Cell phone signal boosters have been around for about 20 years now. It’s pretty surprising to read that, I’m sure, because most folks don’t even know that cell phone signal boosters exist. If they do, they sometimes think they don’t work, or that they’re dangerous to the cellular network. That isn’t true. Cell phone signal boosters are a mature technology that keeps growing to meet the needs of people and businesses. As cell phone technology itself keeps changing, so does cell phone booster technology.
A little bit about how cell boosters work
Cell phone signal booster technology relies on fast computers with safety protocols to create a bridge between your devices and the cell towers. It works so well that you generally can’t even tell it’s working. Here’s how that’s possible.
1. The booster connects to a local tower and to your devices
The cell phone booster talks to the local cell tower as if it were a cell phone, and it talks to your devices as if it were a tower. This neat little trick allows your devices to connect to the booster instead of a local tower. Because the booster is inside, its signal isn’t blocked by the construction of your home or office. Because it has a large antenna outside, it can communicate effectively with the outside world a lot better than your devices can.
2. The booster amplifies signals going both ways.
A cell phone signal booster for home or office typically amplifies the signals it gets about 10,000,000 times their original power! A lot of that is lost as the signal travels through the air. That’s just a characteristic of radio broadcasting. However, the amplified signal still reaches both the tower and your devices more strongly than it would otherwise. This means clearer voice calls and faster data.
3. The booster performs safety checks several times a second.
This is the key to the entire process. The cell booster itself is watching to make sure that it’s not over-amplifying the signal going in either direction. An over-amplified signal could set up a dangerous feedback loop that could hurt reception in your local area. The booster’s safeguards will automatically reduce amplifier power if there is any problem. You don’t have to worry about it.
The latest tech in cell boosters
Cell booster technology keeps improving. The latest generation of cell phone boosters have been created to offer stronger broadcast power in addition to the maximum amplification allowed by law. If you have a cell booster made before 2020, you may want to upgrade and get better results.
Today’s cell boosters will work with almost all the frequencies used by today’s cell carriers. There are a few frequencies that are still not amplified by cell boosters, and they mostly fall under 5G service.
Cell boosters will amplify most 5G signals
Today’s cell phone signal boosters will amplify 5G signals on the 700MHz and 850MHz bands. These are the frequencies used by Verizon and AT&T. T-Mobile and other carriers also use these bands but they sometimes use other ones for 5G. No matter what, though, you should expect to get great amplification of LTE and 5G using a cell phone signal booster.
Cell boosters for business amplify even more
If you have a large system designed for business, you can amplify even more 5G signals. The technology exists to do this at home, but for now the demand isn’t there. As 5G continues to evolve, we’re likely to see this tech in home and vehicle boosters as well. However, the tech in today’s boosters will still be the most dominant, because it’s the most commonly used.
Cell boosters for “5G+?”
The latest trend in cellular is so-called “5G Ultra Wide Band.” Different carriers have different names for this technology, calling it “5G+”, “5GUWB” and similar designations. The whole point here is that even higher frequencies are used in order to allow for even faster data. When you hear advertisements telling you that you can get 1000Mbps on your cell phone, that’s 5G Ultra Wide Band.
This technology isn’t supported by cell phone signal boosters yet, because for the most part it isn’t needed yet. The higher frequencies used by 5G Ultra Wide Band mean that cell towers need to be a lot closer. You may have noticed new cell towers going up in your area, and this is why. With so many new towers going up, and them being so close together, there isn’t yet a need to add this technology to cell phone signal boosters.
There are also technical hurdles to doing boosting with 5G Ultra Wide Band, and the solutions aren’t yet approved by the FCC. Cell booster manufacturers like weBoost are working with the government to implement boosting for 5G Ultra Wide Band safely, as quickly as it’s needed.
Have I convinced you?
If you were on the fence before, have I convinced you that a cell phone signal booster is a great tool for you? If so, shop the great selection of boosters at Solid Signal. You’ll find all the top brands at the best possible prices. Not sure which booster is for you? We have technicians standing by in our Detroit-area office who can help. Call us during East Coast business hours at 888-233-7563. We’ll give you the best advice! If it’s after hours, fill out the form below. We’ll get back to you, usually within one business day.
