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.

No, 2100Mhz is the band, within that there are lots of individual frequencies, the 2100Mhz band is divided up by operator with some like Vodafone and Three having more than others.

When you plug in one of these devices it will scan and find a quiet frequency within 3's range, it will later be able to change on the fly if it needs to.

These devices aren't very powerful and usually won't transmit outside of a building more than a few meters.

This is great news as I was just about to take out a contract for the One Plan with an iPhone 4s with Three but the reception here is very iffy. We live in an old farmhouse & anywhere more than a few feet from a window & there is no signal. Most importantly I have no signal at my work desk. My wife has her 4s with Vodafone & again signal is poor (we live in rural Norfolk) but as we have surprisingly decent broadband for the area (+/-5Mbps/0.4Mbps) for £50 the Vodafone Sure Signal is an absolute godsend. She now has good signal in every single part of the house. I am surprised that it has taken so long for the networks to roll out these solutions as currently I would have thought that it was a real competitive advantage for Vodafone as mobile phone coverage is so patchy here in the UK.

Presumably the Orange Signal Boost is cheap to implement but it's a bit limited if it's not available for iPhone.

One final thought. Why does the Three device require a smart card? The Vodafone Sure Signal does not you just need to register the Vodafone mobile phone number that you want to use.

I called Three yesterday evening & just got the usual runaround from them. First I called 333 explained that I have a new contract that reception is awful except right by a window (this is true) & that I wanted to have a Home Signal box. After taking all my details & putting me on hold several times he gave me an 0800 number to call which I did.

I called the 0800 number & the guy who answered assured me that it was toll free which I am still dubious about as I thought that 0800 numbers cost 15.3p/min. However the guy couldn't help me as this is apparently is the support number for people who already have a Home Signal box. He therefore put me through to yet another person who after taking all my details & putting me on hold several times me gave me an 0844 number to call for the Options Team. I asked why this was a paid call & why he couldn't just put me through but he said it was impossible.

I called the 0844 number but discovered that I was in fact talking to regular Three telephone support but paying 15.3p/min for the privilege. After taking all my details & putting me on hold several times the lady said that she would put me through to the correct person to get a Home Signal box. After a couple of minutes on hold listening to music the line dropped & I was cut off.

Perhaps someone who has been successful in getting a Home Signal box could tell me how they did it & who they spoke to.

0800 numbers are free from a landline. You may get charged if using a mobile depending on network.

I did a search and come across some info, so maybe you would like to try what this post suggests to help your reception issue? http://www.avforums.com/forums/16505847-post33.html

I've found most of the Three 0800/0845 numbers are free. If you go onto their special numbers page and check the numbers you'll probably find they are free.

I called them today on the 333 option 3 number.After a few more options got through to somebody who knew what i was on about.
They need to put you through to technical support to access your coverage and any settings that might improve the signal on your phone.Asked about price but kept feeding me the tech help line not very helpful really.

It's not on general sale at the moment. They say it will be later, but at the moment it's being given to people with signal difficulties on a case by case basis.

I should imagine they need to iron out bugs and get internal processes and support in place before it can go on general release, that requires training and lots of back end stuff to be done.

I just found Three's webpage where you can enter a number & find out how much it will cost. The 0800 number I was given is indeed free but the 0844 3380330 that puts you through to regular Three telephone support apparently will have cost me 20p/minute.

I find it very irritating that I cannot download a complete price list but only view the tariff through a web interface but at least the interactive form does allow you to distinguish between free Freephone numbers & non-free Freephone numbers http://support.three.co.uk/SRVS/CGI-...,Case=obj(4570)

That link is a bad link. Can you try linking it again or giving the steps to get there?

Sorry it was working but apparently Three's links have broken. I found the interactive form from this page http://support.three.co.uk/srvs/cgi-...rch=helpsearch

This is yet another reason why it's so annoying that you cannot download a list of call charges.

They have a pretty comprehensive list of all charges:

http://www.three.co.uk/Priceguide

Thanks for that. I must have missed that. The comprehensive list doesn't run to each & every 0843/0844/870/0871 etc but I did find another link to the interactive checker for the price of these special numbers here http://support.three.co.uk/SRVS/CGI-...Case=obj(4570))

Some charges are pretty extraordinary e.g. 118118 £2/call + £2/minute

I started having an issue with signal strength a while ago. I have contacted 3 about a month ago regarding this.

Three will not just give anyone a home signal box. I have had numerous phone calls from various departments as my problem gets escalated. The latest is that they are monitoring any calls made or received on my phone in the problem area.

Three are going to call be back next Monday to discuss what they have discovered. We shall see what happens then!

Vodafone charge £2.00 - £2.50 per minute for 118 calls, O2 charge £2.04 per minute, networks usually have a preferred 118 service that they do cheaper though.

Giffgaff is only £1 p/m which is a good deal, but if you have a smartphone use Google for free.

It's astonishing that this blatant rip-off is so widespread among the mobile operators as the price is about 8x what it costs from a fixed line. I suppose that charging 20-30p/min for calling an 0800 Freephone number is in principle an even bigger rip-off.

I posted on the Three blog about my hassles with trying to get a Home Signal box & had a reply back that someone would contact me within "forty eight working hours". I emailed back yesterday afternoon as 48 hours had elapsed without any call. This morning I discovered that they had tried to call me last night about 20:00 & left a text with a number to call them back. I gave them a call this morning & after a lot of to-ing & fro-ing they are sending me a Home Signal box free of charge but to be returned to Three at the end of my 24 month contract if not required.

I am very happy with the One Plan apart from my signal at home & really wanted the Home Signal device (my wife has the similar Vodafone Sure Signal that gives her full coverage throughout the house) but interestingly enough I was offered the option of ending my contract or receiving a discount if I continue with a poor signal. The nearest mast is apparently half a mile away & nothing is going to change in the foreseeable future.

Femtocells cost networks a lot of money, I know that vodafone subsidise there's about £120.

I guess the delays are the networks building models and finding budget for such an investment, its not like subsidising a phone on contract, a femtocell comes with no revenue upside

You can buy them for £50

http://shop.vodafone.co.uk/shop/mobi...ne-sure-signal

They are probably very cheap to build.

Yup and at £50 they are heavily subsidised. That's going to be no more thatn a third of the cost to Vodafone

I think the Orange solution with Smart Signal is a far most cost effective one although it only work if you have a smartphone with a Wi-Fi facility. It clever though and needs no extra hardware to work.

Maybe 3 should have done something similar as they now sell mostly smartphones and its the £30 a month smartphone customers they really need to be looking after.

I was told by Three that the cost of the Home Signal box is normally £110 but this cost was waived. It's a small price to retain a customer on their top tariff even if the One Plan is a bargain.

The Orange Signal Boost is not available for the iPhone which rules out the majority of Three's smartphones. A couple of months ago I saw that 40% of all iPhones were sold on Three.

I wouldn't have thought the Orange system would work on 3 anyway?

I cant see them getting many buyers at that price