An updated Shipping Forecast is broadcast six times a day from three Navtex transmitters placed strategically around the coast of the United Kingdom, giving information on the areas near to the transmitter. The three transmitters are called Cullercoats, Niton and Portpatrick, after the places they are at. Navtex is a type of radio communication that sends a message to a receiver that picks it up and changes it into text, like to a mobiles' text message. The Navtex messages can be received up to 270 miles offshore. Navtex is an acronym for NAVigational TEXt messages. Major areas of general Navtex coverage include the Mediterranean Sea, the North Sea, Japan and the coasts of North America. Navtex is one of the more common ways of receiving the Shipping Forecast when off-shore.