FCC Announcement on Signal Boosters

May 9th, 2011

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) as been investigating the use of cellular signal boosters by individuals and businesses. Since this issues closely effects our business and our customers, we are keeping a close eye on the progress.

The FCC has issued an announcement on their investigation progress. We are very happy that they recognize the need for cellular signal boosters and have indicated its intent to increase booster certification standards.  FCC commissioners have issued a “Notice of Proposed Rule Making” (NPRM) that proposes new requirements. Once the NPRM is published in the Federal Register there will be a 75 day comment period seeking input on the technical standards boosters will be required to meet.

In the next phase of the process, the FCC will take comments from the public, manufacturers, and the cell carriers before adopting any new certification standards. The current proposal would give manufacturers and resellers six months from the date of adoption to comply with the new regulations.

Read More from Wireless Week  - FCC Plans Rules on Cell Phone Signal Boosters:

The following is a response from Wilson Electronics:

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Wilson Electronics Issues Statement on the FCC’s Issuance of an NPRM in Regards to Cell Phone Signal Boosters
———————————————
– In response to the FCC’s decision to issue an NPRM on the regulation of cell phone signal boosters, Wilson Electronics issues the following statement from Joe Banos, COO, Wilson Electronics”
St. George, Utah – April 7, 2011 – “Wilson Electronics commends the FCC and its Commissioners for its issuance of a Notice of Proposed Rule Making (NPRM), which will gather industry suggestions as to what specifications cellular signal boosters should meet in order to obtain FCC certification.
Today’s action ensures that cellular signal boosters can continue to benefit consumers in underserved areas and help public safety officials in their jobs.
We are pleased the FCC agrees that new standards for signal boosters are needed. We are hopeful that as the rulemaking process proceeds, the Commission will adopt the standards proposed by Wilson in 2009 to protect consumers from poorly designed boosters that can interfere with cellular service and damage service provider networks.
We’re also hopeful that the NPRM process can bring Wilson Electronics and the cellular service providers to the table to discuss what needs to be accomplished on a practical technical level. This would ensure that signal boosters can continue to provide individual and commercial users as well as government and Public Safety officials with a valuable tool that allows them to use their cellular devices in more places, with no risk of interference to providers’ cell sites.”
About Wilson Electronics, Inc.
Wilson Electronics, Inc., a leader in the wireless communications industry for more than 40 years, designs and manufactures a wide variety of cell phone signal boosters, antennas and related components that significantly improve cellular communication in mobile, indoor, and machine-to-machine (M2M) applications. All Wilson products are engineered, assembled and tested in the company’s U.S.-based headquarters. Wilson boosters fully comply with FCC regulations for cellular devices and are FCC type accepted and Industry Canada certificated. Wilson Electronics has developed and patented microprocessor-controlled signal booster technology, which protects cell sites by preventing network interference due to oscillation or site overload.

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Wilson DataPro for Vending Machines

January 27th, 2011
Wilson DataPro Vending Machine Signal Booster

Wilson DataPro with Modem

Wilson Electronics® is introducing a new cellular signal booster specifically aimed at vending machines and kiosks. The DataPro™ by Wilson Electronics® is a Direct Connect amplifier for cellular broadband data card modems and is Wilson’s first cellular signal booster developed specifically for Machine to Machine (M2M) installations.

This direct connect configuration is small and compact to fit almost anywhere inside a machine and is based on Wilson’s Sleek in-vehicle cell phone signal booster. The dual-band DataPro™ is ready to integrate with CDMA modem installations to provide strong, reliable cellular signal that ensures successful M2M data transfer.

Wilson Electronics plans to start shipping the unit within the next few months.

More Info: Wilson DataPro Vending Machine Signal Booster

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4G Signal Improvement

January 25th, 2011
Clear 4G Modem

4G Modem

4G wireless signal is the newest wireless standard that provides data speeds up to 10 times current 3G speeds.

4G is fast and you’re going to want to have it.

Verizon, for instance compares it’s 4G with it’s 3G network. Verizon 3G download speeds are in the 1mb/sec range but 4G can be 5 – 12mb/second. That’s a huge speed increase.

Improving 4G Signal

Of course, not everyone one is going to live or travel in areas with top 4G signal strength. Just as with 3G, many (most) areas will be far away and have obstructions such as trees, hills, building walls and roofs between blazing speeds and them.

And then there’s the wireless frequencies that 4G is using. They are different than what your current cell phone or 3G data card are using. 4G is being rolled out on a couple of different frequencies. For example, Verizon LTE is using 700MHz and Clear is using 2500MHz.

