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The Parish Council is asking villagers to express their views in this Forum
on the need for improved mobile phone reception in Steeple Aston.
So here goes.
In my opinion, adequate mobile phone reception is nowadays an essential, not a luxury.
For both businesses and individuals, the use of mobile phones has become a way of life.
Many people, especially the young and the less well off, understandably want to avoid
paying for a landline as well as a mobile. As mobile phone technology gets more and more sophisticated,
people are starting to use their phones not just for voice calls, but for email and internet browsing as well.
There’s also a safety consideration, especially for families with children. Many youngsters have mobiles now
– and it can be important for them to be able to contact their parents in case of trouble.
Let’s face it: the absence of adequate mobile phone reception over large parts of the village is a serious nuisance.
It’s also an embarrassment for the village.
Let’s make sure our voices are heard through this Forum, giving councillors evidence of the demand
and thus the ammunition they need to pursue the matter on our behalf.

Communication via a Mobile Phone is essential in this modern age.  Health and Safety is also put at risk especially when walking alongside the canal between Heyford Station to the the Drawbridge. No signal whatsoever, anyone living on a Barge or Houseboat etc and falling ill would be unable to call for assisstance from the emergency services.  Lower Heyford also suffers from poor or non existant mobile phone signal  so maybe Steeple Aston PC could work in conjunction with Lower Heyford PC on this matter.

 Mel makes a really good point about reception in the valley and it would seem sensible  for the PC to talk with Lower Heyford about this.
Siting a mobile  phone mast will always be  a controversial problem but maybe they are less of an eyesore now than earlier models. Ideally we would need a mast which would serve the majority of  the various phone providers - not sure  that this is  possible but the Parish Council will be doing some research.
It is a pity siting one in the church tower  did not prove possible, but it must be a solvable problem. Any useful ideas or information, please get in touch.
Margaret Mason

The Mast for the Mobile Phone service would need to be located at a site that would cover Steeple Aston and Lower Heyford. Technically it may need more than one mast to cover this area. However I am sure that the technical boffins from the phone services would find a solution to the problem. After all a happy customer is a good customer.

I am the user of an Orange mobile on very few occasions.  I can't get reception until I walk at least 200 metres to the top of my garden.  Pretty useless!  My son, who is on O2 contract does not get reception downstairs but by hanging out of the bedroom window he has connection.  Not perfect but North Side does seem to have a problem.  Any form of improvement would be welcome.  With many people working from home or those people at risk through health issues, a constant mobile service is an essential part of 21st century life. 

Will the Parish COuncil be taking up the cudgel on behalf of all those Mobile Phone users who receive such poor service from the phone companies including Vodophone on this side of the village.

[Computer quotes:]

Until the PC sort it here are some [maybe useful] tips on how to boost your signal for free on my website.
Click here.


EDIT:Links updated because of website update

[Computer quotes:]

PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF ANY OF THESE WORK.

For anybody who is on Vodafone, I can highly recommend Suresignal.  This is a device that plugs in to your broadband router and redirects your mobile phone calls over the internet.  It costs £5 a month or £50 one off payment or, if you complain long enough and loud enough, you get it free:)

Andrew Bacon from Stonesfield has asked me to pass on the following:
  "If you choose to have an Orange mobile, you can have broadband from just £5 per month and with certain mobile 'phones from them you will get a very good signal on your mobile via the broadband.
 
In Stonesfield the mobile signal is awful on every network - although with this Orange option it is fine!"
 

A while ago the Parish Coucil were collating complaints regarding the poor signal strength on our Moblle Phones. Have Vodophone or any other of the companies responded to the complaints I assume the P.C forwarded to them.

I t would appear everyone is happy with their Mobile Phone reception in Steeple Aston whichever Mobile company is used !!!!!

Hi,
I just noticed this topic and thought i would chip in. A significant factor with mobile phone reception is the phone you have, personally I have alsways found that O2 has very good reception around the whole valley. However on a nokia this can become patchy in places, blackberrys however give almost full signal in most parts of the village, so it may be a case of experimenting with different phones?

Patchy reception inside my own house. Service provider is O2 and the phone is a 3GS iPhone. Sometimes I get 2 bars, but often it shows the depressing word "searching".

I must declare first of all that our mobile phones spend most of their lives switched off, so we don't have a lot of experience with local reception. However, I can confirm that we get NO reception on the Vodafone network at Holly House, South Side.

Our visitors have also failed to find a signal - but this does appear if one crosses South Side and climbs up the grass bank and communes with the horse who lives in the big field.