East Prawle, population 200, has never had network coverage and the nearest mobile phone mast is 2.5 miles north of the village at Scoble Point near South Pool. It was a holiday maker who eventually discovered that if you stood on the bench and faced west you could make a call. Soon afterwards, queues began to snake back from the bench at peak times.
Elderly residents then complained to the council that the seat was too dirty to sit on.
Villagers find mobile phone signal after 10 years (Guardian, via kevan)
In East Ambae island, people regularly climb trees in order to make calls and send SMS messages. The result is a shouted conversation between one or more people at the base of the tree, the young lad (usually) high in the branches of the tree, and their interlocutor.