DAS (Distributed Antenna Systems): Challenges and Opportunities

Distributed Antenna Systems (DAS) play a vital role in improving wireless coverage and capacity in large venues, urban environments, and remote areas. As mobile data demand surges with the proliferation of 5G, understanding DAS's potential and challenges becomes increasingly critical.

This article explores the key challenges of implementing DAS and the opportunities it presents for network operators, businesses, and consumers.

What is DAS?

A Distributed Antenna System (DAS) is a network of spatially separated antennas connected to a central source. These antennas are strategically distributed to enhance cellular coverage and capacity where traditional networks may struggle, such as:

• Stadiums
• Airports
• Skyscrapers
• Tunnels
• College campuses

By extending coverage, DAS ensures seamless communication in areas prone to weak signals or high congestion.

Challenges of Implementing DAS

While DAS offers significant benefits, several challenges can complicate deployment:

1. High Installation Costs

• Expense: Deploying DAS involves substantial investment in equipment, labor, and engineering.
• Cost Distribution: Organizations often struggle to justify costs unless they serve high-traffic areas.

2. Complex Integration

• Infrastructure Coordination: Integrating DAS with existing cellular networks requires careful planning to avoid interference.
• Technology Compatibility: Ensuring DAS works with multiple carriers and technologies, such as 4G LTE and 5G, can be technically demanding.

3. Regulatory Compliance

• Permitting: Acquiring permits and adhering to local regulations can delay deployments.
• Safety Standards: DAS systems must meet rigorous safety standards, especially in public venues.

4. Scalability Issues

• Capacity Needs: As data demand grows, DAS installations must scale to support more users and higher speeds.
• Future-Proofing: Upgrading existing DAS for 5G and beyond adds complexity.

Opportunities with DAS

Despite the challenges, DAS presents numerous opportunities for improving connectivity and user experiences:

1. Enhanced Connectivity in High-Demand Areas

• Seamless Communication: DAS ensures uninterrupted service in crowded venues like stadiums or concert halls.
• Capacity Management: Offloads traffic from traditional towers to prevent network congestion.

2. Support for 5G Deployment

• Critical for 5G: DAS provides the infrastructure needed for dense, high-speed 5G networks.
• Private Networks: Organizations can use DAS to create dedicated 5G networks for secure, high-speed communication.

3. Improved Emergency Response

• Reliable Coverage: DAS enhances communication for emergency services in critical areas like tunnels and airports.
• Public Safety: Supports first responder networks, ensuring rapid and reliable communication during crises.

4. Revenue Opportunities for Operators

• Carrier Collaboration: DAS systems often support multiple carriers, creating revenue-sharing opportunities.
• Business Expansion: DAS enables mobile operators to enter challenging markets, like remote regions or dense urban centers.

Conclusion

Distributed Antenna Systems are essential for meeting the growing demand for reliable mobile connectivity in challenging environments. While the initial investment and complexity of implementation pose hurdles, the opportunities for enhancing coverage, supporting 5G, and improving user experiences make DAS a worthwhile endeavor.

As technology advances and the demand for seamless connectivity intensifies, DAS will play a pivotal role in shaping the future of wireless communication.

Related Articles

• How DAS Enhances 5G Coverage
• Small Cells vs. DAS: Which is Right for Your Venue?
• The Role of DAS in Smart Cities

Do Boosters Work for WiFi? Debunking Common Myths and Unveiling the Truth

In our hyper-connected world, a stable and fast WiFi connection is essential for seamless communication, work, and entertainment. However, many of us have experienced frustrating dead zones and weak signals within our homes or offices. To tackle this issue, WiFi boosters have become popular solutions to extend and amplify the reach of our wireless networks. But do these boosters truly work? In this article, we will explore the efficacy of WiFi boosters, debunk common myths, and shed light on the truth behind their functionality.

