We would appreciate advice on options to improve marginal cell phone reception. We are starting an intentional community on property about 5 miles from the nearest cell tower, so reception, especially inside the house is spotty. We would prefer a solution that would benefit the entire community but may have to settle for an individual solution initially. Ideally, we would want the quality of service to be adequate for internet connection as well as phone service. We currently have ATT as the provider and are using Motorola flip phones. Since we are in a rural area, it appears unlikely that any company would erect a cell tower, but that's an educated guess. Any suggestions? Thanks, Gary
Sounds like you are looking for a wireless amplifier system . There are many out there . All different power levels and prices. Just make sure you deal with a reputable dealer that has a return policy but also has the knowledge to put together the right package for your application.
I was in the same situation -- rural area, no towers close, hardly any service in most areas of the house.... I ended up switching to T-Mobile (and got a wi-fi enabled phone from T-Mobile e.g. a BlackBerry) which connects through the router (wireless Internet) in our home. But later this year AT&T has confirmed plans to come out with their own femtocell (which would allow any AT&T phone to pick up service through your high-speed Internet connect if you have it)... Which is different from the UMA technology that T-Mobile currently uses. I would say that this is likely to be a cheaper option compared to an amplifier. But again, it's really only going to benefit your immediate property (primarily indoors and depending on how big the house, range of router, etc.)... only only 4-5 phones can connect at one time. Speak to town council and local offices, write letters/sign petitions to wireless carriers, etc. every little bit helps! AT&T Femtocell Also, AT&T seems to be the most committed (in my opinion) to the goal of bringing more cell coverage to rural areas. I plan on switching when AT&T comes out with femtocell because their coverage in my area is a little better than T-Mobile's anyway. Good luck!
A repeater and/or femtocell are both good ideas, but are more for individuals (ie: single homes/buildings) and not the the community as a whole. If your community will be on a large-scale, you may want to contact one of the cellular operators directly and let them know about your plans. They may be able to re-align one of their existing antennas to give better coverage in your area, or maybe install one of their own repeaters in your area that can cover the whole community. Or maybe they can put up a small "pico cell" (ie: larger than a home femto-cell, but smaller than the standard macro-cells) in the center of the community. Anyway, I'd suggest to at least contact the local cellular operators, and see what they have to say. I imagine they should be interested. Winning new subscribers is tough these days, and if they can be the only ones to provide exclusive coverage to a whole community...:browani: ...of course the "bean-counters" have to break out the calculators and see if it makes financial sense...:O...but pico-cells and repeaters are pretty cheap...and it cost nothing to re-align an existing antenna...
welcome to the forum!I'm new to this forum,now i'm facing same problem with my nokia cell .I don't know what to do?
