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What to Do If You Live or Work Far From a Cell Tower

What to Do If You Live or Work Far From a Cell Tower

Posted by Alex Baker on 13th Apr 2023

Living far from a cell tower isn’t a choice many would make, but it’s a reality for many Americans. Cell service has become a fixture in daily life. Distance from existing infrastructure – and certain building materials – cause frequent interruptions. Your reception sucks, and it may reduce your smartphone into little more than an expensive paperweight.

Fortunately, there are solutions. The best, most reliable of these are cell phone signal boosters. These are devices that can be installed in your home, car, or office. You’ve probably heard of them if you’re reading this article – we are SignalBoosters.com, after all – but you may not have any idea which to get.

What Does a Cell Phone Signal Booster Do, Exactly?

A cellular signal booster does what it says on the tin: it boosts cell signal. There are three main components to any functioning signal booster:

  • Outdoor Antenna: An antenna designed to capture cellular signal and send a boosted signal back to the cell tower, and are to be placed outdoors. These are usually mounted to a rooftop, and are what provides the reach to your faraway cell tower.
  • Amplifier: Often called a cell signal booster, itsan FCC-approved amplifier, specially designed to boost cell signal across various bandwidths. FCC-approval is key, as without it, there is no guarantee your booster will not interfere with the broader cellular networks in your area.
  • Indoor Antenna: A small antenna placed indoors to broadcast the boosted signal, and carry your signal back through the system in reverse. Usually comes in the form of a small dome or panel antenna.

These three components are connected by varying lengths or types of coaxial cable.

Each component introduces some level of gain into the equation. Gain determines signal strength. The closer to 0 the value, the stronger your signal. If you live far away from a cell tower, odds are your signal is somewhere in the –110 to –120 dB range, indicating spotty signal to a dreaded dead zone. Cell signal boosters seek to get that range into the –80s or –90s, depending on how weak the outside signal is. That makes your signal strong and reliable.

The challenge is ensuring your gain increases enough.

The Best Signal Boosters for Those Far from a Cell Tower

Without getting too technical, SureCall’spatented ERT technology is tailor-made for people who struggle with cell signal due to being too far away from its source.

ERT, or Extended-Range Technology, adds up to an additional +3 gain in situations where reach to the cell tower is important.It compensates for cable losses by improving sensitivity, signal gain, and uplink power. In other words, it maximizes the strength of the signal actually reaching your cell phone.

Since gain is measured on a logarithmic scale, +3 gain is a significant increase, effectively doubling your results. This can be the difference between a dropped call and constant connection. Simply put, you won’t get better value from a signal booster than an ERT-enabled booster.

OK, ERT is What I Need. Which Boosters are ERT Enabled?

SureCall has four key signal boosters that are currently ERT enabled, and because of the patent, none of their competitors canutilize the technology. That makes your choice simple. All you need to know is where you’re looking to get better signal.

Best ERT Booster for Homes and Small Offices

  • Covers medium & large homes up to 6,500 sq. ft.
  • Powerful enough for suburban and rural homes or offices
  • Features Extended Range Technology (ERT) for MAX coverage
  • Significantly boosts talk/text/data for all device types
  • No monthly fees, no WiFi needed
  • Works for all North American carriers
  • 30-day returns, 2-year warranty

The Fusion4Home MAX provides the biggest boost for those whose primary issue with bad cell service is distance to a cell tower. It works for any carrier (Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, US Cellular – anything you’re using) across 4G and low-band 5G bandwidths, so you’re covered whether you’re looking to boost voice, text, or data.

The Fusion4Home MAX claims a maximum coverage up to 6,500 sq ft, but real-world applications put it between 2,500 and 5,000 sq ft for most people. If your outside signal is weak because you’re far from your tower, expect less coverage. However, that’s more than you can expect with a non-ERT enabled booster at a similar price range.

Check out our simple cell phone booster installation guide for more information on how to install the Fusion4Home MAX.

Best ERT Booster for Vehicles

  • Covers entire vehicle cabins
  • For cars, trucks, and other motor vehicles
  • Covers all carriers (Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, US Cellular, and more)
  • Up to 4 simultaneous devices
  • Best ERT signal booster for suburban and rural areas
  • 30-day returns, 2-year warranty

The Fusion2Go MAX is the most powerful ERT-enabled booster for vehicles. The key to a good vehicle booster is eliminating dead zones, and the Fusion2Go MAX is the strongest candidate you’ll find due to it being ERT enabled.

If you spend a lot of time driving in rural areas, you’ve no doubt encountered pockets of road where reception is spotty. The Fusion2Go MAX will mitigate, if not eliminate,these problems. If you hit spots like this regularly, the booster will pay for itself in no time.

Installing a vehicle signal booster takes about 5 minutes, and is super simple.