Why Cell Phone Coverage in National Parks Can Be Bad & How to Improve Reception Problems

There are several reasons why cell phone coverage in national parks can be bad:

Cell Coverage in Yosemite National Park

Yosemite National Park, located in California, is known for its stunning natural beauty and attracts a large number of visitors each year. However, due to the park's remote and rugged terrain, cellular coverage can be limited or unavailable in certain areas. Here's some information regarding cell coverage in Yosemite National Park:

Cell Phone Signal Boosters

Cell phone signal boosters, also known as cellular repeaters or amplifiers, are devices designed to improve and strengthen cellular signals for better reception and coverage. They work by capturing existing cellular signals, amplifying them, and rebroadcasting them to areas with weak or no signal.

Here's how cell phone signal boosters typically work:

How to Extend iPhone Battery Life & Signal

To extend your iPhone's battery life and improve signal reception, you can follow these tips:

What Causes Poor Cell Phone Reception?

The Main Causes Of Poor Cell Phone Reception

There is nothing worse than moving to a new place only to discover you only have one single bar of cell phone coverage. You’re not getting any signal, your calls get dropped or simply don’t come through, downloads are achingly slow, all the meanwhile you’re busy handing over your hard-earned money to pay your monthly cell phone bill. If you’re thinking about moving your home or office to a new location, cell phone coverage may be something you want to check out before you do.

Here are some of the main causes of poor cell phone reception:

Several factors come into play when it comes to cell phone reception. While some of these factors, like weather, can cause intermittent issues with coverage, others will consistently affect coverage. One of the main factors is the distance of your home from a cell phone tower, and what topographical challenges lie in between such as forests, hills, mountains, and valleys. Obviously, the more rural the area is the less likely you are to get great coverage but even in cities, other buildings, or trees can also block coverage. The construction material of your home or office will also come into play with certain materials like brick, metal and super thick walls hampering cell coverage as well.

In cities, congested towers can also cause poor cell phone coverage as many users try and access the tower at one time. It’s worth looking into the number of towers in your specific area as well as plans for new towers, particularly if you are in a developing area where the population is due to increase in the future.

What can you do about poor cell phone coverage

If you’ve already made the move only to discover that the cell phone coverage isn’t living up to your expectations, there are a few things you can do. While you could wait for your network provider to magically solve all of your issues, this could be a long and very frustrating process. Another option is to invest in a cell phone signal booster.

Cell phone signal boosters work just as the name sounds – they help to boost weak cell phone signals. You can get cell phone signal boosters for your home, car, RV or even your boat. Also known as an amplifier or repeater, these devices use an antenna to receive and transmit signals at an increased level of power and sensitivity than you would get merely by using your device by itself.

Cell phone signal boosters can work even in the most remote of places so you can access real money pokies wherever you go. They amplify the signal and cut out the connectivity issues caused by natural obstructions and distance. The use of a booster can help make your calls clearer, allow for faster internet browsing and ensure that a call is never dropped again. A boosted connection can also help improve your cell phone’s battery life as your phone doesn’t waste power and energy on a constant search for a stronger signal.

Which Cell Signal Booster is Best for Verizon

zBoost YX-510 Cell Phone Signal Booster Dual-Band Unit for Home or Office

AT&T & Verizon "Drop The Ball" Providing Emergency Cell Service

Why Are AT&T & Verizon Not Providing Emergency Cell Phone Coverage?

Have the big carriers become lazy about helping out for emergencies in California?  Have politics and political agendas got in the way of these corporate giant telecom bureaucracies helping California?

Just like Trump called out the Forest Service as mismanaging resources in the time of emergencies.  I am calling out AT&T & Verizon for not helping out enough to provide emergency wireless cell phone coverage in the Thousand Oaks, Westlake, and Malibu areas during the fires.   Do the management teams of Verizon and AT&T hate California as well?  These companies are based in heavily conservative areas in the deep South of Georgia and Texas.

Why didn't they bring in emergency cell phone towers along Mulholland Highway which has notoriously horrendous cell phone coverage?  These companies have helped out tremendously during hurricanes in Florida and North Carolina.  Why not help California?  Cellular companies should have dozens of these trucks in California during the fire season.  Here is a photo of only 1 truck on PCH during the Woosley Fire.  Where were the AT&T & Verizon wireless drones providing emergency cell phone service as you promoted on CNBC?

