Belgian/Dutch border
 

Hi

I want to know what provider would give me the best reception at the border.
I live in Belgium (3km from the border), and I want a Dutch card. I set my phone to only connect to that specific provider, so I never have roaming cost in Belgium (at my house).
Is there a map with signal strenght ?

Thanks
Yves

I think all the maps will make it look like the signal stops exactly at the border. So they are not really going to help you. But what about using your Belgium sim to roam on the different networks and see which one is best?

I want to be reachable for some Dutch customers on a +31-number while I'm in Belgium.
I can use a voip number (I already have one), but I like the ability to travel in the Netherlands, and be reachable on the same number, without me having to forward the call (on my expense).

I understand. But if you use a Belgium sim card that roams on the Dutch networks you should be able to find out if you have coverage on a Dutch network. And also how the signal quality is.

Or take a Vodafone NL card. With vodafone Buurlanden you can receive calls in Belgium and Germany for free (if I remember correctly it cost 4,95 per month) It is not really easy to find on the Vodafone site. But is there somewhere.

Or even simpler, just look at the "available networks" on your present phone - especially if it shows the signal strength of each. (If it doesn't, just do as TB says, and log on to each Dutch network and see how good the signal is and if it stays that way - this will help you decide which ones will work best at your location so you can know which SIM to get.) I remember when I first got a multi-band phone about 10 years ago, I went to the point at which D, NL, and B meet, and I think there were 11 networks to choose from!

The buurlanden blox is actually 4,50.
See here (in Dutch):http://help.vodafone.nl/cgi-bin/cons...accessibility=

(hope the link works. otherwise search for buurlanden blox)

off topic: Yes, that was really cool. 5 Dutch, 4 German and 3 Belgium networks all at the same time :D

Since KPN and Vodafone also use the 900MHz-band on their network, while T-Mobile run their network soley at 1800MHz (besides 3G at 2100MHz), which has a shorter signal range than 900 MHz (<36km vs. < 20km) and worse signal dispersion, KPN and Vodafone are likely to have further reaching coverage in Belgium, as their signals get deeper into Belgian territory.

If I remember correctly Orange actually had E-gsm as well. So T-mobile should at least have the possibility to also use (E) gsm 900. But I suppose that testing it where you need it is the only way to find out for sure. But if you want a Dutch number in Belgium the Buurlanden option sounds pretty usefull to me. And then you won't have to worry about signal quality since you will be using a Belgium network.

I agree.

With such a small distance form the border, i guess at least one of the operators will have a good signal.

I travel a lot, and sometimes traveling on the motorways it took up to 10 km from the border before my phone "decides" to leave one network for another.

Anyway, you should try, because there is not a fixed rule.

Think even that - as far i had read in the news - in Ventimiglia, Italy near the French border people was angry because phones pick up often the more strong signal of French networks resultin in unnecessary international roaming.

Yes, it bears repeating. If you live in a border area, switch your phone to manual network selection (not automatic). That way, if it loses its home network signal for a short time it won't switch to a foreign network.

there are mountains there, I think it's not a big issue. By the way I can use my Wind simcard in Menton with Italian signal...
It's more a problem in Trieste, with Slovenian and even Croatian operators. And I think between Belgium and the Netherlands it's even worse (or better for ygeffens) since there are no mountains at all, just flat land, so the signal can go further...

Hi all,

Thanks for the hints.
Only one operator (NL KPN) shows up in my networkselection.
Outside my house it's possible to get one bar (out of five, on my iPhone); inside the house I can forget it.

So far for 30 km or plus for 900mhz :-)

I think I'll stick to my NL-voip number and forward it.

Yves

Isn't the maximum distance a GSM signal can travel about 35.4 km? I bet that is only hypothetically though...

Or get a Yagi and point it at NL. Look at Wilson Electronics website for some ideas, but you may then want to track a supplier on your side of the Atlantic.

But the last tower won't be exactly at the border and they won't direct the signal in the direction of Belgium. They want to have coverage in the Netherlands, not Belgium. So if the signal stops 1 meter across the border they are okay.

I think the maximum was 35 km normally and 70 when they use 2 time slots.

Wouldn't using the Vodafone option with buurlanden be cheaper? It depends on how many calls you get. But forwarding to a cellphone isn't usually that cheap.

Well... actually no. When planning cells, all operators want to have as muchs coverage as possible (and allowed) in neighboring countries, at least close to border crossing points.

The operators want to pick up the phones of incoming travellers in their own nets. According to GSM 2 standard, the roaming customers are only handed over to others nets when there is no signal at all. So once picked up... the operator gets all the roaming fees.

Hah, just like on the German-Polish border. There are extraterritorial towers that allow you to pick up Voda and TMO (or, indeed, for them to pick you up as a roamer) 20 km before the border on the Berlin-Warsaw railway and road. (I think this was done in part so that customs inspectors from Germany could stay on-network while in PL.) But it's a Pyrrhic victory, at least if you are on the train - while the signal from all three Polish networks is good and strong all the way from Warsaw to the border, once you get into Germany, there is no coverage along the railway line, and it resumes consistently only when you are well within Berlin city limits, 90 km later.