Do I hear chortles and jeers, and a chorus of 'We told you so!'? For the second day running I've woken up to find that I've no Mobile Internet, or at least only a weak, slow, 3G connection on my smartphone. And of course, I've got rid of my Home Broadband, so I've no alternative to fall back on.
It has happened so suddenly that I suspect that the local mast has been switched off for maintenance - not for very long, I hope! But it could also be explained by weather damage from gusty winds and some very heavy rain in the last twenty-four hours. There's been a bit of temporary local flooding, though not close to me. Or it could be down to the 'atmospherics': there's never much in the way of winter thunder and lightning in my part of Sussex, but I heard and saw it yesterday afternoon. So maybe some electrical activity was building up. I'm pretty sure that wouldn't be good for mobile phone reception.
I was however hoping for a change back to normal this morning. It's still dull, but the wind and rain have eased. I do seem to have a smidge more 3G to play with, and fleeting glimpses of 4G, but it's not yet enough for a normal experience.
Even on holiday - when sitting in my caravan, somewhere in the sticks - I can usually get adequate (or even decent) 4G reception. It might come and go in marginal reception areas, but it's not often that I need to hop in the car and drive to some nearby town in order to get Mobile Internet. But that's what I eventually had to do yesterday, firing up Fiona up at 6.00pm and parking in the Waitrose car park at Burgess Hill, where the 4G is nowadays always superb (it didn't used to be, but they put up a mast).
That was, as ever, a perfectly good solution for doing routine stuff. And I need not actually drive anywhere. If I simply need to fire up a couple of phone apps, then going for a walk and heading for where the 4G signal will be strong, will do the job - that's generally where the shops are. But I can't walk along with a laptop cradled in my arms, so the shelter and security of Fiona is required for blogging, posting pictures up on Flickr, or for sending emails with photos attached.
As has become my custom in recent years, I haven't posted any Christmas cards. Instead, I've been sending out Christmas emails. I intend to compose another batch today, as drafts. Then I'll probably return to Burgess Hill and send them off there. It's no big deal, doing that, as a one-off. But it will become a bind if I have to do it every day for the next few days. Hopefully 4G will return in its usual strength.
It's crossed my mind of course that writing a personalised Christmas email, possibly a long one, and then driving somewhere to despatch it, involves way more personal trouble, effort and cost than just scribbling a short conventional message inside a pre-printed card, popping a stamp on the envelope, and staggering to the letterbox on the nearest corner! But that's my preferred way.
It's also my preferred way not to waste money on Home Broadband, when most of the time I don't need it. When I last looked, I'd have to pay BT £35 a month for their 'cheap and basic' Fibre 1 Home Broadband option. Well, I'm saving that cost. That makes sense, doesn't it?
What's Home Broadband for, anyway, apart from being an expensive backup for Mobile Internet on the phone? I used to ask myself that many a time, and ask it again now.
How much of everyday life really requires a Home Broadband connection? My smart meter for electricity and gas doesn't use it. I have no household appliances that need it. TV? The Freeview signal via the satellite dish works fine for live programmes. Ditto the DAB signal on my portable radio. I agree that if I want to stream catch-up radio or TV, then access to the Internet using the BBC iPlayer, or whatever, is a must. But that's only an occasional need. When away from home, in the caravan, I never watch TV, whether live or catch-up. That's partly because there's so little in the listings that appeals to me - and partly because I've got other, better things to do.
All this said, will I crack, and go back to Home Broadband? I don't think so, but if I do, it won't be with BT unless they reduce their prices. I'll go with somebody else. However, I'd want to avoid signing up with a provider who is likely to mess me around, either because their service is second-rate and unreliable, or because they can't deal efficiently with any customer service issues that may arise. Why pay for aggravation? Even at a rock-bottom price? No thanks.
Footnote
I've discovered that I can get some sort of 4G signal inside the car or the caravan, both parked outside the house. I assumed I wouldn't, both being metal boxes, albeit with plenty of windows. Well, that's something, although it's a chilly business to do things out there - unless I fire up Fiona's engine, or I connect the caravan up to the household mains and turn the heating on!
Fingers crossed that normal service is restored soon...
