Phone and 3G signal booster advice needed

starface

My parents live in rural Ireland. Next neighbour is a few miles over. Three used to be the only phone signal we could get in the house when we were all living there and all ten of us changed to three but since buying up O2 the signal is brutal. All the kids live elsewhere now but my parents have to hang out of the window to make a call. We've contacted three on five different occasions about this and nothing improved. We were basically fobbed off. The signal just seems to have vanish over night.

So I'm looking for advice on ways to boost this signal so that they can at least sit on the couch and use their phones. We found 2/3 bars of 3G (sometimes 4G) on one particular part of the roof over the said window so I was thinking about getting them a signal booster with a yagi antenna but I've three questions before I invest a few hundred pound.

1. Have anyone tried one and saw an improvement? I'm not looking for super fast speed just some decent signal for calls and 3G

2. Is there any particular company you can recommend? (I'm worried that if it doesn't work no company will honour the money back guarantee)

3. Is there any legal alternative they could use?

I know you can be fined for having them and I've told them that I don't approve but my dad said they can not continue to live in this form of isolation. I'm hopeful that it will not interfer with anyone else as they are so rural.

This is an example of what I was looking at for them

http://www.mobileboosterie.com/Ireland_Tri_Band_GSM_90018002100_Mobile_Phone_Signal_Booster-250m2/p2086943_9513579.

Many thanks!

The Cush

As you say these signal boosters are illegal to use here and the UK.

There are 2 legal options Vodafone's Sure Signal and eir's WiFi calling which I believe use broadband as a return path.

Both Comreg and Ofcom are looking at the issue. This is the current position

The matter of indoor coverage is one regularly raised but represents an area in which there is a relative dearth of research and solutions. To better inform the debate in this area ComReg has taken the decision to conduct extensive research into commonly used building materials for domestic dwellings. It is strongly suspected that the levels of insulation currently used in houses is a significant impediment to indoor coverage; as heat and radio signals are part of the same electromagnetic spectrum, keeping heat in by default keeps radio signals out. ComReg has identified two potential solutions; native Wi-Fi calling and the use of high standard repeaters. Native Wi-Fi calling is for the Mobile Network Operators to implement. To facilitate the use of repeaters by the general public, ComReg is conducting background research on the feasibility of the introduction of mobile phone repeaters that are beyond network control. In parallel, work is also ongoing on the preparation of project and consultation documents.

ComReg will complete the feasibility research and publish a consultation document in Q3 2017 with Final Decision expected in Q2 2018.

That being said these boosters are being used but the standard can vary from cheap Chinese imports to higher quality expensive locally manufactured units.

Irish manufacturer here - http://www.stelladoradus.com/
As they are illegal to use here they don't direct to Irish buyers.

starface

The Cush wrote: »

As you say these signal boosters are illegal to use here and the UK.

There are 2 legal options Vodafone's Sure Signal and eir's WiFi calling which I believe use broadband as a return path.

Both Comreg and Ofcom are looking at the issue. This is the current position



That being said these boosters are being used but the standard can vary from cheap Chinese imports to higher quality expensive locally manufactured units.

Irish manufacturer here - http://www.stelladoradus.com/
As they are illegal to use here they don't direct to Irish buyers.

Thank you for your reply. That's really interesting about the types of insulation used because in my own home here we don't have great phone signal inside the house but we have great signal outside the house.

I don't think this is the issue for my parents as there is no service outside the house either. i personally think three switched ariels once they took over O2. That could be total nonsense though. Just me speculating.

_Kaiser_

starface wrote: »

Thank you for your reply. That's really interesting about the types of insulation used because in my own home here we don't have great phone signal inside the house but we have great signal outside the house.

I don't think this is the issue for my parents as there is no service outside the house either. i personally think three switched ariels once they took over O2. That could be total nonsense though. Just me speculating.

Insulation definitely impacts - in my apartment I get a very weak signal in the bedroom and only an average one in the kitchen. I can barely get an FM signal on a radio either. Using a Vodafone suresignal to remedy the first one, and streaming radio for the 2nd.

If only it was so effective at keeping noise out.. I can hear every move in the apartment upstairs and almost make out entire conversations

WildWater

Interesting. I got a leaflet in the door last week offering signal boosters. But from what The Crush has posted it looks like their offering could actually be illegal.

_Kaiser_

WildWater wrote: »

Interesting. I got a leaflet in the door last week offering signal boosters. But from what The Crush has posted it looks like their offering could actually be illegal.

It is.. the regulators are indeed looking at the issue but owning one of these at the moment can result in fines and seizure of the equipment.

starface

_Kaiser_ wrote: »

It is.. the regulators are indeed looking at the issue but owning one of these at the moment can result in fines and seizure of the equipment.[/quote

I still think he'll still go ahead with it. He said he doesn't speed but everyday people speed even though it's illegal (ha!).

I won't be paying the fine anyways!!

ED E

starface wrote: »

Thank you for your reply. That's really interesting about the types of insulation used because in my own home here we don't have great phone signal inside the house but we have great signal outside the house.

New houses(Renovations) : Insulation is a faraday cage and can nuke signals of all sorts

70s houses: Great signal

30s houses: Crap signal due to solid block construction etc, cottages etc the same.

I don't think this is the issue for my parents as there is no service outside the house either. i personally think three switched ariels once they took over O2. That could be total nonsense though. Just me speculating.

Two things happened:
1. NBS (Not NBP!) ended which stopped a huge funding stream for Three to keep rural 3G sites active. Sites that might have made a few euro per month were then losing money.
2. Three decommissioned unrequired overlap between 272-02 and 272-05, in most cases this shouldnt impact coverage too much but there will always be small blackspots when you do something like that.


If they want to solve this just setup a 4G link and move to Vodafone.

Antenna on roof - Indoor 4/3G router-Vodafone Suresignal(Femtocell) - Mobile phones. Legal and reliable.

niallb

What Ed E says about putting the mobiles over an internet link is your best bet.
We all switched to Vodafone for that very reason. We had a spot in a front room that could get a mobile broadband signal,
and plugged a Sure Signal into it. That was the only option at the time, so Vodafone was the only choice.
With Eir/Meteor doing Wifi calling, you can use them too now if you have the right phone.

It doesn't have to be a 4G link though, anything you can get will work better than what you have,
so if there's any internet provider in the area at all, it should be taken into consideration.