Another Internet question. booster antenna

[Ron Citerone]

My I phone internet connection at my cottage is good sometimes and tends to become very slow in the evenings and other times. I have Verizon. My neighbor switched to AT&T and has better internet with a hot spot. I don't see changing to AT&T as a option. I was told about an Antenna and booster system that a fee people have there, but don't know them personally. Any knowlege of these booster set ups?

Thanks, Ron

[Malcolm McLeod]

I have a 12V cell booster for use in the desert, but it was company provided, so no shopping or researching on my part.

It is composed of a (relatively) large coil on a 3-1/2ft external antenna, and a 'pad' interface in the vehicle, plus other P/S, plug, brain hidden under the seat. Phone gets placed on the pad and its internal antenna connects to booster.

It can take me from 1 bar and VERY marginal service to 3-4 bars and solid signal. But there MUST be SOME signal for it to p/u - - it is not magic. I have never had need to use it for data exchange. No hard numbers, but I'd SWAG that it triples usable range.

[Paul F Franklin]

If you have decent cell signal strength (4-5 bars) at the time you are experiencing slowdowns, a signal booster may not help your internet connection speed because the delays you are seeing could be occurring upstream of your phones connection to the cell tower due to heavy traffic upstream.

If you have poor or marginal signal strength then trying a booster is worth a shot. Verizon doesn't require you to buy the booster from them, but any booster you use must be labeled for consumer use and must be registered with Verizon (or whoever you cell provider is). Here's a link to the Verizon page that discusses boosters: https://www.verizon.com/solutions-and-services/accessories/register-signal-booster/