If you’re one of those trying to get a stronger 4G signal, you might consider attaching an external antenna directly to your 4G modem. These modems usually have external antenna ports built into them. Find the right external antenna adapter for your modem, attach an external antenna and you’re good to go. Make sure the antenna specs cover whatever frequency your service provider is using. Vehicle or Building signal boosters aren’t available yet but manufacturers are working on them.

We will be writing more on 4G signal improvement over the next few months so stay tuned.

More on Mobile Wireless Signal Boosters

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Hear-Me.org

December 12th, 2010

Hear-Me Logo

Fight For The Right Use Your Signal Booster

Hear-Me.org is a web site created by Wilson Electronics. Wilson manufacturers cellular signal boosters that improve cellular signal for cell phones and cellular data cards in areas where a service provider’s signal may be very weak. These signal boosters help those in such area make and receive cell phone calls when, without a signal booster, it would be impossible.  Hear-Me.org was set up to let individuals, companies and public service agencies express how signal boosters have helped them.

Cellular service providers claim that these signal boosters interfer with their service and are attempting to get the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to limit the use of signal boosters to only those that have been approved by a service provider.

Wilson, as well as ourselves, disagree with the service providers approval requirement stance. We believe that this is unnecessary and would raise the cost of such systems as well as making them more difficult to get and may be totally unavailable to most people and services that depend on a good cell signal.  Wilson believes that their boosters do not cause interference with carriers service but believe that other systems do. Therefore, Wilson is petitioning the FCC to better regulate these signal booster and impose more restrictions on their design and keeping boosters readily available to those that need them.

The FCC has accepted a petition from Wilson Electronics to evaluate tightening certification of cell signal boosters for wireless networks. The FCC has accepted comments on booster use from outside sources and may decide to allow signal boosters to be approved and placed in service only by cell phone service providers, who offer no affordable multi-carrier or mobile boosting solutions, or may not approve the use of signal boosters at all.

Wilson is asking that all users of cellular signal boosters post their stories and/or videos on how signal boosters have helped them. You can post your story on the Hear-Me.org web site.

From Hear-Me.org

“According to the last U.S. Census, more than 59 million Americans live in rural areas and more than 50 percent have a cell phone. Currently, the public benefits from affordable signal boosters being available in rural and urban areas for safety, personal, and work related purposes. Additionally, boosters provide affordable access to those with limited cell phone signal, or no wired broadband connection. Limiting the distribution of signal boosters would negatively impact open access and innovation.

Rather than generating new rules giving cell carriers total control over boosters, in essence imposing a ban on these potentially life-saving devices, appropriate FCC regulations can ensure mechanisms are built into signal boosters to make them invisible to cell sites and therefore protect the carrier networks from interference. Properly designed products do not create interference with wireless networks.

Essential for Public Safety:

Members of the public safety community need access to signal boosters to save lives and access vital information.”

Read More at Hear-Me.org Fact Sheet and post your own experience.

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Wilson AG Pro 75 Building Cellular Repeater

December 9th, 2010

Wilson AG Pro 75 Repeater Amplifier Cellular

Wilson AG Pro 75 Cellular Repeater

New from Wilson® Electronics is the Wilson® AG Pro 75™ in building cellular repeater system. The Wilson® AG Pro 75™ amplifier is designed to boost the cellular signal inside a building for both cell phones and cellular data cards. It will boost the signal for almost all cellular service networks in North America including AT&T, Sprint, Verizon, T-Mobile, Rogers. It does not work with for Nextel iDEN networks (See Nextel iDEN Signal Improvement).

What’s Different?

Wilson Electronics already has 3 DualBand in-building cellular repeater systems including the Wilson SignalBoost Desktop, Wilson Small Office / Home Office (SOHO) and the Wilson SignalBoostDB Pro. Not to mention the variety of single band cellular amplifiers. The biggest differences are the Wilson AG Pro 75:

  • Has higher more gain (will cover larger areas)
  • Gain is manually adjustable for a custom install

The application for the AG Pro 75 will be for larger buildings.

More Features

The AG Pro 75™ is a dual band (800MHz / 1900MHz frequencies) amplifier. The amplifier gain is adjustable with control knobs on the front panel. The knobs enable the installer to adjust 800MHz and 1900MHz gains separately. The maximum amplifier gain is 75db for 1900MHz frequencies and 70db for 800MHz frequencies. The maximum gain on the AG Pro 75 is a substantial increase from Wilson’s previous highest gain amplifiers, their single band SmartTechnology cellular signal boosters. Being able to manually adjust the amplifier gain means the installer can more easily tune the amplifier for optimum gain specific to a particular installation and adjust according to the possible antenna separation and outside signal strength.

The AG Pro 75™ in-building cellular repeater is bidirectional and can boost the signal to and from the cell site. It is FCC type accepted and Industry Canada certified. It can be configured with current Wilson’s wide varity of building antennas and cable.

