Other Devices (Nokia, Blackberry, etc)

[audiodud]

Is there any news as to when O2 will be releasing their "Boost Box" for improving mobile coverage indoors? I believe they have been "testing", but Vodafone of course have had their Sure Signal available for a couple of years, so I would have thought O2 could have polled some opinion from that user base.
Many thanks
AD

[DaveC Level 19: Quirky]

O2 have the best testing in the industry - it goes on for ever
Same with their calls over wifi effort 6 months now

[audiodud]

When you say calls over wifi, is that like Orange Signal Boost where certain phones can log onto a router at home and make/receive calls, or only at O2 hotspots?

[adamtemp64 Level 50: Versatile · Accepted solution]

http://blog.o2.co.uk/home/2011/11/o2-co ... imple.html o2connect uses any wifi on supported handsets but is still in trial phase.
It works at the moment for calls only not texts.
http://o2labs.co.uk/products/o2-connect.html to request to be on the trial

[DaveC Level 19: Quirky]

4 months ago I requested a trial. Got O2 home- phone, O2 Broadband and 3 O2 mobiles in the house. Seems to me it would make a good trial

[audiodud]

Thank you for that info. The wifi route for improving indoor coverage has always appeared the more logical and low and behold it's an option O2 are trying out. But sometime soon would be good.

[anticipation]

I refused to pay £50 for a surebox which also uses your internet bandwidth to boost your service. Essentially it gets used as some sort of antenna which uses your internet bandwidth, isn't that what you pay for your mobile for?

[camperdown9]

Yes of course it is. However there are always going to be parts of the UK were the mobile signal from one or all mobile networks is going to be limited.
If its a choice between paying £50 for a femtocell or no signal, I'd pay the £50. However I would prefer to have the app that lets me make calls via any wifi connection. Two reason. 1. Its works with any wifi connect, both at home and overseas. 2. Its not another box sitting on the floor in the living room.
Alex

[anticipation]

Hopefully 4G will bring LTE and Wi-Max coverage, so lack of coverage should be less of a problem.

[audiodud]

I refused to pay £50 for a surebox which also uses your internet bandwidth to boost your service. Essentially it gets used as some sort of antenna which uses your internet bandwidth, isn't that what you pay for your mobile for?

I am on Vodafone at the moment and in all fairness to them, I used this argument and they gave me the box for free, and they have even recently updated it to a newer version for nothing. But I am waiting for O2 to get whichever system they plump for on stream, and seeing as I use them for home phone and broadband, it makes sense to move the mobile over as well.
Incidentally, the Sure Signal tends to work well for periods of some weeks, and then it decides to become flakey and erratic for a few days until Vodafone sort it out with some black magic. Also, it is not a free for all cell site as some people think, you have to register up to four phones in order to use it. So all your neighbours on Vodafone are not able download music & films onto their phones using your internet connection.