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Old 07-02-2015, 13:13
Geowitch
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Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: East Anglia
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Am I right in thinking that Vodafone is the only network which sells a signal booster? I live in an area with poor reception from any of the networks and Vodafone Sure Signal is a deciding factor as to which network to go with. It would be good to have a choice!
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Old 07-02-2015, 13:56
moox
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No. (well, Vodafone are the only ones to "sell" them to anyone, but they aren't the only one to offer them)

3 and EE also offer "home signal boxes" or femtocells. 3 will send you one for free (might need to be on contract for them to offer it) and EE takes a bit of a battle to get you one.

One thing that is worth considering is not just coverage in your home, but outside too. You can certainly go with Vodafone and get their signal box, but be aware that their 3G coverage is pretty bad in many parts of the country, meaning that if you care about internet on your phone, streaming music/radio/whatever, it's not going to be very good.

Also, O2 and 3 offer apps for your phone that let you call/text over wifi. They're not as good, but you can download and use it immediately rather than waiting/pleading for a signal box.

The best advice is to get a SIM card from the network you want to try, put it in your phone and see what coverage you get. You could also go for a one month SIM only contract if you have a phone, which means you can cancel at any time without paying a penalty if you find it's not up to scratch.

I have the 3 signal box. I have had no problems with it at all.
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Old 07-02-2015, 18:09
tim1964
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We have been sent a signal box from EE for free (well, they charge for it but reduce the bill by the same amount) as our signal has recently dropped to the point where we were getting many "missed" calls and texts. We may have got it for free as we have 5 phones with them.

I think they turned off a mast that was only about 100 yards away as our signal was fine before.

It's a bit of a cheek though as it uses your own BB, which they assume you have, and they recon it adds about 500Mb to any usage allowance.
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Old 07-02-2015, 18:52
DevonBloke
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Location: Totnes, Devon
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We have been sent a signal box from EE for free (well, they charge for it but reduce the bill by the same amount) as our signal has recently dropped to the point where we were getting many "missed" calls and texts. We may have got it for free as we have 5 phones with them.

I think they turned off a mast that was only about 100 yards away as our signal was fine before.

It's a bit of a cheek though as it uses your own BB, which they assume you have, and they recon it adds about 500Mb to any usage allowance.
Yeah but what do you want them to do, run a dedicated line to everyone with a signal box?
It doesn't matter these days since most unlimited ADSL is 10 quid per month and unlimited fibre is 15 quid. You might be unlucky enough to be on a market 1 exchange be even then it's only a few more pounds and compared to the rest of the world our broadband is dirt cheap.
EE are looking to offload a lot of calls to WiFi anyway with the upcoming WiFi calling.
This will reduce traffic on the macro network thereby giving everyone a better experience outside.
Even if you are on a market one exchange now, once it's fibred your price for ADSL/fibre will drop to the cheaper price.
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