Thread: Mobile phone coverage.

BTW, if you look at a sat image of Aus, you'll see just how much of it isn't rainforest.....

touche mate!

I was just wondering about the performance in general in those conditions though just to get a feel for it.

As reluctant as I am to recommend Optus, in your situation, that would be a better bet.
Use Optus, not an Optus reseller, they have physical shop fronts.

I will definitely look into it, thanks for the pro-tip I have done no local research yet but I did note this site a while ago: Australia eSIM, from $7.00 AUD | World’s first eSIM store * Airalo which would be very handy to use just about anywhere in the world and not troubles with finicky physical sim-cards. I have no clue though what will and will not work since I have no experience with them yet.

-P

After a lifetime as a full Telstra customer I've changed our mobiles to Boost as we still have full telstra coverage but at about a third the cost.
Also dumped the Telstra mobile modem and its data plan as the Starlink is replacing it, so the savings generated go some way to offsetting the Starlink cost.
As far as the nearly total tree cover affecting the Starlink performance it does and is noticeable on a phone call but data buffering seems to virtually remove any problems otherwise. If you can find a car sized hole in the tree cover in the right direction then it will work, something is better than nothing expecially if trying to arrange assistance.
I recently camped in a similar situation and I have a gen 2 Starlink and a bloke nearby had a Starlink Mini. He eventually gave up and packed it away while ours worked ok but with reduced speed and the occasional dropout on phone calls.
The problem with a mini and gen 3 is that while they are supposed to be able to look "sideways" it doesn't seem its as good as the dish being able to move itself to obtain the best signal. As the best direction can be anywhere from SE to SW it's a bit of a fiddle to get it looking the right direction manually. I know they all work in a flat position but lots of obstructions like trees do affect them.

Originally Posted by prelude

I did note this site a while ago: Australia eSIM, from $7.00 AUD | World’s first eSIM store * Airalo which would be very handy to use just about anywhere in the world and not troubles with finicky physical sim-cards. I have no clue though what will and will not work since I have no experience with them yet.

-P

Couple of folk on here have suggested Airalo in the past. I have the app but have had no reason yet t try it. Certainly cheap enough to use it in a pinch. I think most of the reseller mobs ( I use ALDI ) aren't doing eSim yet, although Aus spec phones are certainly capable of using them. I wish they would, as I have a use for two numbers, but Aus spec iPhones are not dual sim capable ( China and SE Asias spec ones are, US I believe are eSim only). What about yours? It's something to consider, as I think you will be stuck with the main carriers if you need eSim, but it's been a while since I looked.

Probably relevant to this thread:

My phone is esim capable, I have already used it a few times so that is ok. It's quite a nice solution too! I work as freelancer in IT and whenever I get a new gig these days they give me an esim and off we go.

It has been suggested that the esim solution (that is the provider that sells them) is not the cheapest solution, ie. buying a local card is often times less expensive but it many countries a lot of a hassle. You would need a local to buy it for you etc etc. so we'll just have to see. In any case, as long as the carrier behind the provider has the proper coverage we should be good?

Regarding starlink, I had the same kind of experience but at the time of me testing it in the woods I tried it tied down facing up, simulating fixing the dish to the roof. I am still in dubio as to what to do but perhaps I should digress in the starlink thread

-P

As was mentioned in the starlink thread: wifi calling. I started looking around and perhaps it is good to add to this thread a list of providers that allow / have provisions for wifi-calling:

Wireless carrier support and features for iPhone in Asia-Pacific - Apple Support

Sure, this is apple but I guess it's the same for an android device since the providers need to support so as long as your device does you are set.

In any case, it seems that the provider from the esim link is not on there

-P

Originally Posted by prelude

My phone is esim capable, I have already used it a few times so that is ok. It's quite a nice solution too! I work as freelancer in IT and whenever I get a new gig these days they give me an esim and off we go.

It has been suggested that the esim solution (that is the provider that sells them) is not the cheapest solution, ie. buying a local card is often times less expensive but it many countries a lot of a hassle. You would need a local to buy it for you etc etc. so we'll just have to see. In any case, as long as the carrier behind the provider has the proper coverage we should be good?



-P

You can just get a sim pack from, say, ALDI. You would need to provide details to activate, but I've never had to prove citizenship IIRC. No burners here though.

You might find more info here, if you haven't already.

Originally Posted by Tins

Couple of folk on here have suggested Airalo in the past. I have the app but have had no reason yet t try it. Certainly cheap enough to use it in a pinch. I think most of the reseller mobs ( I use ALDI ) aren't doing eSim yet, although Aus spec phones are certainly capable of using them. I wish they would, as I have a use for two numbers, but Aus spec iPhones are not dual sim capable ( China and SE Asias spec ones are, US I believe are eSim only). What about yours? It's something to consider, as I think you will be stuck with the main carriers if you need eSim, but it's been a while since I looked.

I use Airalo when travelling OS, it's a bit of a fiddle to setup and return, but a better and cheaper solution than roaming. On Airalo you still retain your original phone number. It can also access phone networks in countries where roaming wont work - for example Morocco, Iceland etc. That said, I don't think it would be a cheaper option to use in Australia.

I've got an Iphone13 which is eSim compatible. I think dual sim features will be obsolute very shortly with eSim functions.