Cellular Boosters 5G 4G etc

[soapyfish]

Hi Everyone, 

 

I have been asked to improve the 4G and 5G signals in one of our buildings, a recently constructed sports centre. The sports centre is used by both the school and the public. The building kills 99% of all cellular signal as soon as you enter it, presumably due to the materials used during its construction. There looks to be a number of systems available however I have zero experience in this area and am concerned that I will be over or under sold a product.  Currently I am looking at this device with 2 additional internal antenna's the sports centre is about 40mx25mx20m 

 

Next-gen NS-2000-Smart+5G amplifier 

 

Does anyone have any experience with this sort of technology? I would really appreciate any info or gotcha's when making these kinds of purchase 

 

Thanks

 

[dhicks]

16 minutes ago, soapyfish said:

Does anyone have any experience with this sort of technology?

 

No - just replying to add myself to this thread. I have a very similar issue, trying to get a mobile signal to an underground electricity metering cupboard under a block of flats, I would be interested to hear any advice from others and how you get on.

[DrBeaker]

Sounds like a job to be contracted out to me. IF they want it fixed that bad.

 

We've got asked what we could do about the 3/4/5G mobile signal inside a building ... Er.... NOTHING .... as it's outside or our control, not controlled by us and we're IT, not builders.

It was never mentioned again.

 

You can also get into a LOT of trouble for "interfering" with anything to do with the mobile phone network via Ofcom etc. You'll be blamed, not the ones who wanted it.

 

Just my 2 cents

[jmak]

Just get a guest Wi-Fi network running and tell people to use Wi-Fi calling. 

 

Although there's a lot more flexibility in the law now, it's still strictly regulated and not straightforward to implement.

[andy_b]

Personally that feels out of my remit.  A few of our schools have terrible signal indoors - and we just accept it.

[Fazza]

Personally I'd make sure it was a device from OfComs list of ones they know to comply with the law:

 

https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-and-broadband/coverage-and-speeds/using-a-repeater-to-improve-indoor-mobile-phone-signal

 

As long as it meets The Wireless Telegraphy (Mobile Repeater) (Exemption) Regulations 2022 then they are legal to buy and install in the UK - but they must meet Ofcom's strict technical standards.  "Many cheap, non-compliant boosters sold online are illegal to operate, even if they are legal to buy" so watch out.

 

As others have basically said, don't buy one yourself.  Find a third party company based in the UK (not Gibralta for example) that specialise in this sort of thing and know the rules/regs/laws.

[dhicks]

34 minutes ago, Fazza said:

Personally I'd make sure it was a device from OfComs list of ones they know to comply with the law:

 

That very useful, thankyou. A very quick Google for the on-the-OfCom-list Hi10-5S-Pro suggests a price of around £1,200-ish, so probably around £2,000(?) by the time you've added arials and installation. Probably a bit more if those arials have to run through anything complex, which of course they probably will because that's why there's signal issues in the first place, so probably nearer £3,000.

[Dos_Box]

Didn't some mobile providers offer these to customers in areas with weak signals (quite some time ago), or am I thinking of something else?

[Fazza]

4 minutes ago, Dos_Box said:

Didn't some mobile providers offer these to customers in areas with weak signals (quite some time ago), or am I thinking of something else?

 

I think they're called femtocell devices and connect to your broadband and are for specific providers (O2 call theirs a Boostbox) and are for selected mobile phone numbers so you'd need to get one for each phone provider (assuming they did them) and then add all the people wishing to use them to the systems (O2's is for up to 32 numbers).

[FragglePete]

Vodafone used to have a system called Femtocell - which enable mobiles phones to latch onto it's own mobile phone signal hooked up to your Internet Connection - I think with the advent of WiFi Calling, it's long discontinued..   My neighbour and friend was the programme director for this system many years ago.

 

Pete

 

PS. Sorry - not a helpful post

[Rob_D]

6 minutes ago, Dos_Box said:

Didn't some mobile providers offer these to customers in areas with weak signals (quite some time ago), or am I thinking of something else

 We got a couple of these plug-in vodafone "boosters" with a contract renewal about 12 years ago. I'm not sure they ever did anything.

[ZeroHour]

I had the vodafone one (consumer) many years ago, it did work to a point but it was a bit flaky with calls.

 

I know there are a few folks who have signal boosters around here (for consumer use) that I believe are licensed to work. I saw on a FB someone asking a couple of weeks ago and people saying they did work but again that’s in a house.

[Norphy]

I used to use a 3 femotocell back when I had a phone which didn't support wifi calling and I lived in a area which seemed to be the black hole of Calcutta in terms of signal.

 

It worked quite well, but I don't think any networks are offering them any more because wifi calling has basically made them obsolete.  I don't think they'd be any good for OP's use case as they're network specific and the one I used needed a whitelist for connected devices too.

[soapyfish]

I have had some pricing back from a supplier who has supplied 2 quotes one for an analogue solution and one for a digital solution. DM me if you would like details,