Improve your phone signal with a mobile signal booster

Mobile Signal Boosters are a cost-effective way to quickly fix poor mobile signal but please consider the  following before making a decision

A Mobile Signal Booster will only perform if there is an existing 3G or 4G signal to slave from. It only requires 1 bar of signal strength for a Signal Booster to perform but you may be in an area where Mobile Signal is not available and in which case, a 3G/4G booster will not work.  Another situation may be that you are in an area where there is perfect signal outside but no mobile signal inside. In this case a Mobile Signal Booster can aid in bringing that usable signal inside.

A mobile signal booster is a fantastic device that can be introduced into many different concepts and configurations. 4G IBC DAS solutions can be implemented with the introduction of a Mobile Signal Booster which can distribute 4G signal across vast areas such as, office levels, warehouses, carparks, shopping centers, hospitals and surgeries etc.

Mobile signal boosters are not without their limitations however, and perform best when user traffic is defined. A signal booster DAS system can be extended upon to increase user traffic but a general rule of thumb is to limit each individual 3G Booster to 100 users max and 4G signal Boosters to 60 users per system. 

It’s no secret that Telstra has dominance over the 3G/4G network in Australia but that is not to say that Optus and Vodafone are not keeping up. When deciding on which mobile booster you require it may pay  to do some homework on what network is available in your area. A common trap is for customers to move into a new home to discover there is no Optus or Vodafone signal where they now are and attempt to solve this problem with a mobile signal booster. Sometimes luck is on their side and this will solve the phone signal problem. Sometimes consumer loyalty doesn’t pay off and these poor souls are left with a mobile phone signal booster that will not work and still no phone signal.

 This is a very important question to ask. Optus, Telstra, and Vodafone have spent quite a few dollars on their mobile network. Until recently the use of Mobile Phone boosters was restricted to the network operators only. This is due in part to the Mobile Signal Boosters ability to introduce undesirable passive frequencies into the network.  This resulted in a lot of Illegal Booster being purchased from overseas. As such the carriers cracked down fairly hard on this and anybody found with an illegal repeater was issues a cease and desist notice and possible a fine. This was regulated by the Australian Communications and Media Authority and the publications can be found here: https://www.acma.gov.au/devices-we-prohibit#phone-repeaters

Currently, there is only one product that has been approved for the Australian market. The Cel-Fi Range from Nextivity is superior in functionality to its overseas counterparts and is the only legal and approved Mobile Signal Booster for operation over Telstra, Optus and Vodafone networks.

All three Carriers can be individually boosted by implementing the appropriate Mobile Signal Booster. To boost all three carries or a combination of Telstra, Optus and Vodafone requires a little bit more planning and expertise. As touched upon above, Mobile Signal Boosters interact with the 3G and 4G network which belongs to the carriers. The devices have been designed and manufactured to filter all undesirable “noise” when installed in a stand-alone configuration. However, when we combine technologies, a Telstra 4G Repeater + Optus 4G Repeater for example, we have the potential to create a phenomenon called Passive Inter-Modulation (PIM) and introduce it into the carrier network. All you need to know about PIM is that if the Telco’s identify PIM on their network due to the installation of a multi-Carrier 4G booster system, you can say goodbye to your system and probably a few year worth of wages as well. For this reason alone, when considering a multi-carrier mobile booster system, always contact the experts. The RF Engineers at SEQ Connect can ensure that your multi-carrier 4G Booster system is 100% compliant and PIM-Free.