Reasons for Poor Mobile Phone Signal
We’ve all been there at one time or another. That awkward moment when you’re in full conversational flow and then the next thing you hear is three very faint beeps in your ear. The conversation abruptly ended as the mobile signal gives way right before cursing at your handset manufacturer or network provider begins.
But have you ever spared a thought for the causes of bad mobile phone reception. What is it that blocks the signal from your network provider getting through to your handset? Read on to find out the common causes of poor mobile phone signal.
1. Building Construction Material.
We all know of at least one indoor place where getting a decent mobile phone signal is somewhat of a chore. For some, it may be a friend’s house whereas for others it may be a shopping mall or a church. But what is it about particular properties that hamper the signal strength of your mobile phone?
More often than not it is down to the materials used to construct a building, rather than where the building itself is located. Extremely dense materials such as concrete and lead can prove very problematic for mobile network providers trying to beam signal to indoor users.
2. Building Size
The size of a building can have just as much impact on mobile signal quality as the materials used to construct it. You will often find desirable signal strength hard to come by in large indoor areas such as hospitals, colleges and factories. This is because the signal has to not only work through the exterior surface (walls) but once inside it has many features to content with before reaching your device.
3. Rural Areas
Unfortunately for those people residing in quieter, rural locations mobile phone network providers are not always convinced of the commercial viability of installing mobile phone masts aimed at improving network signal in such areas. It can be quite costly for a network provider to build a new tower and this will not necessarily mean more custom (from that area) which will usually mean people living ‘out in the sticks’ have to suffer where mobile phone reception is concerned.
4. Multipath Interference
Ever wondered why strong reception is hard to come by in that particular city centre street? It can’t be any of the above reasons because your outside and most certainly not in a rural area.
The trouble with city centre locations is that there are so many signals being transmitted in such a densely populated area that some interference is bound to occur. What actually happens is that two (or more) signals will destructively interfere with one another – resulting in either no signal at all or a very poor reception on both signals.
Points one through to four listed above can be combated quite easily in today’s age. Search online for a device called a mobile signal booster and you will see that for a very reasonable one-off fee you can purchase a cellular repeater cable of boosting the network signal in your area. In most instances these devices are compact and can installed easily without the need for an engineer.