Alternative Wireless expects the Wilson AG Pro 75™ to be available for shipping by the end of December 2010.

Purchase /  More Info:
Wilson AG Pro 75 Building Cellular Signal Booster

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How Cellular Repeaters Work

October 24th, 2010
Here are some basics on how cellular repeater systems work.
A basic cell phone repeater system consists of:
  • Outside Antenna
  • Cellular Amplifier
  • Inside Antenna
The Outside antenna communicates with the towers, the signal runs through a low-loss cable to the cellular amplifier.  A Wilson Smart Tech amplifier can add 65db of power and send it through another cable to the inside antenna, which radiates the signal through the air, to your device.
Gains-Losses:  Everything here is designed to take the power (measured in dB) from outside and maximize it on the inside.
Phone:
  1. The tower sends out a certain amount of power. As it travels through the air, it becomes attenuated (reduced).
  2. Our cell phone receives the signal the signal with its 0dB gain antenna. When you’re standing outside for example, test mode might tell you it’s receiving -80dB of power (closer to zero is better)
That’s usable, since your phone can pick up a signal as weak as -105dB
Repeater:
  1. Tower transmits, signal is attenuated as it travels.
  2. The outside antenna on top of the building is more focused in the direction of the tower, so it has better gain, let’s say +5dB
  3. Now you have -75dB going into the wire. The wire has losses with every foot, so let’s assume -3dB for the whole thing.
  4. -78dB going into the booster. The amp adds 65dB to the signal, which puts us at -13dB.
  5. Another -3 through the inside cable and +3 from the dome inside antenna.
Now, at the end of the whole process, you have -13dB coming from your antenna. That is more than enough power for your phone to read the signal very clearly. How far will that signal go? If you can pick up signals as weak as 105dB from your phone, then (105dB – 13dB = 92dB) you hae a 92dB excess. So, if we lost less than 92dB, we could still use the phone. It takes about 90 feet of air travel to lose that much power when running at 1900Mhz (800Mhz goes much further), which means you can step 90 feet from the antenna and still use your phone (just barely). Going through objects however, that number may change.
When you split the signal between two antennas, expect the coverage to be split by the same ratio.
  • A 50/50 split reduces the signal by 3dB on each leg.
  • Have taps that splits with a loss of 1.5dB on one leg and 6dB on the other. I recommend those if you want to run 3 or 4 antenna in a line.
  • Another tap loses .5dB on one leg and 10dB on the other. I recommend those if you are using even more antennas and/or a secondary booster in the mix.
That’s the basics of how these things work, slightly geared toward your particular situation.
More Info on Cellular Repeaters

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EnGenius Outdoor High Power Access Point

September 11th, 2010
Engenius WiFi Signal Booster

Engenius Eoc-2611 High Power Access Point

We have been impressed with EnGenius WiFi signal improvement products and the EnGenius EOC2611P doesn’t disappoint. It’s a high power,  600mW, WiFi signal booster with built in dual polarity antenna. The great design and performance of this WiFi access point / bridge works great for home or office.

The EnGenius EOC2611P is a long range outdoor wireless client bridge / access point that operates seamlessly in the WiFi 2400 MHz frequency. The EOC2611 provides high bandwidth up to 108 megabytes per second with SuperG. This EnGenius access point has it all including:
  • High transmit power
  • High receive sensitivity, which extend wireless range and coverage to reduce roaming between access points and to get a more stable wireless connection
  • Reduces the total costs of hardware ownership
  • Has built in dual polarity antenna, you can utilize multi-polarization for best performance.

WiFi Security

To protect your wireless connection, EOC2611P can encrypt all wireless data by 64/128/152-bit WEP encryption or WPA2/WPA. MAC address filter allows user to select exactly which stations should have the access to your wireless network. In addition, user isolation function can protect the private network between client users.

More Info: EnGenius EOC2611P WiFi Access Point


About EnGenius Technologies

EnGenius Technologies is a global technology innovator specializing in long-range telephone and data communications.

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Cellular Amplifier Output Power and Gain

September 7th, 2010

When selecting a cellular amplifier there are many factors to consider. Two key specifications are amplifier gain and output power.

Cellular Amplifier Gain

Cellular amplifier gain is the number of times the power into the amplifier is increased at the output of the amplifier. Amplifier Gain is expressed in dB’s. (ex: 10 dB is a gain of 10 times, 20 dB is a gain of 100 times). For example, 1 watt into an amplifier which has 10 dB gain puts out 10 watts.

What if the amplifier is only capable of 3 watts output?

