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Related: Culture Forums, Support ForumsCan a cell phone get a signal if it's way out in the ocean?
No, I dont mean in the water. I mean, like if a Newfoundland fisherman has the phone with him on his boat.
MANative
(4,112 posts)I'd think it's possible, but satellite phones are more likely used on some vessels. (From my pals at the New Bedford seaport.)
lagomorph777
(30,613 posts)Companies such as Inmarsat and Panasonic provide services to ships (even small ships) and planes.
magicarpet
(14,155 posts)... much more likely because the amount of cell towers is much higher to pick up the signal.
There is very little to block the signal over water so the interference that you get on land is pretty much nonexistent.
RainCaster
(10,884 posts)mitch96
(13,912 posts)Preemptive if someone believes me...
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Cirque du So-What
(25,943 posts)Usually conveniently located near the mail buoy.
Also
mitch96
(13,912 posts)ba ba buoy...........
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Sneederbunk
(14,291 posts)abqtommy
(14,118 posts)mitch96
(13,912 posts)getagrip_already
(14,764 posts)The most blissful part is no cell phones or people staring at their screens......
We start to pick up signals about 5 miles from shore. Beyond that, nuttin.
But as someone mentioned, sat service is available no matter how far out you go. But, you pay a very dear price to use it.
Service is very expensive per minute.
Quemado
(1,262 posts)It will get a signal if the phone is in range of a tower.
BBG
(2,539 posts)And provide a cell service on board once outside terrestrial service.
Smaller boats would be able to do similar solutions but not very cheaply. Heck the cruise ships charge an arm and a leg for their wireless connectivity while at sea too.
Tanuki
(14,918 posts)between Sandakan (Borneo) and Pulau Selangan.
mitch96
(13,912 posts)he was in the mid atlantic This was in the 50's. The Radio operator was a HAM and contacted a HAM on land who "patched" his radio transmission to my Mom's phone. Ship HAM radio to land HAM radio to phone to my house. What a treat and the neatest Birthday gift ever!!!
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PoindexterOglethorpe
(25,862 posts)You had a great dad.
mitch96
(13,912 posts)He was the cliché of the typical sailor. Short tempered foul mouthed Hard drinking bar fighting woman in every port kinda guy. Ex US Navy on a heavy cruiser in WW2. Loved the sea and that life. Went around the world more than a few times. Later on Me and my Aunt kept on bugging him to write a book or have one ghost written. His stories were amazing even if you throw in the embellishments and bullshit factor.
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Tanuki
(14,918 posts)wonderful character!
Generic Brad
(14,275 posts)Go figure.
Buckeye_Democrat
(14,855 posts)Kentucky's state capital!
Probably just a problem for my phone service, while others would work, but it still surprised me.
Figured Google Maps would work for me during the entire trip, but I had to stop and ask for directions the old-fashioned way! So weird that I had a cell signal until I reached their capital!
PoindexterOglethorpe
(25,862 posts)you don't get service.
I learned a few months ago that there is one and only one provider in Los Alamos, NM, and when I was there and trying to phone a friend, I couldn't. It was beyond frustrating.
Buckeye_Democrat
(14,855 posts)I figured most bigger cities had coverage from all the major providers.
Makes me miss my old Tracfone which used whatever signal that was strongest in the area. Lol.
PoindexterOglethorpe
(25,862 posts)Just over 12,000 people live there. My cell provider is AT&T. I forget which provider has the exclusive rights to Los Alamos but apparently they have some kind of a contract the keeps any other provider out and still has years left to run.
Buckeye_Democrat
(14,855 posts)A physics professor said he could probably get me an entry-level job there as a mathematical modeler, working under one of his old friends, but I declined (wanted to stay near my elderly parents who had health issues) and obviously I never even investigated the area!
Assumed it was bigger after the nuclear bomb was developed there.
PoindexterOglethorpe
(25,862 posts)The official address for everyone there was a P.O. Box in Santa Fe. Kids who were born there had that address on their birth certificates.
A lot of the people who work there live in Santa Fe, which isn't all that big itself. 84,000 people or so here.
csziggy
(34,136 posts)Or in Northern Scotland. Oddly enough the signals were pretty good on the Mainland of the Orkneys.
There is a north south-ridge towards the west end of my farm. South-south-east about two miles away there is a cell tower, but when you get over this ridge, the signal is blocked. The closest cell tower to the east is seven or eight miles away - too far for a signal.
People driving out the rural highway just north of my place lose their cell signal when they pass the road in front of the farm. The subdivision to our east gets no decent cell signal.