Due to increased usage of mobile phones for not only voice calls but large data usage, mobile phone boosters are becoming more desirable for good service. Here we discuss why they are legal and the systems that are not.

1. Mobile Boostersin the UK. Are they legal?
One of the commonquestionswe getaskedisare Mobile BoostersLegal inthe UK?
The confusionisbecause forsome time mobile boosterswereillegaltoinstall anduse inthe UK.
Howeverthese rulesandguidelineshave changedinthe past2 years to make mobile boosterslegal
inthe UK
In April 2018 the WirelessTelegraphy(Mobile Repeater) (Exemption) Regulations2018 came into
act whichoutlinestolegal use of mobile repeaters.
The regulationswere focusedon two areas ofinstallation
1. StaticBoostersfor indoorapplications
2. Boostersusedwithinmotorvehicles
The Ofcom website outlinesthe clarificationof the legalityof these repeaters
https://www.ofcom.org.uk/about-ofcom/latest/features-and-news/mobile-phone-repeaters
“The first are known asstaticmobile phonerepeaters.Theseare forindooruse, and aredesigned to
improvecoverageinsidepeoples’homes,officesand otherbuildings.They mustnotbe used in other
situations. Forexample,while in motion,such asin a vehicle.
The ‘downlink’fromtheserepeaters(thepartthatconnectsthe repeaterto the mobilephone) must
notbe used outsideor in semi-open locations.Itmustbe used inside a building which hasa ceiling or
a roof.
The ‘uplink’(thepartthat connectstherepeatersto the mobilephonenetwork) can beused either
indoorsoroutdoors.
This typeof repeatermay not behelpful in all situations.However,they can help to boostindoor
signalsin situationswherethere is reasonablemobilecoveragejustoutsidethe building,butindoor
coverageis notgood enough.
We haverestricted these typesof repeatersso they amplify the signalfromonly one mobile phone
networkata time. Howeverthey may bere-configured to a differentnetwork”
The importantclarificationfromthese Ofcomregulationsisthatthe systemisonlyallowedand
designedtoamplifythe mobilephone signalfromONEmobile phone networkatone time.
In additionto this the mobile boostersystem must be adhere to the following
 No othernetworksmustbe interferedwithbythe booster
 The boostersare adhere withthe licenseconditionsof the mobilenetworkoperatorand
that theycan control themto turn themon or off or to configure them
The systemcan be reconfiguredtoa differentnetworkproviderbutcan onlybroadcasta single
provideratany one time
The systemmustalsobe able toboost 2G, 3G and 4G at all timesand therefore 4gonlymobile may
not andare probablynotconforming

2. Mobile repeatersthatboostmore thanone operatorat a time donot complywithOfcomrulesand
regulations
Do mobile repeaterswork?
It isimportantto rememberthatmobile repeatersare exactlythat,theyrepeatthe signal they
receive atitsexternal antenna.Theytake thatsignal andthenrepeatitto otherareasof the building
Therefore if youhave goodmobile coverage external toyourbuilding,the installationof anexternal
mobile antennawill receive thatsignal.Thenthisfollowswiththe installationof datacablingand
internal mobilerepeateraccesspoints.Thisresultsinyouwillachievingtotal mobile coveragewithin
your building
Licence exemptmobile phone repeaters
The range of mobile repeaterswe install all complywiththe Ofcomregulationsandthe
requirementsof the mobile phone providers.
Solutionswillvaryonthe location,size of buildingandcoverage requirements.Howeverinall cases
there isa solutionthatwe can recommended,designandinstallforyou.
The whole solutionfromthe external aerial,throughtothe internal repeatersare partof the
installation. Inadditionthe associateddatacablingandpowerrequirementscomplete the work
About NM CablingSolutions - NetworkCabling Specialist
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