Signal amplifiers / repeaters

[iancalderbank]

In another thread I'm part of a discussion about closure of a local cell resulting in appalling coverage. I've realised I may have my own solution looking at me. wifi calling isn't an option to solve my EE coverage issue because only 1 of the 5 EE / Plusnet phones in the house supports it.

I have a Panorama WMM4G wideband directional on the side of my house, this has line of sight to a mast about 1000m away that has Three on it.  I use this connected directly to a 4x4 mimo huawei router and get 100M+ down, with dual-band Carrier Aggregation. not rocket speed but I'm happy with it . Smarty SIM in it because their data's super-cheap. I use this to load-balance / backup my xDSL broadband (I need to be online all the time for work, so internet downtime isn't an option). Three's coverage in my house natively on a phone is rubbish, but with the directional antenna for data, it works. As the same mast that my antenna is pointed at also carries EE - I was thinking about possibly putting an internal amplifier / repeater on the end of one or two of the antenna connections.  Happy to lose the CA on the data connection. If I start with a good signal and repeat it internally it might be ok. But I'm aware there are some crappy so-called "boosters" out there.

TLDR: Anyone got any detailed experience with the amplifier/repeater type "so-called boosters", good ones and bad ones? 

[bristolian]

No direct experience, but make sure you choose an Ofcom-approved booster to avoid causing further issues.

https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-telecoms-and-internet/advice-for-consumers/advice/using-a-repeater-t... 

[lalanuggets]

Only 2 that are used in the uk in commercial and business mainly. Use of non certified models is illegal in the uk 

Nextivity G41-9E

Nextivity Quatra 4000e

[iancalderbank]

yeah those are all expensive commercial grade kit for large buildings. so none of the cheaper stuff thats out there is actually legal?

[lalanuggets]

As I understand it, at current - no. 

EE used to supply a 3G signal box that connected into an Ethernet port, and established an encrypted tunnel to EE. This was sunset in 2022 due to the retirement of 3G, with the signal boxes one of the first in the retirement plans. 

If your devices don’t support band 20 and n28, I’d be considering a check with ones that do, to see whether the lower frequencies work within the premises. 

[lalanuggets]

This site maintain ofcom compliance with their stock list. I believe they sell the 2 approved solutions with packages aimed from small office to larger office. 

I don’t imagine you will find anything super cheap that’s going to meet the network standard, for public repeating of the signal. Ultimately, anyone could be using it and it’s a reflection of the EE network. It has to be robust and it has to maintain the reliance of the network, which requires sophistication in the way the units work together, and with the macro site 

https://signalboosters.co.uk/collections/products

[EssexBoyEE]

Signal Amplifiers are ok for Calls and Text, kind of, but are pretty much a waste of time if your trying to suck Data through them.

Stick with a 4/5G Router and experiment with Router position and or External Antenna positioning.

[iancalderbank]

calls are exactly the issue I'm trying to solve

I have a directional external antenna , high up on my house, connected to a 4G router. This works perfectly well. I also have xDSL. we don't need a solution for data.

what I don't have, since EE closed the cell 3 weeks ago that it turns out was covering my house for calls, is the ability to make or receive calls in the house over the cellular network. My wife missed a really important personal call today and is really fed up about it. only 1 of the 5 phones in the house is capable of wifi calling, mine, because I spent work money on replacing it last week that I ought to not have had to, because I was constantly missing work calls.

whats even more annoying is that EE refuses to believe there's an issue, they've closed my ticket with "there's no coverage issue in your area". The next nearest cell after the one that was closed has a messed up install - the antennae are literally pointing downwards, but they've ignored my message  about it. 

I know that with a directional antenna (which is currently pointed at nearest Three mast, which also has EE) I can pull in a strong signal which is very usable for data. I get nothing from that mast for calls at present on the ground floor. But If I can pull that signal from roof level and then repeat it into the house for calls, I'd expect to get something usable. So , I am looking for an economical way to repeat that signal into my house in such a way that we can make and receive calls and texts. That is all.

[lalanuggets]

Ok the cell site that was closed, do you know whether it was marked as a temporary site? 

How long did the service work - was it years? Certainly there’s not a part of network rationalisation that’s supposed to disconnect users from the service in theory. 

Does the coverage checker show indoor coverage? 

[bristolian]

Given the mention of the coverage loss on this forum, it's likely this site decom has come about as part of a legal or acquisition issue rather than an optimisation-driven activity. Such scenarios do happen from time-to-time but it's always the preferred solution to have replacement sites live before switch-off - it's just not always possible.

Without knowing the specifics of this location, antennas that are mounted at 45degrees to the vertical would have a site-specific reason for it!

EE's preferred solution for indoor coverage issues has been WiFi-calling for many years now, I can't remember when the last non-VoWiFi-compatible device was launched but any response from operators directly, is very likely to be along these lines.