T-Mobile & Sprint also have horrible service in this area but typically these companies are using AT&T & Verizon networks in this area.  So I can't exactly call out these companies in this area as easily.  Here is an AT&T Map of coverage. 

Improving Cell Signal for United States Cellular Networks

Staying connected to family, friends and, as much as we hate to admit it, work, while you’re using your cell phone at home, office or vacation home is now totally dependent on having a usable cell signal.

This post explains why your mobile signal strength is weak and identifies which solution will be your best means of getting stronger cell reception in your home, vacation home or small office.

Why do some buildings have weak cell signal

The cause for weak signals inside of a building can stem from a few different sources. As a general rule, anything between your cell phone and the cell tower will weaken the radio frequency (RF) signals that give your phone the ability to call, text and stream data.

Here is a list of things that block mobile signals:

·        Non-Conductive Construction Materials have a moderate impact on your mobile connectivity. This includes materials that cannot conduct electricity: drywall, plastic matter, wood, glass and others will modestly impact your mobile connectivity but, in most cases, will not completely block a strong signal.

·        Conductive Construction Materials have a significant impact on your mobile signal and these materials, like tin, copper, silver, aluminum, and others, have the ability to render a strong mobile signal completely useless.

·        Organic Materials can have a wide-ranging effect on your signal. Depending on the size of the impediment and its material makeup, these can either modestly dull or completely block a strong signal. For example, mountains, hills, large snow-mounds, dense tree or plant matter, bodies of saltwater (conductive material), and more can completely block a strong signal. On the other hand, sparse tree or plant matter, small bodies of salt or freshwater, small or loose-packed snow piles and others may only moderately reduce the signal strength.

·        Weather like fog, snow, rain, sleet, hail, dust, and more, can have a weakening impact on your signal. Depending on the density of the weather system and the distance the signal needs to travel, these can either dull or completely block a strong cellular signal.

·        Mobile Tower Direction & Locations send a limited strength signal in a general direction. If your mobile device is further than the power of the mobile tower can reach or does not fall within the tower’s window of reception, you could receive a reduced signal or none at all.

·        User Capacity is not infinite on mobile towers. As more simultaneous users send and receive signals from a nearby mobile tower, the less power the tower has to offer each user.

·        RF Interference can be caused by being surrounded by other devices that emit an RF frequency that disrupts the signal you are using to make calls, send or receive texts, or stream data using a mobile signal. Naturally, this has a dulling impact on the strength of a usable signal.

Solution 1: Signal Booster

Signal boosters are a very common choice for most buildings. The defining requirement for a signal booster is that the building has a usable signal existing just outside or nearby to the building. Signal boosters capture that outside signal, amplify the signal’s strength and retransmit that signal within the structure. These are wideband solutions, which means they support all US, Canada and Mexico mobile network providers simultaneously. This includes Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, Bell, Telus, Rogers Wireless, Sasktel, Bell MTS, Telcel, and all others. Signal boosters support all voice, text, and data signals for 2G, 3G and 4G LTE and support buildings as small as 5 square feet and up to just under 500,000-square-feet. Prices range from a few hundred dollars for a small or medium-size space to over one thousand for larger spaces.

Solution 2: Femtocells

Femtocells are often the go-to solution for customers who only need coverage for a few users in a small space and who all use the same mobile network provider. These are carrier-specific solutions, so if you buy a Verizon femtocell anybody with another carrier will be unable to get cellular service. These are great for buildings that have no signal outside or nearby to the building but have a strong internet connection. These work by creating a mobile hotspot in your home that pulls from your internet connection. These cost between $100 and $400 and require a monthly fee on your internet bill, which varies from provider to provider. These are limited to four simultaneous users and the maximum coverage area on these is usually one or two small rooms.

