Typical Cell Range

[Plymouth Sailor]

Dear Fellow Sailors:

I realize cell phone access depends on a number of factors including provider, towers, obstructions etc. however does anyone have an idea what the average cell phone range is offshore?

 

[HMT2]

I get about four-five miles in the Gulf of Mexico

 

[dlochner]

Dear Fellow Sailors:

I realize cell phone access depends on a number of factors including provider, towers, obstructions etc. however does anyone have an idea what the average cell phone range is offshore?

Depends on the height of the towers along the way. I've had cell phone coverage as far as 10-15 miles off shore on Lake Ontario.

A cautionary note. A VHF radio is a far better emergency communications device on the water than a cell phone. If a boater gets in trouble and issues a distress call on the VHF, everyone within range will hear it and can respond. If a call goes to 911, it will take precious moments to be connected to the USCG and only they will hear you.

 

[Captain Larry-DH]

Varies quite a bit; the device, how it's being held, and the height above ground of the device and the tower. Most towers are inland because cell companies aren't generally concerned with coverage over the water. I've read online that it can be above 20 miles from the cell tower but in my (limited) experience 5-10 nm offshore is about the max in real world. I wouln't expect more than that. (I have not used any range enhancing devices or high-gain cell antennas).

 

[rgranger]

https://www.repeaterstore.com/products/surecall-fusion4home?variant=16856846599

 

[Rick Webb]

I've had service 20 Miles out in the Gulf outside of Clearwater 20' up off of the water and 50 miles out of Port Canaveral on a cruise ship not sure how close the actual cell towers were.

 

[BarryL]

Hello,
I get about 5 miles in the altantic ocean off the south shore of Long Island.
Barry

 

[DArcy]

Your provider may offer a coverage map. I'm with Bell Canada and I have found their coverage map around Lake Ontario to be fairly accurate. Out in the middle I get nothing but 10 miles off Prince Edward County I get reception. https://www.bell.ca/Mobility/Our_network_coverage

 

[jssailem]

@Plymouth Sailor you will be beyond cell service if you are on the “Straight Path” 39 miles from the coast. You’ll also, for at least for a while, be beyond VHF land based contact. Sitting in the cockpit with a hand held VHF radio, reach is about 20 miles straight line.

VHF radios can reach other boats that will be between you and the shore. You can talk to them and they can talk to shore.

Being out 39 miles you will experience the connection all boaters share. That we are all at sea together. If you have a problem all boaters nearby go to offer help.

If you want to be able to reliably reach family on shore you will need to use satellite radio/phone. Inreach is one of the systems.

Think about it as driving your car into the mountains. You go through valleys and experience periods of “No Service”.

 

[rgranger]

A few years ago, my son was doing research deep in the Nantahala Forest. He would stay out in the forest for several weeks at a time. There was no cell reception. There was also a lot of rattle snakes, coyotes and bears. I got him one of these

The older G2 models are $35 on eBay plus a $200 subscription service. The model shown here can be found on eBay in the $50 ish range.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/SPOT-Gen3-...109630&hash=item443f34356e:g:-MYAAOSwn4Fc~9ZU

These are amazing and work any place in the world. They send a microburst to a satellite that then goes to an internet server. The server can send one of several pre-programmed messages to up to 10 email address and/or phones. It also sends GPS coordinates on a google map so we can see where he was. There is also a help button for non life threatening situations (such as a dead battery or in your case I need a tow). And there is the S.O.S. button that triggers a helicopter med evacuation response. That service was an extra $180 and worth the peace of mind. Each night my son would send us a message that said "We are okay". The "we" was him and his dog.

I was so impressed with how well it worked that I purchased a unit for myself. Like I said, you can buy a used unit on eBay then you go online and sign up for the service. They have different levels you can sign up for. The med-vac being the most intensive.

 

[kappykaplan]

The med-vac being the most intensive.

Expensive?

 

[rgranger]

Expensive?

Yes!

 

[rgranger]

I got curious .... the newest Spot model has 2-way texting service. The unit is about $250

 

[Jackdaw]

Its not just a line-of-sight and signal strength issue. Modern CDMA digital signals are VERY timing sensitive, and distances over 20 miles will start to effect it, turning a proper but out of phase single into an error.

 

[Brian D]

And on top of what Jackdaw said, most cell towers alone the cost are designed to operate along the coast, not out to sea. Very little use for sea cell activity. However, this does not mean they cannot reach out to sea. Their energy is directed toward users.

This is a fall back from early AM radio days. AM radio station would use multiple towers to act as signal directors. Here on the West coast the AM signal would be directed N-S-E directions. No need to push the signal out to sea unless you were a designated navigational (or Radio Direction Finder) radio station. I live near an AM radio station that has 4 towers. The primary tower is to the west of the three directional towers. They radiate 58° (NE), 100° (E), and 142° (SE).

 

[kloudie1]

Gulf ICW has lots of commercial traffic and has great cell coverage.. Some of the oil rigs have cell towers to accommodate the crews,; we can generally count on pretty good signal out to about 15 miles..

 

[HMT2]

Thread drift alert. I did some research comparing the Spot to the Inreach for two way satellite communications. The Spot was cheaper to buy but the plan options were pricey. The Inreach was a little more expensive to purchase but has a plan where you pay a small annual fee and then activate the satellite service when you need it. It works great for those of us who only occasionally venture offshore.