receiving, there are certain steps you can take to improve it.

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Before you sign up

Before you sign up to any mobile contract, you should take some time to assess what the coverage is likely to be like in your area. A great way to do this is by using an online coverage checker, which most networks have.

These are online tools which allow you to type in your postcode and give an indication of 2G (voice and text) and 3G (mobile broadband) coverage in your area. Of course, you can also type in other postcodes, such as your office address, to find out how your coverage will be affected there.

Here’s a quick run-down of the coverage checkers for eight mobile operators:

• Vodafone coverage checker
• Orange coverage checker
• O2 coverage checker – Tesco Mobile also uses this map
• T-Mobile coverage checker
• 3 coverage checker
• Asda Mobile coverage checker
• Virgin Mobile coverage checker

It’s also a good idea to talk to friends/family/neighbours about any experiences they have had and how they find the signal strength with their particular network.

Go SIM only

Once you’ve decided on your network, it’s worth initially signing up to a SIM only contract. The downside with this is that you won’t get a shiny new phone with the deal, but on the plus side, you’ll be able to test out the coverage without signing up to a long-term contract. Most SIM only deals are on 30-day rolling contracts.

The other advantage is that SIM only deals are cheap. For example, both Vodafone and O2 are currently offering 100 minutes and 500 texts for £10.50 a month. Orange goes one better with 100 minutes and unlimited texts for £10 a month. And if you want data, Three offers 100 minutes, 3,000 texts and 1GB data for £10 a month. You can compare more deals at Recombu.

If you’re not happy with the coverage you’re receiving, you can give a month’s notice and switch over to another provider. If you are happy, however, you can then sign up to the contract you want, knowing that the coverage you’ll receive is good. It’s also worth noting that it now only takes up to one working day to transfer your phone number across to a new provider.

Once you’ve signed on the dotted line

If you’ve recently tied into a contract with your mobile provider, but you’re not happy with the mobile coverage you’re receiving, act quickly as some providers and phone shops offer customers a cancellation clause which will let you end the contract if you can’t get a signal.

Check the terms and conditions of your contract carefully to see whether this is possible as the period of time in which you can do this does vary between providers (generally between seven and 28 days) and some are more lenient than others. You should also check you won't be charged a hefty termination fee for the privilege.

If you received a new mobile phone with your contract, you’ll boost your chances of getting it cancelled if the phone is still in tip-top condition and you still have all of its packaging.

It’s also worth bearing in mind that if you’ve bought your contract online or over the phone, you may be able to claim a seven day cooling off period.

However, if it’s too late for this, there are a few ways to boost the signal yourself:

• Get a small router-like device called a ‘femtocell’ which increases mobile coverage via a broadband connection. You can pick up Vodafone’s ‘SureSignal’ product in the shops and online.
• Orange offers a ‘signal boost’ product to its customers which uses Universal Mobile Access (UMA) technology. This is built into some handsets and operates via a Wi-Fi connection.
• Some providers will offer a service that allows you to route mobile data and calls across a home Wi-Fi network. Your device will need to be Wi-Fi enabled.

Finally, if you’re still not happy, you’ll have to have a little patience and wait until your contract has come to an end before you can switch to a different provider (you may need to give your provider 30 days’ notice). However, while you’re waiting, it’s well worth doing some research as to which provider might offer you better coverage in your area – and you can follow the steps I mentioned earlier.

Alternatively, if you’re really not satisfied and you can’t wait that long, you could formally complain to your operator. Once you've done this, you need to wait eight weeks before you can take this any further – if your provider has not resolved the issue within those eight weeks, it will need to send you a letter with details on how you can take your complaint to the next level through a dispute resolution service – such as the Office of the Telecommunications Ombudsman (OTELO) or Communications and Internet Services Adjudication Scheme (CISAS).  

Good luck!

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