Solution 3: Active DAS

Active distributed antenna systems (DAS) are most often used in very large buildings above 500,000-square-feet. These solutions require approval by any carrier that the system supports because Active DAS uses base stations and remote nodes that are connected directly to the carrier’s network. This being the case, these solutions are more expensive, require a substantial amount of time before installing, and, in turn, are typically the option of choice for very large buildings and businesses – think sports stadiums, very large hotels, casinos, and more.

Each of these presents a great solution for a specific application. Let’s wrap it up with a simple summary of which mobile solution will be best for your building.

Choose Active DAS for very large buildings that have time, money and a high user count. Femtocells are best for small spaces with strong internet, no outside signal and very few users who are all on the same mobile network. Signal boosters for small, medium and larger spaces up to 500,000-square-feet that have a decent outside signal and need coverage for all carriers throughout the building.

Solutions for Weak Cell Phone Signals at Home

The relationships, work, and information that fuels our lives is made possible by our cellular-powered devices. Remaining connected at home is no longer a matter of want; it has become a need.

This post is for those of you who have already tried the free tricks to improve cell signal and are now looking for paid solutions that can provide reliable cellular coverage within the walls of your home.

To improve cell signal for your home, you’ll want to start by answering the following questions to better assess your needs.

1.   What’s the strongest signal immediately outside of your home?

This is likely the clearest identifier for which solution will best suit your needs. To get started, learn how you can take a signal reading here. Use the results from your signal reading to determine which cellular solution will work best for you.

·     If the strongest single point of cellular signal outside of your home is less than -105 dBm your needs will likely be best met by a femtocell, which can provide reliable coverage for one or two small rooms in your home.
·     If your reading is -94 to -104 dBm you are in a gray zone; you may be able to use a signal booster but may also require a femtocell.

·     If your reading is better than -93 dBm you will be well suited for a cell phone signal booster and, depending on the signal booster kit you select and the size of your home, you can expect to receive usable cellular signals in spaces spanning from just a few rooms to an entire more.

2.  How big is your home?

The solution to boost the cellular signal for a two-bedroom apartment will likely be different from the solution for a five-bedroom home or 12,000-square-foot mansion. Signal boosters tend to provide a usable signal to larger coverage areas whereas femtocells are generally used in small spaces the size of one to two rooms.

3.   In how much of your home do you need to use mobile devices?

Think about how much area within your home will need to have reliable cellular signals. Depending on the solution you select and the signal outside of your building, you may only see an improvement in a small area. If a small area of coverage is sufficient, a femtocell may be a suitable solution. On the other hand, if you have a moderate outside signal, a signal booster may be able to repeat that signal throughout your home.

4.   What is your budget for a cell phone booster?
Your pricing options range from a few hundred dollars for a femtocell or signal booster that can support small spaces to $1000 for very large homes. For signal boosters that can cover very large homes, the cost can exceed $1000 and may require a cellular system design service, which SureCall provides free for buildings above 10,000 square feet. Your cellular provider may offer you a free (or discounted) femtocell solution to enhance your signal within a small area of your home. To pursue that option you’ll need to contact your provider.

5.  Are there other carriers who provide better service for your area?

If you have poor reception with your cellular provider but have friends or family who have better reception with a different cellular carrier, you may want to consider transferring carriers. There can be early contract termination fees if you are not at the end of a contract term. Check with your cellular provider for their contract termination fee or to see when your existing contract expires.

Based on your responses to the questions above you will be best served by one of two viable cellular solutions: femtocell or signal booster. Dive into the details of each cellular signal solution below.

Femtocell

Also known as microcells, femtocells produce a cellular signal by using your internet connection. Femtocells can be purchased through your cellular carrier and will be carrier specific. So, if you have a cellular plan with Verizon you will want to purchase your femtocell through Verizon.

Femtocells are the ideal solution for homes with no cellular reception, which we consider readings lower than -100 dBm. In most instances, femtocells will enhance cellular signal for a small space, but typically not much more than one to two small rooms.

Femtocells cost between $100 and $400 and require a monthly subscription that will be added to your internet bill. Your cellular carrier may provide this for free, but this is very situational and something you shouldn’t depend on.