The amplifier is then over-driven. Too much input power results in 3 watts of distortion, just like yelling into a microphone and distorting a hi-fi system. The same happens to the cell phone amplifier, which causes it to interfere with adjacent channels on the cell site.

The maximum power that can be applied to a 10 dB 3-watt amplifier is .3 watts, which gives 3 watts of undistorted output. A cellular device (phone or datacard)  connected to a direct connection amplifier with normal cell phone maximum power (.2 watts) going into the amplifier and a gain of about 12 dB gives 3 watts of undistorted output power to the cell site. Any more input power would not increase the output, but only distort it, which causes harmful interference. A gain of 15 times is 11.8 dB.

Why do we need higher gain amplifiers?

An example is a 40dB,  3-watt cellular amplifier. We need more gain because when the cell phone has to transmit to and receive from the amplifier’s inside antenna (which is about 1-2 feet from the cell phone), the signal is much weaker into the amplifier than the .2 watts that was going directly into the direct-connection amplifier. The signal is now approximately 660 times weaker when it enters the amplifier’s input. It just so happens that a 40 dB gain amplifier will put out 3 watts with that input.

Different Gain for Different Applications

You can see that different gains are needed for different applications. Also, in an automobile situation with the outside antenna on the roof of the car and the inside antenna near the headrest, 40 dB is generally the maximum gain before the amplifier starts oscillating. A good cellular amplifier will shut down once oscillation occurs as to not cause harmful interference with other users on a cell tower.

With in-building applications, the cell phone is much farther from the inside antenna; therefore, a higher gain amplifier is needed. A 50 to 65 dB gain will generally give good coverage in most building applications dependent on outside signal strength. Amplifiers with higher gain require much greater antenna separation.  For example, a 72 dB gain amplifier requires 4 times more antenna separation distance than a 60 dB amplifier.

More information on In Building Cellular Amplifiers and In Vehicle Cellular Amplifiers

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More Power

August 6th, 2010

Two requests we field everyday:

  • I want the most powerful cellular antenna.
  • I want the most powerful cellular amplifier.

Power in an antenna, typically refers to antenna gain. With a cellular amplifier, power usually means gain and output power. To the consumer with a weak cell phone signal, “I want the most powerful..”  means the most powerful signal I can use to make calls or surf the web. In other words, “I don’t give a flip about gain or output power or oscillation or antenna separation”. Despite that, I will go ahead and explain briefly (very briefly and not technically)  these power measurements and how it helps to decide on the most effective cellular amplifier system for your unique situation.

Antenna Gain

There are several factors to measuring the attributes of an antenna and deciding which would be more effective in an particular installation. Power is measured in decibels (db). Antenna gain is derived from a formula that compares the relationship between an actual antenna’s intensity compared to an theoretical ideal antenna that radiates in all directions. Need more detail? Larsen has a good page on Antenna Basic Concepts.

The higher the gain of an antenna, the wider the pattern. Of course you give up radiation height with more width. Picture a beach ball. A 0db gain antenna would be close to round. As you push down on the top of the beach ball, it reaches out further but not as high. The pattern is more focused as you push down on the ball. As an example a 0db gain antenna is usually a better fit in a city surrounded by tall buildings or an area surrounded by hills or trees. A 5db gain antenna would be more powerful in flatter, more open areas.

I’ll get to Amplifier Output Power & Amplifier Gain in the next post. In the mean time you can read Seven Tips to Identify a Quality Cellular Amplifier from Wilson Electronics.

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In Building Signal Improvement

August 4th, 2010

In Building Cellular Amplifier System

Cellular Repeater System

Where would you like to improve your cellular signal?

  • Home?
  • Office?
  • Warehouse?
  • Hanger?

Today, it’s easier than ever to improve your cellular signal. One of the best cell phone accessories categories is cell phone signal improvement. There are many systems that improve cellular signal strength inside of buildings. Picking the right one is the only challenge (well, installing the system can be a challenge too).

A cellular signal improvement system consists of:

  • Outside Antenna – Receives & Transmits to Your Provider’s Tower(s)
  • Cellular Amplifier – Takes Outside Signal, Amplifies It, Sends to Inside Antenna
  • Inside Antenna – Sends & Receives from the Amplifier and Broadcasts Inside.

That’s the basics. You’ll also need electrical power, maybe a lightning surge protector, cables and connectors.

The cellular amplifier (repeater) is the key. To strong an amplifier and the inside and outside antenna create oscillation. Unless your amplifier shuts down automatically, you can cause real interference with carrier towers in the area.

Basically you’ll need an amplifier that:

  • Communicates with your service provider’s towers at up to 3 Watts
  • Has Oscillation Control – Preferably automatically shuts down if it senses oscillation.
  • Has enough gain to cover your intended area.

More Info: In Building Cellular Booster Systems

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