It comes with a sim card that needs to be slotted in the bottom. Plugged it in and the green light flashed away for about 10mins then became steady. Looked at my phone and i now have a full signal!
When using the phone, the light on the front of the box flashes to show its in use.
So far pleased with it so will see what like when i make a voice call.
I can see the advantage of products like this(at my girlfriend's house for example, all i get there is a low Orange 2g signal). I just hope that networks aren't using this as a cop out for improving coverage using traditional networks that everyone in the area can benefit from.
Agreed. It DOES take a lot of work to roll out femtocells.
You have to consider a lot of issues - logistical, marketing, regulatory, financial etc.
You can't just start selling them.
All of the regulatory work was done already, hense Vodafone have been selling/suppling them for about a year now. They use existing frequencies that are licenced to the mobile operators and are low powered to prevent interference to other networks.
Others have been hanging back probably to see what happened with Vodafone. Sure Signal got good publicity initially and they probably covered their costs selling them for £60-£80 but within a very short time the price crashed to £20-30 and lately they have been used as retention tools.
So they add additonal cost but the payback is retaining a customer who has home reception issues. It is surprising that it has taken a year or more for others to catch up providing these.
Orange's solution using Wi-Fi on enabled smartphones looks like an even better solution as it is software based and requires no additional investment in equipment for a customer to connect to the network via their home broadband.
It comes with a sim card that needs to be slotted in the bottom. Plugged it in and the green light flashed away for about 10mins then became steady. Looked at my phone and i now have a full signal!
When using the phone, the light on the front of the box flashes to show its in use.
So far pleased with it so will see what like when i make a voice call.
Any questions, fire away.
Thanks for taking the time to post the pictures.Is the signal strong going around the house does it reach to the garden.My sure signal is pretty good giving coverage.When adding numbers to it did you have to call them to do it or by a web portal ?
Thanks for taking the time to post the pictures.Is the signal strong going around the house does it reach to the garden.My sure signal is pretty good giving coverage.When adding numbers to it did you have to call them to do it or by a web portal ?
Ive not tried going outside but, im working on nightshift tonight so will leave at 2230. Ill see how far i go before it loses signal and shall update when i get to work.
Around the house its excellent. Full signal everywhere.
would these devices work abroad, and allow you to escape roaming charges?
No. They will block none UK IP addresses. They would be highly illegal outside the UK as Three would not have a licence to use it in other countries. It would be like Three putting up a mast in Paris and hooking up its backhaul to a standard French ISP and saying this is just to help our customers avoid roaming fees.
No. They will block none UK IP addresses. They would be highly illegal outside the UK as Three would not have a licence to use it in other countries. It would be like Three putting up a mast in Paris and hooking up its backhaul to a standard French ISP and saying this is just to help our customers avoid roaming fees.
It's possible with a VPN, not practical for anyone holidaying, and VoIP solutions would be more practical for ex-pats who want a UK number.
And that is exactly where it is designed to work. Not outside as that can cause interference to other users of the mobile network.
I think he is fully aware of that due to it being home signal.He was actually referring to the performance of the three unit giving people a idea how well he think it is performing against the Vodafone product.
And that is exactly where it is designed to work. Not outside as that can cause interference to other users of the mobile network.
This is one of the "regulatory" issues I was describing earlier.
When you specify your location on registration, the device should be assigned to a frequency that is relatively vacant in your area (which in most cases will be all of them)!
No network would allow a femtocell to clash with a proper base station.
There is absolutely no potential for interference, as the network takes care of that.
The infrastructure required to do this is part of the rollout process - it's not something that you can just switch on straight away. You have to integrate it with existing systems.
The registration location is also used to provide the Emergency Services with your location if you have to call them.
Actually Daveoc64 the new technologies in use in these devices allow them to look for spare frequencies and monitor / change if needed.
The same technology is actually being put into network cells, easing the need for network engineers to do fine tuning and allowing the cells to choose their own best frequency / change if necessary with conditions.
This technology is still under development, but it does help with network tuning and frequency re-use.
Actually Daveoc64 the new technologies in use in these devices allow them to look for spare frequencies and monitor / change if needed.
The same technology is actually being put into network cells, easing the need for network engineers to do fine tuning and allowing the cells to choose their own best frequency / change if necessary with conditions.
This technology is still under development, but it does help with network tuning and frequency re-use.
