Mobile phone booster and mobile broadband

Forums › New Zealand Mobile and Wireless › Mobile phone booster and mobile broadband

bagpussnz

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#248129 11-Mar-2019 14:53

Hi,

I am about to move to an area where I will have to use rural broadband (haven't yet decided which vendor yet) - which will require an aerial.

In that area, mobile phone coverage is a bit patchy - sometimes it's ok (about 3 bars) - other times you need to stand on one leg 😉

Vodafone have told me their mobile phone booster won't work with their rural broadband as it needs a hardwired internet connection (which makes me think it's not so much of a booster than a router).

The mobilesignalbooster site has legal problems (however, I am on the top of a hill in the middle of nowhere, so not sure what interference I would generate to other people).

Can anyone suggest some options for "boosting" mobile reception?

Cheers,

Ian

RunningMan

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#2195907 11-Mar-2019 15:04

Just get a decent RBI install - it will have a roof mounted antenna far better than whatever is in your phone. Very unlikely you will need any sort of booster.

hio77

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Lizard Networks

#2195908 11-Mar-2019 15:05

Sounds like your mobile carrier of choice is vodafone.

Pickup a suresignal off trademe, plug it in and you will be fine.

Don't go down the booster route.

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coffeebaron

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#2195923 11-Mar-2019 15:14

I can help here. I've done many RBI installs, customer RBI installs and mobile coverage improvements. So please get in touch, let me know where you're heading and I can see what help I can provide you.

Cheers

Fraser

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Linux

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#2195944 11-Mar-2019 15:36

The VodafoneNZ Sure Signal unit is a low powered 3G 2100Mhz cell site that uses your fixed broadband to connect back to the core network

raytaylor

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#2196849 13-Mar-2019 00:39

Your getting contradictory advice so far.

Plain amplifiers are illegal - doesnt matter how remote you are. The unit will introduce noise into your uplink data back to the tower and will slow down the total capability of the tower with wasted airtime, even when you are not knowingly using it.

The solution would be a combination

Best option is VDSL and then the cellular options become:
- Vodafone Sure signal (if vodafone provides the VDSL)
- 2Degrees Wifi Calling with a compatible cellphone
- No option available for spark as spark hate their rural customers even though a sure-signal device is available from sparks network suppliers.

Second Best Option is your local fixed wireless ISP.
Post your region and we can advise who your local one is.
The cellular option becomes
- Vodafone Sure signal as many fixed wireless ISPs are quietly approved to run the sure signal over their networks
- 2Degrees Wifi Calling with a compatible cellphone
- No option available for spark as spark hate their rural customers even though a sure-signal device is available from sparks network suppliers.

Third Best Option is Vodafone RBI
This uses an antenna on the roof.
However sure signal isnt compatible for the cellular option - as the rbi modem will look to change to a tower with the best signal which could happen to be a sure signal inside the house, thus cutting off the connection. I have also heard of neighbors RBI modems locking on to sure signals. Edit: I think some RBI modems allow the isp to lock the modem to a specific frequency which would avoid the sure signal inside the house, but its still not technically approved and will probably result in degraded broadband speed.
- 2Degrees Wifi Calling with a compatible device
- No option available for spark as spark hate their rural customers even though a sure-signal device is available from sparks network suppliers.

Ray Taylor

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hio77

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#2196851 13-Mar-2019 00:53

Could you drive that point in any harder Ray?
Your forgetting cellfi which a completely valid option.. Given its priced rather steep.

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kornflake

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#2197154 13-Mar-2019 11:09

@hio does beg the question, when will Spark catch up on the surecell solution?

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raytaylor

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#2199201 15-Mar-2019 22:21

hio77: Could you drive that point in any harder Ray?
Your forgetting cellfi which a completely valid option.. Given its priced rather steep.

I have seen them installed in a number of rural households and they never seem to work. Normally because they require a cell signal to start with - more than 1 bar it seems.

Ray Taylor

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michaelmurfy

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#2199281 16-Mar-2019 00:28

raytaylor:

hio77: Could you drive that point in any harder Ray?
Your forgetting cellfi which a completely valid option.. Given its priced rather steep.

