Probably not many Challengers have considered this and I certainly haven't, I have however registered my mobile with the emergency sms thingy http://www.emergencysms.org.uk/ which seems quite a good idea too.

Obviously if you are in an area where there is absolutely no signal than no device other than a form of satellite phone will get through to the emergency services.

However a 112 call will be accepted on any Operator frequency so even if you are Vodafone customer O2 would accept the call. Even if you are in a very poor signal area a SMS can still get through as it uses a different bandwidth to voice messages.

This system can not cover every situation but it is a free download and just one press of the SOS button will transmit your call for help including your location. This may be of use if you are on your own with no companion.

For those who can not or will not pay for an expensive system it is much better than nothing at all.

Like Louise, I have registered with the 999 SMS service, as I know that text messages seem to get through when voice calls can't.

Something I don't understand.....

.... If, for example, an O2 user had no O2 signal but there was a Vodafone signal, would the person have to get their phone to scan for available networks or - for emergency calls only - would the phone "know" that there was another available network and use it automatically?

If the user needs to scan for, and change to, another mobile network then it would be worth reminding oneself how to do this before the emergency happened. (My smartphone is a lot smarter than me, unfortunately).

The way I understand it is (and yes, TTS did have to explain, in words of one syllable...) by registering your mobile, should you then use the emergency sms service, by agreement the available signal from whatever provider will automatically be used, so the sender needs do nothing but use the emergency number they have previously registered with. IYSWIM.

As I understand it, and I can be the worlds worst technophobe, to call using the 112 number requires no additional work by the caller . The 112 system is built into all modern phones.

There is a you tube video which explains it (almost)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPZv_8dABfU

Sorry can't do the link gizmo.

I thought the beauty of the Echo112 system was that you only have to press the SOS once and it will send your location automatically. As I understand it using the normal 112 system you have to enter your location details. If you are writhing on the floor in agony it may not be the easiest thing to do.

"However a 112 call will be accepted on any Operator frequency so even if you are Vodafone customer O2 would accept the call."

I was under the distinct impression that this falls into the "urban myth" category and is not actually true.

In any case, as has been pointed out, a good chunk of the Challenge area has no mobile signal for any network, so a satellite-based system such as Spot or Delorme InReach or similar would be needed.

It is not an Urban myth.

The 112 emergency number system was established under a EU Directive in 2009.
The directive establishes that 112 is the single common emergency telephone number for the European Union. It requires that EU citizens can call for assistance on any type of phone be it landline or mobile at any time in any country. Thus you do not need to know the emergency number of the country you are travelling in e.g. a Italian in the UK does need to know that 999 is our emergency. He just calls 112.
Obviously to make it he must be able to use the local mobile network even though he is not signed up to Vodafone, O2 etc.

The 112 system software is hardwired into every mobile phone.

Of course there are parts of this country where there is absolutely no mobile signal but it is not as wide spread as thought. If you study the accessibility overlays of all the network providers some are stronger than others in different areas. Just because you can not get a signal on your Vodafone mobile doesn't mean there isn't an O2, EE or 3 signal albeit faint. The 112 system seeks out any mobile system signal. Even if the mobile signal is too weak for a voice call, due to the different bandwidth requirements a SMS could still get through.

Obviously if you do have an accident, despite being careful, and you are in a no signal zone then you have a serious problem.

I was not suggesting that the Echo112 or any similar system can provide universal coverage or be a panacea for all problems, only a type of satellite communication system can do that. But it does provide better coverage than just relying on a single mobile service provider.

Some can not afford or are not willing to pay the several hundred pounds for a satellite system, signing up to a 112 system is better than having little or no access to an emergency contact system.

Neither is reliance on a 112 system a substitute for good navigation backed by paper and/or digital maps and the prudence to use them correctly.

All challengers are required to have knowledge of hill / mountain walking and we all agree to accept the consequences of our actions before being permitted to take part.

I'm no techy and I don't have a smartphone but surely leaving the phone switched on when there is no signal or only a minimal one will flatten the battery quickly as it scans in vain. If it's not switched on its emergency benefit is limited but if the battery is flat it's of no use at all.

There seems to be a tendency in the great outdoors to try to 'get away from it all' but to take an increasing load of tech with us. Isn't this part of what we want to get away from ?

I'll be walking solo with a minimal mobile phone (without even a camera function but registered for SMS as Louise has) and complying with coordinator JM's phone-in timetable. My personal 'risk assessment' means I may use more caution in some circumstances but I believe experience, judgement and prudence beat technical answers.

I suppose it depends on what gives you and your loved ones most comfort. Of course, unless you walk across Scotland with mobile in hand and thumb poised over the relevant button, the main problem in both cases is, on your own, are you able to get to it? If you are simply lost, by sending an SMS you would be engaging with the emergency services and getting relevant help, whereas pressing SOS could send a message with only a location and call for help with no detail, cost thousands of pounds to send a helicopter, MRT, local police, coastguard etc.,when more appropriately, you could have been walked out by the local MRT. If you're dreadfully injured you could be unable to do either. Like all gear, it's a choice and relevance thing.

Good call, Louise.

My own take, for what it's worth, is that Challengers - irrespective of their experience - should be competent navigators, and should know at all times where they are within a couple of hundred metres. Of course I can fully understand that there may be times when there's a certain disclocation. And this is where old-fashioned compass and map skills come into play - aided now by current GPS locators.

I would hope that our current cohort of Challengers have the requisite map and compass skills. Of course smartphone and dedicated GPS devices have their place - and I use them myself - but they're an adjunct to tried and trusted physical material. The same goes for Get-Out-Of-Jail emergency applications. Typically these are those that dial you in to Mountain Rescue /Police services. There are no golden bullets!

I'd urge all Challengers to focus in the first instance on good old-fashioned paper maps, to consider escape routes at all times, and to give consideration to The Venerable Vetters. Yum! Yum!

Why on earth do I want others to know where I am?

Am just popping out for a couple of weeks is good enough for me :-)

"Why on earth do I want others to know where I am?" Andy I hope that you remember this if ever you are laying on a hillside with a broken leg!
I have been very abstemious on the forum this year but I just could not resist this one.

Andy,

I am unable to find your TGO 2004 blog.

It may be a bit brief but it could be interesting to relate your tale.
Giving an insight of things that sometimes go wrong.

May give others hope, "The fall and rise of Andy (Perrin)"

The rest of your blogs would of course be the sequels.

I didn't write it up Sandy, but you have inspired me, so if I can drag through the memory cells, I will have a crack at it this week.