Talk:Cellular repeater

The external link (shown below) in the references section was removed by Monkeyman in the last edit, but I used it as a key reference in the creation of the page, so I have replaced it. If there is a problem, please message me and explain.

cellboo sterstore.com/index.html

price and range
Sounds good, but mention average prices and reception distance so one knows if it is a good choice for one's farm. --jidanni 2006-03-30

- I have removed the commercial links from this entry. Any relevant information belongs in this entry and not on a commercial site. If you wish to post the picture please remove any commercial markings from the product. --Thanks JSW

Any known repeater vendor for European bands?
Would be great to discuss this more in the post (differentiation with US), and to list any vendors who service that space with a product.

Btw, right now the post comes across somewhat as an advertisement for Clear Voice seeing as no mention of other vendors like Wi-Ex or Sportwave. I suggest adding them to the post too. Thanks --PCR —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 195.38.103.40 (talk) 22:54, 4 March 2007 (UTC).

Digital Antenna in Sunrise Florida manufactures a version of their amplifier for Europe and Asia, DA4000E is their part number —Preceding unsigned comment added by Boogsy (talk • contribs) 15:41, 26 December 2007 (UTC)

I believe cellboosterstore.com has the european model you're looking for. 68.101.110.59 (talk) 19:55, 31 May 2008 (UTC)

Article is Incomplete
Bi-Directional Amplifiers are also commonly used in the VHF and UHF public safety bands (150-174MHz and 450-512MHz). With many municipalities (City of Dallas and City of Las Vegas among others) now mandating public safety radio coverage in public buildings, my feeling is that this article is incomplete in that respect. It may lead a reader to erroneously conclude that these type of devices are used for cellular frequencies only. Miles9000 (talk) 11:09, 28 April 2008 (UTC)

You are mostly correct. A lot of cities are using this for public safety use, but the common usage is in the 800 MHz range so that it can boost the existing radios of safety officers (i.e. firefighters, police, etc.) cepet  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.220.112.221 (talk) 01:36, 26 May 2008 (UTC)

Arguably the 450 and 150 bands are as popular as 800, and even the 40MHz range is still in use for public safety in general. Concerning in-building systems though I'd tend to agree that 800MHz installations are far more numerous. Partially this becomes a matter of cost, due to the physical size of the equipment required to filter the 150 and 450 bands.

Another contributing factor is that there are a greater number of manufacturers of equipment for the 800 bands and higher (that will not be listed here by me because I work for one of them) and competition tends to drive down the price (which can range from as low as a few hundred dollars for very small "home office" type systems, up to $50,000.00 and higher (not including the cost of installation) depending on the area to be covered and the operating frequencies involved.) Miles9000 (talk) 11:40, 17 June 2008 (UTC)

Legality
Article previously said,

While the manufacturer may have FCC approval to sell the equipment, these devices cannot be legally operated without specific written permission from the carrier. It is illegal for a consumer to use this equipment without permission of the licensee (cellular carrier)

At least in the United States, this is incorrect. If a carrier detects noise or a problem that they trace to a booster, causing harmful interference with a tower or other cellular communication, they can ask the user to turn off the equipment or can ask the FCC to require that the booster be turned off. This is a far cry from saying that "It is illegal for a consumer to use this equipment without permission of the licensee (cellular carrier)." The sentence clearly implies that anyone using a cell booster without permission from all cell carriers operating in that freqency range (800 and/or 1900 MHz) is breaking the law. Absolutely not true and is complete FUD propagated by cell carriers who want you to buy their monthly microcell/femtocell services.

A useful discussion is at This Site —Preceding unsigned comment added by 166.82.101.195 (talk) 19:12, 10 September 2009 (UTC)

Added April 23, 2011 The Comment above is incorrect. In the United States, as of April 2011, a cellular/PCS booster may only be used by the licensee, or by a subscriber having the consent of the licensee.

The Federal Communications Commission has repeatedly affirmed that... "A licensee's authority to install a BDA does not, without further authorization from the licensee, permit a subscriber to install a BDA."

The above quote is authored by the FCC's Enforcement Bureau (Denver District Office) Notice of Unlicensed Operation, Case Number EB-10-DV-0316, Document Number: W201132800003, issued on October 27th, 2010 to Agilent Technologies, Inc., Colorado Springs, CO. The Notice appears to be a form letter that has been used many times in similar situations involving unlicensed operation of cellular boosters.

On January 6, 2009, the FCC invited public comment in FCC WT Docket 10-4 relating to the use of signal boosters by members of the public. Hundreds of Comments and Reply Comments were received, many supporting the ad-hoc, self-help use of boosters by the public. Many carriers and public safety organizations expressed concerns relating to harmful interference that can be caused by boosters, often citing examples of sigificant interference events.

On April 5, 2011, the FCC adopted a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in WT Docket 10-4 to amend its rule parts 1, 2, 22, 24, 27, 90 and 95 to allow the use of signal boosters subject to certain equipment and other safeguards yet to be determined. The Commission did not issue a Declaratory Ruling concurrent with the NPRM to affirm its existing rules, nor did it issue an Order authorizing boosters that are already in operation at variance to its rules by members of the public (i.e., those not having received carrier consent). Therefore, the logical conclusion is that while booster use "may" be authorized in the future subject to conditions yet to be determined, existing booster operation absent carrier consent constitutes Unlicensed Operation, as indicated by the FCC Enforcement Bureau form letter referenced above. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.109.109.181 (talk) 15:54, 23 April 2011 (UTC)

Total revamp of this page
Hey,i'd like to totaly redo this page. In addition to general editing, i am going to add the following: 1) i will discuss dB, booster ranges, how the amplification works in laymen terms 2) the different frequencies that get boosted, maybe i'll create a list of carriers. and yes i will discuss international boosters too 3)briefly mention all signal booster manufacturers, their products, and general pricing(Wilson, Cellphone-mate, wi-ex, spotwave and Digital antenna. if you know of more let me know.) any other ideas? — Preceding unsigned comment added by Amplifierdude (talk • contribs) 03:22, 31 December 2010 (UTC)

Added: two types of boosters
Analog boosters and all-digital "smart" boosters. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Laurentphilippegil (talk • contribs) 07:34, 21 January 2014 (UTC)