I have seen them installed in a number of rural households and they never seem to work. Normally because they require a cell signal to start with - more than 1 bar it seems.

I fully agree regarding Cellifi. It is not a real solution. Really, Spark need a product to match either Vodafone or 2degrees here. WiFi calling would be great especially for my parents who are reliant off a single cell site and have no home phone (but have rock solid internet). It'll be nice if there was a solution for people like them which will work during a full provider outage in their area.

For example - with the recent Wakefield fires (my parents are based a little out of Wakefield) if the fire was to wipe out the cell site which did come very close then my parents would have no mobile coverage at all on their farm. People like my Nana who has a regular landline wouldn't be able to contact them to check if they're OK. The Cellifi wouldn't resolve this however things like Suresignal and WiFi Calling would.

This cell site has gone down in the past - so really, I beg Spark to actually come up with a viable, and cost effective solution for people living rurally. WiFi calling would be awesome here but I am not holding my breath.

And yes, I do understand the ironic nature of things here - why don't I just set up a VoIP phone? The answer is they don't want this and have told me to remove it. I found they actually had their phone disconnected from the SPA because they were sick of people calling it. Mobiles have turned into the new home phone and people don't understand in rural locations there may only be one piece of infrastructure keeping them running in their area.

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Aredwood

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#2199286 16-Mar-2019 01:20

michaelmurfy:
And yes, I do understand the ironic nature of things here - why don't I just set up a VoIP phone? The answer is they don't want this and have told me to remove it. I found they actually had their phone disconnected from the SPA because they were sick of people calling it. Mobiles have turned into the new home phone and people don't understand in rural locations there may only be one piece of infrastructure keeping them running in their area.

Could you setup a call divert on their mobiles, to divert to the VOIP line if the mobile is unreachable. And then call bar the VOIP line, so only the diverted calls would come through.

Or setup a number whitelist on it with only your number and a few close friends and family members.

Dual SIM phone? I actually still have a Bluesky Samoa SIM in the second slot on my phone. And that SIM connects to all 3 NZ networks. So it is a good backup, although expensive to make outgoing calls from. And also expensive to receive calls on it as well.

michaelmurfy

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#2199288 16-Mar-2019 02:35

@Aredwood Yes that is all indeed possible but I wouldn't even do that, I'd just change them to 2degrees instead. They don't want a VoIP line (like I say, I had one, but they asked me to remove it) and I did think about just having a VoIP line there with a free 2talk 028 number also "just in case" but I know they'd never use it.

Ignoring the fact there are solutions that I could put in place for my parents - I am more thinking about the wider community who don't have any knowledge to put a solution in place for themselves. This is where I think WiFi Calling is excellent for rural people especially as it just works (provided the mobile is supported).

Technically this means also people could go to a place where there is no mobile coverage (eg - the Chatham Islands) and actually have a form of mobile service. This is where I think a service like this has its merits.

I do note this is all first world problems also :)

nickb800

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#2199335 16-Mar-2019 08:55

I run a suresignal over skinny 4g broadband (with roof mount antennas) and it works great (yes I know it sounds dodgy)

Surely there's enough knowledge in our community to identify which rbi resellers would let you lock your modem to non-sure signal bands? And anyway, if your rbi is coming in via directional antenna on your roof, then the risk of it locking on to your sure signal would be low?

raytaylor

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#2199906 17-Mar-2019 01:59

nickb800: And anyway, if your rbi is coming in via directional antenna on your roof, then the risk of it locking on to your sure signal would be low?

They arent very directional - typically still a 60 degree wide beamwidth to -6db but will connect to a base station further off target, sometimes in the completely opposite direction. A sure signal right below it would be picked up off the back.

Ray Taylor

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coffeebaron

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#2200905 18-Mar-2019 16:38

raytaylor:

hio77: Could you drive that point in any harder Ray?
Your forgetting cellfi which a completely valid option.. Given its priced rather steep.

I have seen them installed in a number of rural households and they never seem to work. Normally because they require a cell signal to start with - more than 1 bar it seems.

I have installed a quite a few Cel-Fis and when installed properly with an external antenna, they work very well. The poor performing ones are usually when they have just chucked in the "window unit" standalone somewhere.

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