Mobile network for BG?

[alwaysinjured]

I have a special running phone with a PAYG SIM from O2 (Eire) which I bought on eBay. As it is an Irish SIM, it is roaming in the UK, and connects to all the networks -- I set it up specifically to maximise my chances of staying in touch with the family in the Lakes (and to be able to make emergency calls, before 2009? when cross-network 999 calls were set up). I think the trackers may use Manx Telecom SIMs which are similarly able to roam across networks? As Ireland is in the EU and roaming rates have been pushed down by EU law, it's pretty cheap to make the odd call anyway, so there isn't much disadvantage over a UK SIM. Roaming data would be expensive though (not sure of the rates). I managed to send a text from pretty near every peak and road crossing last year using my Irish SIM (I too spotted the small patch of coverage on the Wasdale bridge, and backtracked to use it!)

In Keswick, only EE (i.e. Orange/T-mobile) and Three had 3G last summer at least.

Very useful CharlieW thanks.
Am thinking/wondering whether to buy a dual sim phone, sticking the "roaming" sim in the second slot.

[CharlieW]

Ah sorry by the way, I made the schoolboy error of using the 'Quick Reply' box at the bottom of the first page without noticing until later the other replies about Manx Telecom SIMs etc which I blithely duplicated. I've been mollycoddled by the RW forums that only let you post from the last page :-)

[Martyn P]

Very useful CharlieW thanks.
Am thinking/wondering whether to buy a dual sim phone, sticking the "roaming" sim in the second slot.

Exactly. Twenty quid will get you a cheap Nokia phone, dual SIM and extended standby time. You can even get them in bright red so they show up in the depths of a rucksack!

[alwaysinjured]

Exactly. Twenty quid will get you a cheap Nokia phone, dual SIM and extended standby time. You can even get them in bright red so they show up in the depths of a rucksack!

Thanks Martyn. On yours- Does the second sim kick in automatically on failure of signal from the first, or do you have to switch over manually?

[Martyn P]

Thanks Martyn. On yours- Does the second sim kick in automatically on failure of signal from the first, or do you have to switch over manually?

They're actually a little more sophisticated than you might expect. Both SIMs are permanently active (and therefore always searching for networks), but you select which SIM you want to use for outgoing calls/texts. It works surprisingly well.

I do recall Charlie mentioning his Irish SIM card and wonder if that might be worth investigating? Particularly if the calls are cheaper than the Manx Telecom 25p/13p rates. Charlie - I'm assuming that the phone number pattern is not the same as the UK's?? That's one advantage of Manx Telecom.

[CharlieW]

I've not bothered to shop around as I've had the same O2 Eire SIM for years, but the roaming rates are here: http://www.o2online.ie/o2/roaming/zone.php?c=gb -- so it's about 30 Euro cents (say 25p) per minute for voice calls, 10c for a text. But you also have to pay 9c/min for incoming calls. And yes it is a +353 country code. (When sending a text, you have to remember to use the +44... format, but calls can start 07xxxx). I probably would have gone for the Manx Telecom one with its handy 07xxx UK-style numbers if they'd been available on prepay back then. Two other considerations though:
1. about once a year they have a special offer to double your top-up, so the costs are halved
2. the customer service people are very friendly and have really nice accents :-)

[alwaysinjured]

They're actually a little more sophisticated than you might expect. Both SIMs are permanently active (and therefore always searching for networks), but you select which SIM you want to use for outgoing calls/texts. It works surprisingly well.

I do recall Charlie mentioning his Irish SIM card and wonder if that might be worth investigating? Particularly if the calls are cheaper than the Manx Telecom 25p/13p rates. Charlie - I'm assuming that the phone number pattern is not the same as the UK's?? That's one advantage of Manx Telecom.

Sounds spot on! Which model Nokia is that?