After seeing this thread I have contacted 3 regarding poor signal strength in and around our house.
Fair do's to 3. Within 24 hours a return call asking for more information. When the operator called me on my mobile the call disconnected within 10 seconds! Actual proof that I wasn't winding them up. I'm told to expect another call within 7 days after they have checked the mast which is about half a mile from our house.
Comments
Lol yeah! Dundee and I'm on a contract.
I just got a text from Three saying it will be here between 1406 and 1506 so shall update this when i get it.
Would it be possiable to do a unboxing video showing how it works etc on youtube etc ?
I'll try but dont really have much time today to do so. Will see what i can do
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/62/img0001tfz.jpg/
And what it looks like..
http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/841/img0002olc.jpg/
It comes with a sim card that needs to be slotted in the bottom. Plugged it in and the green light flashed away for about 10mins then became steady. Looked at my phone and i now have a full signal!
When using the phone, the light on the front of the box flashes to show its in use.
So far pleased with it so will see what like when i make a voice call.
Any questions, fire away.
Rik.
Yeah, its exactly the same size as a sim card.
Seems to be working fine so far. By now my old vodaphone sure signal had restarted itself about 6 times lol
All of the regulatory work was done already, hense Vodafone have been selling/suppling them for about a year now. They use existing frequencies that are licenced to the mobile operators and are low powered to prevent interference to other networks.
Others have been hanging back probably to see what happened with Vodafone. Sure Signal got good publicity initially and they probably covered their costs selling them for £60-£80 but within a very short time the price crashed to £20-30 and lately they have been used as retention tools.
So they add additonal cost but the payback is retaining a customer who has home reception issues. It is surprising that it has taken a year or more for others to catch up providing these.
Orange's solution using Wi-Fi on enabled smartphones looks like an even better solution as it is software based and requires no additional investment in equipment for a customer to connect to the network via their home broadband.
Thanks for taking the time to post the pictures.Is the signal strong going around the house does it reach to the garden.My sure signal is pretty good giving coverage.When adding numbers to it did you have to call them to do it or by a web portal ?
Ive not tried going outside but, im working on nightshift tonight so will leave at 2230. Ill see how far i go before it loses signal and shall update when i get to work.
Around the house its excellent. Full signal everywhere.
And that is exactly where it is designed to work. Not outside as that can cause interference to other users of the mobile network.
And most will be able to get some sort of signal outdoors.
No. They will block none UK IP addresses. They would be highly illegal outside the UK as Three would not have a licence to use it in other countries. It would be like Three putting up a mast in Paris and hooking up its backhaul to a standard French ISP and saying this is just to help our customers avoid roaming fees.
It's possible with a VPN, not practical for anyone holidaying, and VoIP solutions would be more practical for ex-pats who want a UK number.
Plus it would be illegal as you say.
I think he is fully aware of that due to it being home signal.He was actually referring to the performance of the three unit giving people a idea how well he think it is performing against the Vodafone product.
This is one of the "regulatory" issues I was describing earlier.
When you specify your location on registration, the device should be assigned to a frequency that is relatively vacant in your area (which in most cases will be all of them)!
No network would allow a femtocell to clash with a proper base station.
There is absolutely no potential for interference, as the network takes care of that.
The infrastructure required to do this is part of the rollout process - it's not something that you can just switch on straight away. You have to integrate it with existing systems.
The registration location is also used to provide the Emergency Services with your location if you have to call them.
The same technology is actually being put into network cells, easing the need for network engineers to do fine tuning and allowing the cells to choose their own best frequency / change if necessary with conditions.
This technology is still under development, but it does help with network tuning and frequency re-use.
Are three not stuck on the one frequency though?
There's a difference between a frequency and a frequency band.
Three has an allocation of the 2100MHz band - that has several frequencies within it that can be used by individual cell sites and users.
Fair do's to 3. Within 24 hours a return call asking for more information. When the operator called me on my mobile the call disconnected within 10 seconds! Actual proof that I wasn't winding them up. I'm told to expect another call within 7 days after they have checked the mast which is about half a mile from our house.
Watch this space.
Vodafone seem to have been able to sort this out with sure signal and there is no reason why 3 or any other networks could not do likewise.
Indeed. I'm not saying anything to the contrary. But it's not just a simple case of putting the device in stores and slapping a Three sticker on it.