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Recommendations for GSM booster links? (slrpnk.net)

submitted 7 months ago by Sunny@slrpnk.net to c/technology@lemmy.world

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Hi there,

Family owns a rather remote house in a quite rural area in Europe. This is a vacation home, and whilst it is possible to pay for WiFi, it's not something they want to pay for considering they travel there maybe 3-4 times a year. So am now looking for alternative methods that involve using mobile data, as they have "unlimited" mobile data plans. So I think they're looking for a GSM booster link/Dual Band Cellular Repeater (not entirely sure what the correct term is, but hope one of them are correct). The house they live in has very thick concrete walls, and is multiple stories tall. So while the coverage is somewhat useable on the second floor, it is basically nonexistent on the first floor. So one of these devices would be nice, as it would allow for making calls throughout the house too. So; are there any specific recommendations for this? I guess I would need to buy one that is specifically supported by our mobile operator?

If WiFi were to become more relevant in a few years, would you recommend Starlink over paying for WiFi? It seems more affordable than what WiFi costs here, from what I have checked.

Appreciate any comments and suggestions, have a nice day 🌻

Let me know if there are any other specific details that would be important for making this decision.

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[–] Ivi104@lemmy.ml 2 points 7 months ago (3 children)

I'm not sure about a GSM booster, but a smartphone can be made to emit Wi-Fi, whose range can be extended with a Wi-Fi Extender. Place the phone into an area with good coverage (by a window perhaps?), activate the WiFi hotspot, and connect your other devices to the phone's WiFi network. If the range is insufficient try switching to a lower band (2.4GHz signal will travel further than 5GHz) and if that's still not enough buy a WiFi Extender, set it up to connect to your phone's WiFi network and connect your devices to the Extender's network.

[–] Sunny@slrpnk.net 2 points 7 months ago (2 children)

So this is actually the current setup, minus the WiFi extender. However it's not very practical for us, as one of the phones would have to be left in one location at all times and this signal isn't strong enough to emit throughoyt the whole whose, because of the very thick walls and floors. A WiFi extender could help here indeed, but it would go down again each time that phone leaves the house etc.. Looking for a more permanent and practical solution, but thanks for you suggestion!

[–] Ivi104@lemmy.ml 1 points 7 months ago (1 children)

I'm not sure how doable this is, but there are routers or tablets that can accept a SIM card. You could maybe ask your service provider to give you a second SIM card tied to your number that you could put into it. I'm not sure how calling or texting would work with two SIM cards tied to the same number, maybe your provider could disable these options on the new SIM? I don't know anything about the inner workings of telecommunications, this is just an idea.

[–] Sunny@slrpnk.net 2 points 7 months ago

Indeed, good idea. I believe they do have "twin-sim", as it is called here. I'll have a look into this.