Signal Booster

Also known as bi-directional amplifiers (BDA) or repeaters, cell phone signal boosters come in kits that include an outdoor antenna, indoor antenna, signal booster, and cabling to connect and power the system. Some kits may combine the indoor or outdoor antenna and booster for a minimalist appearance in your home.

Signal boosters are carrier agnostic, meaning most signal boosters will improve your signal no matter which North American device or provider you use. These are the best solution for homes with weak cellular reception (readings stronger than -93 dBm) outside of the building.

Cell phone signal boosters work by capturing the signal that exists outside of your home with an outdoor antenna before feeding it to the signal booster. The signal booster then amplifies the signal strength and sends it to the indoor antenna to transmit the signal inside of your home.

Some signal boosters are more powerful than others, and the coverage area will primarily depend on the signal that exists outside of your home and density of internal walls and building structure.

Generally, with a clear line of sight, signal booster kits with a Yagi outdoor antenna can reach towers up to 40 miles away, whereas Omni-directional outdoor antenna kits reach towers up to 20 miles away. This range is dependent on the strength of the signal leaving the tower and the number of obstacles between you and that tower.

Signal boosters cost around $300 for small homes and apartments, around $400 to $600 for large homes, and around $1000 for very large homes. These kits can be customized with different indoor antennas to adapt to the layout of your home and outdoor antennas to adapt to the distance between you and the nearest cell phone tower.

Both femtocells and cell phone signal boosters present strong solutions that, given your cellular circumstance, can take you from weak or unusable cellular signals to strong signals. If you have any questions, we suggest doing your research on SureCall, a top signal booster manufacturer. Check out all of SureCall’s cell phone signal boosters for home.

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If you have cell phone coverage problems in your home, we might suggest purchasing a cell phone booster.  

Why Does My Phone Keep Dropping Calls?

Social Networking Apps Causing Cell Tower Signaling Issues

A recent survey found that 72% of Americans experience some form of dropped calls, and 32% experience dropped calls at least a few times per week or more. Like it or not, dropped calls and poor coverage are still a major problem for a large number of people. Carriers continue to add cell towers and expand coverage areas, this is not a problem that's going to go away soon. So what is there to do?   Get a small cell (aka femtocell) or a cell phone booster for your house.

You can also, tell all of your friend's kids and neighbors using the same cell phone tower to stop using their chatty messaging apps.  If you see the chart above it is looks like these apps are constantly pinging the cell towers which is causing people to drop calls.  Would love additional feedback below.  

Yes, dead zones or poor signal strength areas do cause many dropped calls.  However, the majority of dropped calls are in areas near cell phone towers.  The more smartphones pinging the tower the more dropped calls will persist.  

Verizon 4G LTE Wireless Signal Booster

Verizon & AT&T 4G LTE Signal Booster

Now there’s a mobile signal booster for those using Verizon Wireless LTE devices.  The Sleek 4G-V from Wilson Electronics was announced this week.  You can boost AT&T's 700 MHz LTE (bands 12 & 17) signal as well as all carriers 3G & 2G cellular signals on 800 MHz & 1900 MHz.  The boost provides more than 20 times the power of your cell phone alone.  This booster will help you stay connected by providing a strong reliable signal in weak-signal areas indoors and outdoors in a car (1 or 2 bars), reducing lost dropped calls and speeding data rates.  It's designed for the car but will work anywhere.

The Sleek 4G-V works with all devices on all conventional 2G and 3G networks, except Nextel.  FCC type accepted.  Below is a diagram of how to set up the antenna for a typical car.

Verizon 4G LTE Signal Booster 

Related Articles: 

Which Cell Phone Signal Booster is Best for Verizon Home?

What Would You Rather Have: Portable Emergency Cell Tower or Defibrillator?

AT&T's Network Is Known To Cause Heart Attacks! 

