Signal Boosters Help Wireless Customers Get Service in Old NYC Buildings
By Jotham Sederstrom September 12, 2013 9:00 am
reprintsLiving in a prewar building can be an architectural dream and a technology nightmare. Busy New Yorkers who live in buildings 50 years and older may rush home to use wireless technology, but some are experiencing more dropped calls than connections.
While wireless carriers continue to work on technology issues in the city, some cell providers are offering signal boosters to those who can’t keep a signal in their home or office.
Cell phone giant Sprint produces a product called Airave, a small device that can help improve the signal inside a home or apartment for up to 5,000 square feet. Sprint’s device not only boosts cell phone call coverage but boosts the mobile broadband technology of the device. The Airave system can boost the signal for up to six devices at once.
Verizon Wireless also makes a signal booster. The cellular giant, whose towers dominate the New York City area, make a signal booster about the size of an Internet router box. Wilson Electronics, a provider of cellular accessories, also manufactures a signal-boosting device. Consumers can expect to pay between $100 and $250 for a signal-boosting device.
Sprint and Verizon are among the largest carriers in the New York City Metro area.
