If you have had the frustrating experience the phone being constantly in and out of service and goes to voicemail whenever someone calls, you should consider investing in cell phone signal boosters or in Femtocells. These are the two most widely used solutions for weak signals.
Wireless cell phone signal boosters are also called repeaters of amplifiers and they work by capturing the weak signal from outside the phone, amplifying it, and then redistributing it inside the phone. Boosters have three major pieces for this. They have an outside antenna which may either be directional or omni-directional, the amplifier, and the inside antenna which may also be either directional or omni-directional. On the other hand, Femtocells can be taken to be miniature cell phone towers which are about the size of a wireless router. They are provided by the wireless carrier and they are installed in homes to provide coverage. They are capable of providing coverage of up to 40-inch radius. They are basically Wi-Fi routers for PCS and cellular frequencies. Femtocells are connected to cell phones via broadband internet connection.
There are several considerations to make when choosing between a cell phone signal booster and Femtocells. Boosters work with the data plans for all the carriers that use 850/1900 MHz for their data. On the other hand, the supported data varies by carrier with Femtocell and some Femtocells do not support any data. Boosters connect with different carriers, but Femtocells are specific to the service provider. Boosters are multi-user, meaning different people can talk and/or surf simultaneously. On the other hand, the multi-user feature in Femtocells varies with different carriers. Boosters do not require a bandwidth to operate, but Femtocells require anywhere from 40Kbps – 300kbps of upload and download bandwidth. This is dependant on the number of data sessions and active calls. Boosters are more expensive compared to Femtocells, with a basic cell phone signal booster kit going for about $325 and Femtocells ranging from free to about $250 one time fee and about $5 per month.
Boosters can be installed in 1 to 4 hours without the need of a technician. Femtocells are easier to install since there is no mounting of antenna. All you need to do is a simple Ethernet connection to your router. Femtocells provide seamless call transfer to the tower whenever you are leaving the coverage area, but you have to hang up and re-dial whenever you are entering the coverage area. With a booster, you are always connected when receiving and dialing since it is an extension of the outside tower. Boosters work immediately you power the amplifier, but you need up to one hour for some Femtocells to setup and stabilize the first time and 10 to 15 minutes in subsequent power cycles.