AT&T (NYSE: T) made a product announcement yesterday to start selling a portable cell tower in a suitcase.  You have to laugh when you see the product because you are more likely to die of a heart attack trying to connect to the network in an emergency.  The emergency cell tower is designed to be used and deployed in a disaster scenario when there is no cellular service.  However, you are more likely to die of a heart attack being stuck in a dead zone before you are able to set up your emergency cell tower to get coverage.   This product is so dumb that you know the US Government will by buying these things in droves because AT&T will be terrifying officials with fear.  I have an idea . . . How about using some of the emergency funds to fix the cell coverage dead zones you already have?    If spectrum were more open in rural areas the private sector could solve the coverage issues themselves with products like: Solar Powered Remote Cell Towers. 

This begs the question why are they offering this if their cellular network covers 98% of the population?  This portable cell tower only covers a 1/2 mile radius and it is way overpriced. Who or what company is going to buy this for $15,000 - $45,000 depending on options?  Who is going to spend 30 minutes trying to set this up in the middle of a disaster?  How can they possibly have enough of these portable towers in place to repair their broken network when it inevitably crashes?  

Related Stories:

Emergency Vehicles Need Cell Signal Boosters

FCC Could Ban Cell Signal Boosters = Bad Idea

Cell Phone Boosters Petition to the FCC

Cell Boosters: A Solution for Poor Cell Signals

Wherever there are dead cell zones, dropped calls, static during calls and generally, bad reception is bound to follow. Cell phone users that live in an area where there is not even one bar of reception anywhere in their vicinity will have a hard time rectifying their situation without a provider’s solution. However, for those that can pick up even one bar of reception, a cell booster is a very affordable solution to improve cellular signal reception.

In the simplest terms, cell boosters take weak cellular signals and amplify them within a home, office, or building. A typical cell booster kit includes an external antenna (for picking up weak signals), an amplifier (for boosting weak signal), and an internal antenna (for rebroadcasting the amplified signals). But how does one go about selecting the best cell booster?

There are a couple of things to keep in mind when shopping for a booster: application and frequency. There is a difference between a small home cellular repeater and one designed for a warehouse. Large, multi-story buildings or spaces larger than 30,000 square feet often require custom cell booster installation and the expertise of a specialist.

However, for smaller cell booster applications, the most important thing to take note of is frequency. Amplifiers operate on different frequencies including 800 MHz (Verizon, US Cellular, and Alltel), 1900 MHz (T-mobile, Sprint and Metro PCS), and iDEN (Nextel). For those that aren’t sure what frequency their carrier utilizes, a Dual Band booster is probably the best choice. These amplifiers operate on both the 800 MHz and 1900 MHz bands, covering most carriers (with the exception of Nextel).

Basic cell boosters typically fall into the $200 -$250 price range and can be installed with minimal technical assistance.

Best and Worst Mobile Reception

We are living in an era where instant communication is everything. Having a decent cell reception has become an important criterion for people selecting an area to live in. The general expectation is that we would get cellular reception in all areas, but this isn’t the case as a recent study has conducted by SmartPlanet has identified the top 10 worst cities for signal reception in the U.S.

The Best Reception Areas

In terms of the best signal reception, New York tops the list. The reason is that adequate numbers of cellular towers are in place to match the growing population. New York is followed closely by Chicago and then Los Angeles. The correlation over here is that cities that have developed in terms of technology and other indicators have decent signal reception. Other top reception areas include Memphis, Houston, Philadelphia, San Diego and Phoenix.

Worst Areas

In terms of the worst areas for signal reception, we have Bakersfield, Colorado Springs, Oklahoma City, Lincoln, Toledo, Tucson and Milwaukee among the main ones. Detroit also falls in the top ten lists and may come as a surprise for some, but the thing is that the overall building architecture in the city is such that signals drop easily, especially with a lot of skyscrapers that come in the way of signals.

Bakersfield and Signal Reception

Bakersfield, California tops the list of worst signal reception in the U.S. Most of this can be attributed to the increase in the population and inadequate signal towers. The increase in population is identified as a major factor since Bakersfield has one of the highest population blooms in the U.S. Its population increased by forty percent during the 2000-2011 time periods.

