New cell phone booster install

[Kirmin]

So I've purchased and installed a new cell phone booster for my house. It has messages all over it saying that I need to contact my service provider to register the booster and obtain their consent before I turn it on. Seeing as Public Mobile doesn't really have much in the way of official support, how am I supposed to do this, or is it really even necessary?

Thanks

[sambrown1]

You may want to check out a review of some cell phone boosters that work in Canada as many of them are specific to the US

[Kirmin]

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@sophb wrote:

May I ask what cell phone booster you have purchased? I am interested in purchasing one myself.

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I picked up a WeBoost Home 4g from Best Buy, cost me just shy of $700, but with the cost savings of not needing 2 phone plans that allow roaming out of the States, it will break even within a year (VS the freedom mobile plan I had which barely worked in the first place. Even faster if you are with one of the Big 3 that charge way too much for international roaming).

It also uses standard coax cable to connect the outside antenna, which is handy if you have an old unused satellite tv dish on your house since the cable was already run.

[Kirmin]

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@jor123 wrote:

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@lukevader wrote:

Well thats dumb. Someone can spend around 500 on one of these things and any of your closer neighbors in a spotty campground can utilize your expensive booster for free and not even know why all of a sudden they are getting cell service? 

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The range isn't that great though anyway, is it? 

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It basically covers 2 rooms in my home with really solid signal, but pretty much no benefit outside the house. So yeah, it doesn't have great range, but works well for what I need. Went from 2 bars max (with no signal being more common) to pretty consistent full bars.

[sheytoon]

Texting is encrypted at the NAS layer between the phone and MME. Not even the eNB (tower) can read its contents.

Data and VoLTE traffic I'm not too sure about.

[sophb]

May I ask what cell phone booster you have purchased? I am interested in purchasing one myself.

[Korth]

It makes me wonder how well the talk, text, and data are encrypted.

[jor123]

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@lukevader wrote:

Well thats dumb. Someone can spend around 500 on one of these things and any of your closer neighbors in a spotty campground can utilize your expensive booster for free and not even know why all of a sudden they are getting cell service? 

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The range isn't that great though anyway, is it? 

[sheytoon]

Well, it's not equivalent to setting up a new WiFi access point. But I do understand your concern.

[lukevader]

Well thats dumb. Someone can spend around 500 on one of these things and any of your closer neighbors in a spotty campground can utilize your expensive booster for free and not even know why all of a sudden they are getting cell service? 

[sheytoon]

Anyone within range can use them.

[lukevader]

These boosters, do you have to log into them like a router or can anyone who's within range of YOUR booster utilize them?

[sheytoon]

I'm going to disagree with everyone here and say these devices can be a nightmare for network engineers. They can cause undesired behaviour on the network and create interference.

Depending on where you live, you should clear this with Bell or Telus.

[88cranston]

I remember a few years ago I was in Coquitlam Center. There was a fellow walking around with a device that looked like a rifle from the Jetsons. I joked with him at we had a conversation. I believe he worked for Bell. The reason he was there was due to complaints of no cell signal in that part of mall. The culprit was the type of lighting used by the Tan Jay store which was owned by Nygard in Winnipeg. They had been given a few local warnings but no action taken by store. He explained the no service caused and the no ability to call 911 is an offence once passed on to the proper authorities. He had also found someone downtown that was using a cordless phone from Germany that was not approved for use in Canada that was also causing interference with cell signals. The lady that owned the phone was fined, daily, for continuing to use phone. 

So so if you see some one with a rifle looking antenna with a clear plastic dish and a small screen.......

[Korth]

If the device isn't compatible with PM/Telu or isn't allowed by PM/Telus then it simply won't work (unless they do whatever they need done to enable it from their end).

If it works it works. And you can bet that your carrier is automatically aware of anything transmitted through it, if they do have a problem with it then they'll contact you with a request/demand you turn it off... so don't worry about contacting them to ask for permission to turn it on.

It's a consumer radio device which actively transmits signals on licensed frequencies - meant to be sold in different states and different countries - just the usual liability disclaimer stuff you can safely ignore (unless you operate the device in a tyrannical radio police state, lol). 

[cellphoneuser1]

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@Kirmin wrote:

So I've purchased and installed a new cell phone booster for my house. It has messages all over it saying that I need to contact my service provider to register the booster and obtain their consent before I turn it on. Seeing as Public Mobile doesn't really have much in the way of official support, how am I supposed to do this, or is it really even necessary?

Thanks

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Registering doesn't do anything. The booster only repeats the signal.

[GinYVR]

@88cranstonRadio equipment falls under Industry Canada's jurisdiction.  However usually if the device is FCC approved it should be okay for Canada.

[88cranston]

Would that booster be a CTRC isssue or some other federal jurisdiction?

[GinYVR]

@KirminDouble check Public Mobile's Terms of Service, last I check they only want to make sure you bring devices that are compatible with their system.

[GR · Accepted solution]

@Kirmin some of them say that, probably just to cover themselves. Just turn it on and enjoy!