I come from a telecom background. You need to get a clue about how cell phone amps work, and why what you're talking about isn't particularly relevant. Amps don't just automatically pump out peak signal. They're intelligent devices, very much like cell phones.

Anyways, you completely failed to answer my question, so I'm guessing you don't actually have a reasonable answer, and as such, I feel no need to continue this.

Your argument is idiotic.

The carriers are claiming that signal boosters are a problem.

You're claiming the carriers can't provide coverage due to "complex" reasons.

Tell me how the hell I *AM* supposed to get reliable coverage for my mobile phone when I'm driving around, since I clearly don't "get" it and you do.

I mean, after all, presumably my "mobile" phone is supposed to *be* capable of use when I'm mobile. If I wanted to be tied down by an at&t femtocell (which only works in one location, for broadband users, and for pre-registered cell phones, how useless is that, doesn't even boost signal for friends when they're over) then I'd get rid of the cell phone and just use a really nice VoIP phone to begin with.

If your business is dependent on your being able to provide a service, and you cannot provide it, then you should catch hell for it. That people are actually stepping up to the plate and spending cash to fix their carrier's problem is amazing.

Perhaps if this was an FM radio amplifier, yes. However, all of the common cellular technologies are significantly more complex and involve sharing of the spectrum. That would mean that any amplifier would need to have much the same sharing logic as a cell phone would.

I concede the point. at&t already tried to sell me one of their femtocells. I told them to fix their damn coverage. They had actually turned off 3G on the local tower... but that's another story.

Of course, they already have a ton of random devices all successfully sharing the airwaves. I can pop a SIM card in any random (unlocked, sigh) GSM phone that works on at&t frequencies and expect it to work. Why is it that it's just the cell repeaters that are a problem?

Wilson makes an absolutely fantastic booster for GSM, the 812201, which is a "direct connect" (wired) booster for a single device. I've used it with data cards and cell phones along zero-bar areas like Amtrak lines in Pennsylvania (suddenly had 3 bars and was the only person on the train with a working cell phone) and in Utah, which has sparse GSM coverage due to low population. This isn't a good house solution, but it'd make me willing to bet on their other products.