Another slightly related issue is that of bill recovery in Bakersfield that discourages carriers from expanding more. Our mobile phone bills are usually billed on a monthly account and with the recession hit reduced income that could pose a problem. The bill also includes those for home phone and internet services as well. Your debt may keep piling up in this regard, and then there is the obligation to save too. So you are left with the question of should I save money or pay off debt?

There is no single answer to this. It depends on the individual's preferences as the area doesn't seem to be getting good reception any time soon as fiscal recovery is the top priority for now. It's also tied into the issue of settling credit card debt.

The best carrier that has been identified in the area is Sprint whereas the worst is AT&T. Majority of the population is using AT&T preferably because of the cost-effective nature, but this had a heavy toll on the overall signal reception in the area.

How to overcome

The best bet for an immediate measure would be to revert to the best carrier in the area. There’s also the possibility of using boosters as is being done in the case of Wi-Fi signals. Things are going to improve for Bakersfield in the coming few years since there has been oil drilling activity initiated this year. This would bode well for the economy in terms of job creation. Furthermore, a hidden benefit, in this case, would be better facilities like signal reception.

There has also been talking of microcells being used to boost signals. They are available by the name of Femtocell and are being provided by some cellular carriers. This particular device can be said to be a mini router and can be installed in your home/apartment/office. It would boost your cell phone reception. People who have used it along with AT&T have found the results to be good. This can be used as a relevant tool for solving the issue of poor reception.

Marin County Cell Phone Reception Review

Marin County Cell Phone Reception Dead Zones

(Click on the Map to Submit a New Location)

I was shocked recently on our family vacation how poor the cell phone reception was in Marin County.  I would be surprised if cell phone companies Verizon, Sprint & T-Mobile had any satisfied customers in the area.  The terrain is quite hilly and the trees are enormous.  It is one of the most beautiful areas in the County but probably has the worst cell phone reception of anywhere I have ever visited or vacationed with a reasonable population density.  This area is also the home to thousands of commuting technology professionals who work in San Francisco and rely on coverage during their daily commutes.

West Marin County especially almost had no reception at all.  This was surprising to me because of the population density and the amount of tourism and residents.  I would guess it is also a safety nightmare for emergency services in the area.  There are long stretches of road that have no signal and the roads are dangerous.  There are bicyclist all over the narrow roads that don't have any shoulder to ride on.  The roads are steep, have lots of blind curves and make for hazardous driving conditions if you are not alert behind the wheel.  I would imagine there are lot of car accidents.

Here is a list of cities, highways and locations in the area that had NO RECEPTION for T-Mobile and Verizon.  AT&T had a weak signal in many of these locations.

Bolinas - No signal
San Anselmo - No signal
Muir Woods National Monument - No Signal
Highway 1 in West Marin - No Signal most of the way
Panoramoic Highway - No Signal
Ridgecrest Blvd. - No Signal
Sleepy Hollow - No Signal
Butterfield Rd. - No Signal
Stinson Beach - 2 bars of 2G Edge on T-Mobile

AT&T probably had the best reception in the area and this seemed to be the carrier of choice for most residents in the area.  If any reception was available it was likely 2G and downloading data or email was virtually impossible.  I would imagine that there are lots of AT&T Microcells used by residents in the area.

I was not able to review Sprint's coverage in the area but it is likely not much better.  Thankfully I am a  T-Mobile customer and was able to make and receive phone calls through WiFi at our friends house.  T-Mobile WiFi phone calls save the day once again.

I would imagine there is lot of resistance from the residents for installing cell phone towers in the area.  I would characterize the population of residents to be quite "earthy".  I have found these communities and the City Council's o be quite resistant to the installation of cell phone towers or new antennas.  

Why Does Your Phone Signal Fluctuate Standing Still?

