This question is directed at the tech wizards out there on the forum and I hope there are a few who can help.

I live quite remotely and have reasonable 2G coverage in the house however, 3G can be very intermittent but when I do get a reasonable 3G signal and I'm using my phone as a wi-fi tethering point, I get download speeds in the order of 2.5mbs which is better than the average download speeds I get from my BT Broadband.

I've been looking at installing (on the roof) one of the external aerials specifically designed to operate on the EE bandwidth with a view to obtaining the best possible signal (they claim anything from 7 to 10db increase).

As there is no external aerial sockets on most modern mobile phones I would have to rely on an induction loop device to transfer the signal from the aerial's downlead to the phones internal aerial.

My question is, has anyone used an external aerial to gain an increase in signal strength and transferred that signal to their phone via an induction loop and if so with what success?

My ultimate goal is to achieve a fairly consistant download speed via a mobile internet connection which would enable me to dump BT for good as their promises of reliable fast broadband speeds will never apply to those of us that have our phone lines strung across miles of fields and through several cabinets between the exchange and our house.

Thanks in advance for any advice you tech wizards can provide.

I think this would largely be illegal.

Why?

It's not as though I am intending to take the signal from the external aerial then run that signal into a device that then wirelessly transmits it to the mobile phone.

I'm well aware that those devices (unless approved for use in the UK by OFCOM) are illegal but as I have outlined in my original post I'm purely taking a signal from a point where I can receive maximum signal strength and transferring directly (albeit by an induction loop) to the mobile phone.

Is there any other network that provides better coverage in your area for 3g? I have seen few of these devices online for signal boost but they are very costly. I guess someone here will give a cheap alternate.

Secondly have you tried forcing network to 3g only ?what handset are you using? The reason why i am asking is because i get 1 bar 4g sometimes indoor but gives good download speed, so i decided to buy a 4g handset and forced it to 4g and left the phone on charger near window all time and use it as hotspot always, I get unlimited 4g data with tethering on 3 network , so i use it average 5 gb a month.

I Don't pretend to be any expert here so if you are happy its ok.

secretmsgs

The coverage for 2G is good inside however we are close to the edge of coverage for 3G and as I've already said very intermittent inside the house.

4G I suspect will never appear in our locality due to it being sparsely populated and therefore no profit in for the companies providing it. A bit like TalkTalk, Sky and other Broadband providers not offering broadband here, no profit for them and so we are stuck with BT and because there is no other choice, we get stuck with slow speeds but still pay the same as those who get 10mbs+ for the same money.

As for my handset, I can't force it to do anything it doesn't want to do. It's old and stuck in its ways!

I may purchase a dedicated mi-fi dongle and attach the induction loop to that!


swordsman

None of us are experts and that's why we are on here in the first place and also why I addressed my post to the tech wizards on here, if they exist that is!

You may not need an aerial for the MiFi device. I assume you mean one of those little boxes that connects to the mobile data network then via WiFi to your computing devices rather than a USB stick type device?

The MiFi device can be sited where it gets the best signal, unlike a USB device that has to be used wherever is most convenient for your laptop to be, which may not be where the signal is strongest.

So it could for example be placed on an upstairs window and as long as the WiFi signal reaches to your laptop/tablet/whatever you could find it works OK on it's own.

Sigh... ISPs are charged for the physical connection of the line and the amount of data you transfer. No matter what the speed is, it costs the ISP the same. So there is no reason that you should get your broadband cheaper than anyone else.

Although it is pretty likely that the faster the connection, then the more data you will end up using. Of course that is not a direct link, but using more data is usually a consequence of having faster speeds.

Also I don't think what you are saying is exactly true. I am pretty sure for BT Wholesale based ISP's, an ADSL connection (which is still sometimes used on very long lines) is cheaper for the ISP than an ADSL2+ connection. And both are cheaper for the ISP than a Fibre connection.

Sigh all you like.

For whatever reason I am charged the same as those that pay the same amount for higher speeds and unlimited downloads, the fact that I cannot take advantage of the competitive rates on offer to 80% of the population, will still leave me feel aggrieved.

On the upside, living in the sticks certainly has distinct advantages and perhaps I should balance those against the inequities of living somewhere where the cost of living is generally higher than that I would experience in the urban jungle.

Getting back on track i.e. improving signal strength via external antenna, has anyone else got actual experience of doing this?

I am particularly keen to explore the advantages of an external aerial which leads to a device which attaches to the phone where the enhanced signal is then transferred to the phones internal antenna via an induction coil. Has anyone tried this and if so with what success?

the cost of actually providing you with a line and services will most likely be higher than those you live in a highly populated area.
so maybe BTW should increase your line rental and charge you the real cost of providing you with a line.

in reality, it's other that are subsiding the cost of your line so that you can pay the same as everyone else.

I have a 3G dongle that allows you to connect an external antenna which I had up a few years ago. Its a Huawei E169. There may be other dongles and possibly phones that let you connect external antennas.

Thanks EG, I shall explore the possibilities of going down this route.