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Cellular data coverage in Sardinia

Posted by (Seattle, WA, USA ☔️) on

Calling Roberto or others that know Sardinia...(putting this here in Italy rather than the Tech section, because my question is specific to Sardinia, and the people who know the answer won't see it in the tech section...)

I'm planning a trip to Sardinia in about a year (September 2017) - yes, I plan ahead. I have traveled before with a "pocket wifi" device and loved the experience - in Japan, it was invaluable, and worked like a charm just about everywhere: super-fast, rock-solid connectivity almost everywhere we went (coverage dropped off as one would expect in small rural towns and out in the wilderness, but was available nearly everywhere else - even in the subways and bullet trains). It made everything so much easier and I swore I would never travel without one if I had the option.

Next year we're going to Sardinia. I've found an online place that rents pocket wifi most places in Europe, including Italy. In Italy, the system will use TIM, Vodaphone and WIND, in 4G where it's available, or 3G (or lower) where it's not (it'll supposedly auto-switch to the fastest connection available). My question is about the cellular network coverage in Sardinia. I've found cellular coverage maps for the major carriers for Europe (http://www.sensorly.com/). Looks like there's limited 4G availability, mostly clustered around Olbia, Cagliari and Sassari. There's slower coverage shown as generally available along the major highways and the towns along them. Not surprisingly, away from the main roads/towns, it looks like there's little or no cellular coverage at all. I know that much of Sardinia is very rural, and I would expect little or no cellular coverage in these areas.

Does that match your experience? That is, can one generally get a cell signal pretty reliably in/near the major cities and along the major highways? I'm not expecting coverage up in the hills or out on a remote beach.

And, to all those who would scoff at the idea of having connectivity on a vacation, don't worry, it's not to stay tethered to Facebook etc. I have found connectivity incredibly useful for mundane tasks like finding my way or locating a restaurant or attraction. And yes, I know all about poaching wifi when it's available at your hotel or a cafe...that's not what I'm looking for.

Thanks for any insight on cellular coverage there.

Posted by
16235 posts

Last time I went to Sardinia I didn't have yet my iPhone, and used only the voice capabilities of my old semi dumb cell phone. Don't remember having problems making calls, those were covered virtually everywhere even the most secluded beaches I went, including in the middle of the Maddalena Archipelago, but I don't know about 4g LTE or the 4g+ LTE Advanced data coverage nowadays.
The Vodafone site below can give a guidance on the national coverage. Enter the name of the municipality you are going to in the search box, and the site will tell you the type of network available. I tried Arzachena, just as a test, and it appears that 4g is available. I would imagine that there might be mountain or rural spots where coverage is spotty, but Vodafone 4g LTE covers 6600 municipalities out of 8000 in Italy with 96% of the population covered so I don't think you will have problems. If you are ok even with 3G, then you have to be underground or inside a building to have no coverage, but in the open I can't think of getting no service. I have more problems getting coverage in some parts of California. If you drive the country roads in the San Francisco peninsula west of the Santa Cruz mountains ridge (the ocean side of the peninsula), you get zero cellular service in most spots as you get away from Hwy 1, in spite of being technically in the Silicon Valley.
You will have problems getting service inside buildings in Italy however. Unless u are near a window there is no way the signal goes thru those thick stone walls. It sure doesn't in all of my houses, I have to get in the balcony or ne to the window-even just to make a phone call.

http://www.vodafone.it/portal/Privati/Vantaggi-Vodafone/4G-Vodafone/rete-veloce-4g-copertura

Posted by
6876 posts

Perfect - Thank you, Roberto. I'm not expecting super-fast connectivity everywhere, just decent (even slow) connectivity in most places is all I could expect (and I know not to expect even that in rural areas). Your assessment sounds perfectly OK for my expectations.

Thanks so much. A word of warning - I will probably be asking you a bunch of basic questions as I go through my Sardinia planning in the coming months. I thank you in advance for being so generous and helpful with your advice!

Posted by
16235 posts

As I said I don't have recent experience with cellular data service in Sardinia, but have recent experience of some isolated spots of Tuscany such as this. Getting service in the open is generally not a problem, although in some mountaneous areas you may have 'black holes' occasionally. The problem with cell service in Italy is actually more inside buildings than in the open, no matter how isolated you are. You can be in a big town with great cell coverage, but if you are inside a building, especially the lower floors, you will get no service whatsoever unless you get on the balcony or at least near the window. That is especially true in old masonry buildings where walls are very thick. If you plan to use cellular devices in Italy, whether it is a phone or hot spot, be ready to do so 'al fresco' on the balcony under the starry sky.

Posted by
3309 posts

I was in Sardinia and Corsica last fall and used my iPhone for calls, text and navigation. With the exception of having no service in some mountainous and very rural areas, I always had excellent cell service. If you will be using it for navigation, download the maps in Google Maps. When I had no cell service, they switched to the stored maps and then back again seamlessly. PM me if you want any info or recommendations.

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