The influx of smartphones and tablets accessing video and pictures has increased the amount of data flowing across cell phone networks.  Cell phone towers can only hold so many more concurrent phone calls or users accessing video or data.  Cell towers can typically handle up to 500 simultaneous voice users at once while drastically less and only about 50 data users. Once this capacity has been reached, the cell tower rejects the calls or data connection which ends up dropping those calls.  You may even see full bars on your phone which is a good indicator of network congestion.

This is why it's usually impossible to get good data access inside stadiums during games with thousands of people clogging the network. This theory of network data congestion holds true with too many people accessing data on the same cell tower.  Everyone is competing for the same access on the cell phone tower and the tower only has so much capacity.  The more people accessing data on a cell tower, the weaker the signal. You might notice the strength of your cell signal in a certain area change depending upon the time of day because of rush hour or you are near a heavily populated area.

The number of simultaneous callers on a single tower was the primary cause for dropped calls years ago.  However, smartphones and their ability to view and stream data can put considerable strain on tower data and voice backhaul. All these factors cause the cell tower cell signal strength to constantly change or breathe.

This is one of the main reasons why many Verizon customers have suddenly started experiencing a lack of coverage in areas that they previously had 3, 4, or 5 bars of signal strength.  Coverage is not guaranteed and coverage maps don't really mean much these days.  It's up to you to submit your coverage complaints to our map where you experience frequent poor coverage.  Deadcellzones.com seems to be the only service that is trying to hold carriers accountable for coverage the promise in areas.  

2G, 3G, 4G: WTF is 4th Generation Anyway?

Techies throw terminology around all the time, and often we have to pretend that we understand what they're referring to. In this post, we'll try to explain and elucidate some of the tricky lingo used frequently in today's circles. Specifically, we'll look at the G's, 2G, 3G, and 4G - what they are, and what they mean for us.

The Gs refer to stages in the development of cellular technology. G stands for "generation." 2G, therefore, means "second generation" cellular systems. Service providers have just begun to roll out fourth generation networks, the most advanced technology developed to date. We'll get to fourth generation in a bit, but let's back up to the beginning, with 1G.

The systems retroactively dubbed 1G were the world's first mobile telephone networks. The first 1G network surfaced in Tokyo, in 1979. Over the next ten years, mobile networks were slowly built in countries all over the world. 1G systems communicated with analog signals, using continuous radio waves to transmit information. The analog system was dumped for digital communication with the advent of 2G in the early 90s.

The second generation of cell phone technology improved system capacity, allowed mobile data service with text messaging, and lowered the radiation emitted from phones. Much of this was affected by the move to digital communication, swapping continuous analog signals with the short burst, message-style transmissions of digital technology. 2G is still used in many parts of the world today.

It would be another ten years before the debut of 3G onto the world stage. 2G systems were strengthened and altered, ushering in mobile internet, video calling, mobile TV, and videoconferencing. Officially, 3G is not a specific technology, but a standard—an outline of specifications for cellular networks. Several different systems have been built that all comply with 3G requirements, such as EDGE, CDMA2000, and UMTS. Different service providers, like AT&T and Verizon Wireless, build and use their own designs for their respective networks. It's the differences in this sort of network structure that define whether or not your phone uses a SIM card.

Recently, the wireless communications world has been abuzz about 4G, the latest development of digital communication. The fourth generation standard aims to increase the speeds and thus the capabilities of 3G-enabled tasks, like mobile internet. Before 4G, downloading or streaming movies, songs, or any significant amounts of data to a mobile device was an abysmally slow process, if at all possible. 4G minimizes the difference in user experience between using a top-speed computer and your smartphone. In fact, it's 4G technology that justifies smartphones' existence.

"So that was all very nice," you might say, "but how does that affect me?" Well, the sort of technology your phone or mobile device uses will affect what accessories, upgrades, and supplemental systems you can attach and sync with it. For instance, signal boosters, which enhance weak cellular signals, read very specific transmissions. To amplify the weak signal for your 4G phone, you'll need a 4G booster capable of decoding and transmitting 4G signals. It's all quite simple, really. You now have the power to take on those tech nuts and show them who's boss.

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What does 1G 2G 2.5G 3G 3.5G 4G 5G mean