On Thu, 20 Feb 2014 19:04:25 +0000, sacha wrote:

snip
Thanks. I do want to keep my phone number, though, so if I can do that
and use my iPhone, I'll be happy to change. I've just managed to send a
text message which has taken 24 hours to 'go'! To me, this is one of
those things that either works or doesn't - bit like my very elderly
car. If it doesn't, it's not worth having.

On Android smart phones you can get free utilities which can tell you
which phone mast you are using and show you where it is on a Google map.

I would expect that there would be the same or similar utility for an
iPhone.

So you could have a try at locating the mast(s) as you move around a bit -
this will give you some idea of coverage.

I think it helps if the phone masts are (more or less) in line of sight,
but I could be wrong.

Cheers

Dave R