In an earlier contribution to this discussion,
Victor Delta <none@nospam.com> wrote:

> I live in Dorset and mobile reception in some parts of the county is
> pretty ropey to say the least. In any location, however, some
> networks are better than others - but overall no single network is
> perfect.
> My question is therefore is it possible to get a SIM card or whatever
> in the UK which enables one to 'roam' i.e. automatically switch
> between the networks and take the strongest signal. This is what
> appears to happen when one is abroad.
>
> Any suggestions please - especially if they don't cost the earth?!
>
> TIA
>
> V

It may not come to anything but, interestingly, BBC Parliament was showing
something relevant last night. A Conservative MP is trying to use the
10-minute Bill procedure to initate legislation which would encourage (but
not compel) mobile phone companies to set up inter-operability arrangements
to address just this issue. The analogy was drawn of cashpoint machines -
where you can use Bank A's machine to draw money out of your account with
Bank B.

Similarly - it was suggested - if you have a mobile phone with Operator X,
you should be able to access the network via Operator Y's mast if X doesn't
have one in a suitable place. It was suggested that this would actually save
money for the operators - who could pay for bandwidth on rival networks
rather than extending their own infrastructure.

Could be a while before anything happens, though. <g>
--
Cheers,
Roger
______
Email address maintained for newsgroup use only, and not regularly
monitored.. Messages sent to it may not be read for several weeks.
PLEASE REPLY TO NEWSGROUP!