[3GScottishUser]

I have just returned from Poland and 3G is fabulous there in terms of coverage.

Looked around and like Spain and Portugal the masts appear much taller than the ones we have in the UK. Is this the reason for the better coverage? Are phone networks allowed more scope in other countries?

All over Gdansk, Gydynia etc they have solid 3G coverage with almost nowhere I visited unable to access 3G services, a far cry from the coverage even now in the west of Scotland.

Is mast height the key factor?

[Hands0n]

From what I know about radio signal propagation I would say that mast height could be an influencing factor, but not necessarily nor exclusively so. There are a ton of other variables in the equation. Not the least being the type of transmitter arial itself, local geography (land and buildings) and even atmospheric conditions.

Certainly an elevated mast will be beneficial to enabling the signal to travel a greater distance - natural and man-made attenuators notwithstanding. But paradoxically, it could make very local [to the mast] reception worse.

When thinking of radio signal propagation it may be helpful to think of how light from a bulb propagates. An omnidirectional transmitter (regular shape bulb) will throw light almost 360deg. However, a beam transmitter (say a reflector bulb) will concentrate the light in a tighter area [beam]. So you can see that height would not necessarily be a big factor.

One would have to hold knowledge of their local arial design to get a clear understanding of perhaps why you experienced such a solid reception. It could simply be a matter of sheer numbers - saturating the area with masts (and possibly pico transmitters!) to ensure no holes in the ether. I rather think we [by comparison] under-invest in the UK systematically - mobile networks being no exception.

There are others on this forum who do crazy things like climb transmitter masts who could explain this in much more depth but I hope the above helps get a general gist of some of the factors at work.

BTW, I reckon that the UK mobile ops keep the 3G signal poor in your area only to wind you up :D I'd hate to have you as a neighbour, there'd be no 3G signal in my road at all ;)