Boosting Cell Coverage at Home & on the Road

If you still hang onto your landline due to poor cell reception in your home or office, or you need better mobile reception in your car, this article is for you. While corporations and large buildings have long been able to boost indoor wireless coverage using industrial-grade equipment, it has been too costly and complex for the average homeowner. The picture has changed recently, with the introduction of several affordable and consumer-friendly signal amplifiers designed to be installed by end users in minutes. Perhaps even more importantly, the advent of 3G broadband networks for laptop and smartphone Internet access has dramatically increased the importance of strong connections. Two bars might be fine for voice calls, but completely inadequate for surfing the Web.

Prices for SOHO indoor signal boosters range from about $250-$300 for single-band (1900 or 850 MHz) models that work with providers on specific frequencies, to $400-$500 for dual-band models that work with almost all U.S. carriers (aside from Nextel), and rev up signal strength on any cell phones within range of the base station (about 2500 square feet). Most can be adapted for use in cars, trucks, and boats with the right antenna and mounting options, and some companies sell special auto or marine kits (more about these on the next page).

The key thing to remember about all these signal boosters is that they are only as good as the signal you get in the location of the receiving antenna. If you don't get good reception outside your house or car, no booster is going to be able to improve on that. But if you can get 4 bars outdoors on one side of the roof with a good antenna, for example, one of these signal boosters can shift that strong reception indoors where the people are. This makes a huge difference in throughput, since one bar corresponds to a full 4 to 10 times signal increase. They are essentially repeaters, bringing the signal from the outdoor antenna indoors via cable, then broadcasting it again from a wireless base station much like a Wi-Fi access point. One added bonus is that with a better signal, your cell phone battery should also last longer.

For this story, we looked at dual-band solutions from Wi-Ex and Wilson Electronics that work in fixed and mobile installations, as well as the single-band Spotwave Zen, which we reviewed last year. Many more such products exist, such as the $499 Gemini Dual Band Repeater Package from CellAntenna.com.

It pays to shop around for a system that matches your needs -- most have various types of antenna, mounting, and cabling options for home or car. For example, Wilson lets you choose from several types of indoor and outdoor antennas, including wall, dome, Yagi, and marine models, that work with its single- and dual-band amplifiers. Wilson also offers two types of amplifier base stations, wired and wireless. The wired models connect directly to your cell phone via a cable from the amplifier, and can be good options for relatively fixed locations like your car or desk. They are generally cheaper and more reliable than wireless models, but much less convenient. With a wireless amplifier, all phones within the coverage area are boosted, making it a better choice when you want to roam around the house or support multiple handsets. Finally, while most models come with low-loss RG-58 coax cabling to run from the outdoor antenna to the indoor base station, you may need a longer length than is included in the base kit. (Note that standard coax cabling has too much impedance for PCS/CEL signal boosting. It's important to look for the low-loss variety, as well as an indoor/outdoor rating.)

Spotwave Zen

Spotwave Zen Z1900

The Spotwave Zen ($299 after rebate) is a single-band 1900MHz amplifier that works with Sprint and T-Mobile in most locations. If you think you're a candidate for the Zen treatment, the first thing to do is to go to the Spotwave site and enter your zip code, to see what carriers and services are supported in your area. All primary carriers are shown, although if your service provider piggybacks on the network of a larger carrier in your area, you'll need to find out which one. The other thing you need to do is make sure there is at least one spot within or just outside your house where you can get at least a two-bar signal. Otherwise there won't be enough for the system to work with.

The Z1900 boosted a sketchy 2-bar T-Mobile signal up to 3-4 bars in our wood frame house in Berkeley, Calif., and a 3- to 4-bar Sprint signal all the way up to a constant 5. The coverage area is up to 2,500 square feet, enough for a typical home. A 35-foot coax cable was included, along with an indoor/outdoor antenna (outdoors only in a sheltered location like under an eave or on a porch). Handy indicator lights on the base station help you determine the best positioning and confirm signal strength. And all sorts of mounting hardware is in the box, including a desktop stand.

While somewhat pricey for a single-band signal booster, the Spotwave Zen really does the job, and includes everything you need for most SOHO locations in one handy package.

Wi-Ex zBoost YX510 Dual-Band

Wi-Ex zBoost YX510 PCS-CEL
Dual-Band Signal Amplifier

The Wi-Ex zBoost ($399) ups the ante with a dual-band antenna and amplifier that works with all GSM and CDMA carriers, including AT&T/Cingular, Sprint, T-Mobile, and Verizon. Installation is almost exactly like the Spotwave: the antenna is placed either high on an inside wall near a window, or outside under the eaves (wherever you can get the best signal with your cell phone), then a cable is run to the wall-plugged indoor base station, which should be placed near the center of your desired coverage area, just like a Wi-Fi router. Coverage is stated as up to 3,000 square feet, although antenna upgrades are available to increase that to 10,000 sf.

The kit comes with a 50-foot coax cable, which was more than enough for our house. The manual recommends at least 15 feet of vertical separation between the antenna and base unit, which can be mounted on a wall or placed on a shelf or desk. You also need to keep at least a few feet between your phones and the base station. Without sufficient separation between the three elements, the signal may be too strong. A red light comes on to warn you about this, although we had no problems.

In tests with Sprint and Verizon laptop EV-DO cards, signal strength increased from 3 or 4 bars, up to 4 or 5, depending on where in the house we were. But the real payoff came in increased throughput, with Speedtest.net reporting 300-500Kbps before amplification, and 600-700Kbps after. Sadly, as with the Spotwave, the zBoost couldn't do much with our T-Mobile signal. If you are between towers and can't get a good connection outside where the antenna is, you're not going to get much improvement with a signal booster. Wi-Ex also makes single-band versions, the zBoost YX500-CEL 800MHz and YX500-PCS 1900MHz Signal Boosters, for $299 each, similar in price and functionality to the Spotwave.