Anyone using a SOHO cell phone booster for ISP

[bakerhillpins]

All

So I have given up waiting for ISPs to get around to providing service to my east BF/boon docks location and I can't deal with the constant outages and exorbitant cost of satellite internet service any more.  I am looking into setting up a local SOHO (small office, home office) cell booster with directional antenna and going to a cell provider for phone and data services. After poking around a bunch it seems that the Wilson line of boosters is some decent stuff. It's what we use in our mfg facility too but setting up one of these systems is something I haven't done before.

http://www.wilsonelectronics.com/

Seems I need to get the booster AND a special modem that allows me to plug a wireless data adapter into it. Or I suppose I could just get the adapter and plug it into an old PC and use it with ICS. Either way it would feed into my router on the LAN. Do I have that correct?

So do any of you out there have any experience with these setups that can recommend systems or steps to take to be sure I can get the system up and running? It all seems pretty straight forward but the entry fee looks like its in the 400-500 dollar range so I don't want to guess if I don't have to. I basically get "no service" on all cells but wondering around the house every once in a while I pick up a signal via Verizon so I am hoping a directional antenna on the roof would do the trick.

Thanks

[hemigeno]

I'm pretty much in the same boat at my house, although it sounds as if I get better cellular reception than you do.  There's certainly no DSL or cable service coming to my little corner of paradise anytime soon, so about 2-1/2 years ago I purchased an AT&T USBConnect "Mercury" wireless internet device.  Dial-up just stinks, and I'd rather pay the $60/month to get a decent connection.  I was specifically looking for a device that had an external antenna port/connection, and at the time AT&T carried the Mercury which had that port.  I don't know if that's the case any longer, and the AT&T website shows all their current devices have integral antennas with no mention made of external ports.  The Mercury had both an integral antenna and the port.

As far as my planned system, I've set up multiple cellular signal repeater systems to increase reception inside metal buildings before, and had always gone through the guys at WPS Antennas.  They carry all the name-brands you'd likely be considering, including Wilson Cellular stuff.  WPS's website is:  http://www.wpsantennas.com

Anyway, a couple of years ago I had planned to set up a system at home as follows:

> Yagi Antenna - because of subdivision rules, mine has to be mounted inside the attic space.

>  Low Loss extension cable between the Yagi antenna and the next item:

>  Amplifier - at the time I had short-listed the following amps from WPS's website:  DA4000, 801245 or the 812201.  Some of those numbers might not be carried any longer, but all of them were still in place the last time I checked (less than a year ago)

>  Low Loss extension cable between the Amplifier and the next item:

>  Adapter - to mate the extension cable to the USB Mercury device, and which adapter depends on the type of external antenna port your USB device would have.

>  USB Device (which I already had) - again, AFAIK you gotta have one with an external port to get the benefit of a better antenna/amplifier

>  Router - you have to get one that has a USB port as the "signal source".  Not all of them have such, at least a t one time.  Might be different now.  I was planning to use the MBR1000 or the MBR1100.  I think the 1100 was still available last time I checked, but that might not be the case.  It's 4G compatible, although it's anyone's guess if AT&T will ever roll out 4G service in my area.  Doubtful, but I'd rather be prepared.

From that point, I had hard-wired CAT5 cable between the planned physical location for the router and my tower PC on the first floor.  In retrospect, I probably messed up by planning to locate the Router and its LAN wi-fi antennas on the second floor.  It would be better to spend money on a longer extension cable between the amplifier and the USB device, and physically locate the router on the first floor where everyone would get better signal strength on their smart phones and other wireless devices.  I'd still want an ethernet cable between the router and the family's main computer to maximize transfer speeds.


Despite all that planning, I never bucked up and purchased any of that equipment beyond the USB device.  As it turns out, we get decent enough (usually not great, but OK) cellular signal strength to the USB device just by plugging it into an available USB port on the tower PC's monitor.  Not setting up the router has kept us from having our own SOHO wireless network/hotspot, but oh well.  If it ain't broke...

Don't know whether any of this information is of use to you with your situation, but it's what I WAS thinking about.

[bakerhillpins]

Actually this is all great info. Thanks! 

The biggest difference I see between the setup you defined and what I see myself doing is using a re transmitter within the building to feed both the USB device and Cell phones (rather than going directly into the USB device through an external antenna jack). Unless they make a T for the low loss lines on the repeater side.

I talked with our IT guy today both of you have similar feedback. The biggest concern he mentioned was to be sure the stuff I bought would be compatible with my carrier, which currently is Verizon.

The 801245 was the one that seemed to be the proper model for my application. The 2nd digit seems to be the same unit but in different kits.. 841245, etc.) Also, newer models have adjustable gains for each side.
http://www.wilsonelectronics.com/ProductDetails.aspx?Product=19&title=AG+SOHO+60+%28801245%29&Category=9

The outside antenna is a decision I am unsure about. Should I get the directional wide band (700-2500 MHz bands) or the Yagi for individual bands? Need to find info about Carrier band usage.

The inside Antenna seems to be an aesthetic choice.

Will I need to get specific booster components to support 4G networks?

[hemigeno]

Here's where you might need to do more research - especially with how Verizon does things.  I think you may find the data and voice cellular signals are carried on totally different bands, so you'll either have to pick which band you want to boost or install two different repeaters and perhaps as many as 4 antennas (2 external, 2 internal ??).  I think there are websites linked through the WPS site which will tell you what band each carrier uses in a given area (driven by zip code, if memory serves me correctly).  Might be worth checking into a little more.

I understand what you're trying to do - and it is certainly possible to accomplish it that way, although I was only addressing the data side and tried to eliminate any wireless connections between the antenna and the tower PC.  How fast my daughter could download stuff from iTunes or update her Facebook page through her laptop computer didn't bother me as much...  

Sounds like you're on the right track.


As for your other questions:

Which antenna you get will be a factor of which signal/band you're trying to boost.  I tend to lean towards more specific or narrow band antennas (Yagi's are the best specific-band option), in an attempt to maximize the overall effect.  That's just me.  There are two external Yagi's mounted to the same pole, two repeaters and two internal antennas set up in my office building right now, one each for cell & data.

I think most of the repeater/amplifier equipment should be 4G compatible out of the box, although it wouldn't hurt to ask the experts that question.  You'll definitely have to pay attention to that factoid when selecting modem/wi-fi equipment.  It makes a difference there for sure.