Cellular based internet weak signal

[staninlowerAL]

Anyone willing to share their experience to improve their cellular signal? I want to switch from DSL to cell internet service but no one in this area offers a good strong cell signal. I've seen some information about signal enhancement/amplification but need more info from someone who has had some experience solving this problem. Thanks, Stan

[Gary Dotson]

I have Verizon cell internet (Jetpack), I don't have issues with cell signal but the wifi signal from the Jetpack and devices is pretty weak. I have to be within about 50 feet to get on line. It's been far more trouble free than the DSL it replaced, just have to be close to it. We take it along when we travel, nice to have internet along! Ours is unlimited, by the way.

[staninlowerAL]

Thanks Gary, I'm looking for home internet (just to be clear) and the cell signal from ANY provider is not very strong. In fact Verizon is the only game in town. The others lease Verizon equipment for their system use (CDMA). The only thing that's been recommended is a fixed "hot spot" which does not address the cell signal strength. I've looked at a directional antenna but either I'm not looking in the right place or the info is limited.

[Don McCombs]

You could use one or more wifi range extenders within your house/property.

[John *.?-!.* cub owner]

The cell booster do work, I am using one in my house due to it being wrapped with foil backed foam insulation and having a metal roof. The problem is the boosters need a half decent signal before they will do anything. if the signal is too weak they will not give you anything. You can download an ap that will allow you to check signal strengths, and find the best location for the antenna. We Boost makes the best boosters, but also the most expensive, $350 and up. There are others that cost less, but may not do what you need. All of them do require an outside antenna, a booster, and an inside antenna, which are all normally included.

[John *.?-!.* cub owner]

As a further note, Verizon is going to discontinue CDMA service this December. Any equipment using CDMA will have to be replaced with newer equipment and prices are expected to go up. That is the reason I left them for Cricket. However, Cricket uses ATT equipment, so it may not be available in your area.

[staninlowerAL]

Finally decided to take the plunge and try the WeBoost external antenna. Seems like the only way to know how it will perform is to try it. Fortunately the seller offers a 30 day return policy for full refund if it does not work satisfactory. Will post the results of my experiment since I'm 7 to 10 miles from the cell towers. Good or bad, CDMA (Verizon) is the only game in town.

[outdoors4evr]

For additional information, just be aware that 5G is coming within the next few years. Your 4G equipment will continue to work, but over time, the 4G network will be replaced by 5G and you will need to replace your hardware. I have been resisting purchasing a We Boost because of this. I don't want to invest in a system that has a short lifespan.

[staninlowerAL]

I'm so far out and service providers are so limited that I don't see 5G getting to me any time soon. The only way I see the providers investing money to upgrade is if they can attract a customer base to make it worthwhile. The population is low and therefore they are not going to have a lot of new customers. I'll be happy if it improves enough to allow me to get decent service. Of course I could continue to pay internet charges from the phone company and have DSL but I'd rather spend some of that $850/year to upgrade my cell service. I can recover the cost of the antenna and booster in about 6 months.

[Jim Becker]

I don't know what or when on 5G. But CDMA is 3G technology. Verizon is phasing out 3G for 4G LTE and will pull the plug on 3G at the end of 2019.

[outdoors4evr]

Whatever you choose, stay away from the satellite internet providers. They work, but only when you don't need them to. (2am - 6am)

[T-Mo]

Whatever you choose, stay away from the satellite internet providers. They work, but only when you don't need them to. (2am - 6am)

Yep, been there, done that, with both Hughesnet and Wildblue. I now have broadband from a company called Big River. It's still not the greatest, but I have unlimited data and I can access my work stuff at home (which I couldn't do with the satellite services).

[Urbish]

I live in a rural community that isn't well served by wired internet leaving most folks in the same boat with either crummy satellite or spotty 3/4G service. I am lucky that I live on the main highway just out of town and have AT&T U-Verse (6Mb/s).

There was a township broadband initiative that would run fiber optic cable to every single household in the township, but it got voted down. The cost wasn't that bad as the monthly payment for service + infrastructure funding would be less than I currently pay for U-Verse. But the installation costs were amortized over 20 years, which left a bad taste in most voter's mouths. Who knows what kind of wizardry will exist in 20 years and we didn't want to be stuck paying for an antiquated network.

[John *.?-!.* cub owner]

In my area most of the rural areas seem to have pretty poor internet service, but when you compare it to the old dial up, it is great. Right now the fastest service I can get in my area is 1.5 Mb, but at the distance I live from the equipment cabinet I only get a max of 1mb download and 200kb upload. Note the lower case b designates bitts, bytes would be shown by a B which is 8 bitts. Luckily they are in the process of upgrading our systems, and soon the slowest speed will be 10Mbs.

[staninlowerAL]

There's some ongoing discussions in some states legislatures about allowing the electric cooperatives to provide broadband internet by granting tax breaks for investors. That will probably take a while to work the details out and get implemented. Alabama has some grant funds available for underserved areas, and just awarded a substantial amount of grants for that purpose for rural broadband coverage.