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The near-total use of mobile phones in society means that it is an accessible form of emergency communications. Current phones are also small and light enough to be carried on an expedition without significant weight penalty, and have sufficient battery power to be able to power a long conversation. The principal disadvantage of relying on a mobile phone as an emergency communications device is coverage in remote areas. Few major bushwalking areas have mobile telephone coverage, so the probability of being able to get phone coverage when you need it is dicey at best. Telstra seems to have good digital coverage in non-metropolitan areas. In an emergency a phone can use any network for emergency calls. The emergency number is 112, which gets you to the same call centre as 000.
CDMA
CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access) is a technology which replaces the old analogue mobile phone system. It has greater range than digital (GSM) mobiles; for example, you can a signal (admittedly weak) at Sealer's Cove, Wilson's Promontory, with a CDMA phone, whereas a digital phone does not work. If you have a choice between CDMA and digital, I would carry the CDMA phone.
SMS
Short Message Service (SMS) is commonly known as a text message. There may be some situations where there is some marginal mobile signal but not enough for a conversation, and voice transmissions are garbled or unreliable. It may be worth attempting to send an SMS to your home contact in the hope that it may get through even if voice transmissions are unintelligible. The obvious disadvantage of this is that you have no way of knowing if the message was received or not; lack of acknowledgement from your home contact could simply mean that they got the message but their reply did not get through. Also, SMS text messages have less credibility than a conversation. If you are messaging someone other than your designated home contact, unless you have pre-warned them that you are out walking they may assume that you are joking.
Mobile internet
It is possible for mobile phones to access a version of the internet using a technology called Wireless Application Protocol (WAP). This gives the user the ability to view a variety of information, most of which is of no practical use to outdoor enthusiasts, such as sports scores. However, it does include the weather forecast. While access is limited to mobile phone coverage areas, knowing what the weather is likely to be tomorrow can be invaluable in planning the next day's activities.
Over-reliance on electronic devices is a potential cause of problems for a party which does not have the equipment and skills to do without that device. An obvious example of this is a party which sets off with a map and GPS but no compass or spare batteries. You should never rely solely on electronic devices if the safety of your party could be compromised by the failure of the device to work properly.
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