Here in Australia, mobile phone coverage is concentrated in metropolitan areas and major centres. The route we take to Tenterfield brings us out of Brisbane via Ipswich, through Aratula, over Cunningham’s Gap, through Warwick, Stanthorpe and then we usually take the Stanthorpe-Amosfield road.

Mobile phone coverage is patchy outside Ipswich, although it usually isn’t bad there. It’s good around Cunningham’s gap. Between Warwick and Stanthorpe, it’s patchy… and it completely disappears shortly after leaving Stanthorpe.

This is a limitation of GSM technology… it would not matter how the service is paid for, whether it be on a contract (my phone is), prepaid, given away, or whatever … the mobile phone towers are too far apart to provide full coverage in these areas. If there’s no coverage in your area, you won’t get a service.

The amateur radio I have, by comparison, will work both with numerous repeaters in the area (I frequently listen to VK4RAI until I pass over Cunningham’s Gap), and will also work FM simplex — I normally listen on 146.500MHz and 439.000MHz. If I get a mobile HF rig, it’s possible for me to communicate great distances, reaching much of Queensland, and even internationally, almost regardless of my position — in an emergency, someone is bound to hear the transmission. This is on the TODO list.

While mobile coverage may improve, I’m not holding my breath. The frequencies mobile phones operate at, means the signal is much more likely to be affected by obstructions, than VHF radio. Amateur radio is also far less vulgar than UHF CB. Thus, for an emergency contact medium, it does have significant advantages over other means of communication.

I a red hat enthusiast/newbie.

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