Miracle Deltenna WiBE UK Mobile Broadband Signal Booster Review - Page 5
WiBE UK Mobile Broadband Signal Booster REVIEW
By: Mark Jackson - February 1st, 2011 : Page 5 -of- 5
"the WiBE could quickly become a lifesaver for some of the country's remotest communities"

netbook vodafone rural uk mobile broadband test Sadly our experience was marred by a few teething problems, much as you might expect from the first production run of any new bleeding edge technology. For example, it took over 3 weeks before we could begin our tests after a bug was uncovered that prevented any SIM with a PIN from being used (this has since been fixed).

Similarly we also had difficulty in getting the WiBE to establish a Mobile Broadband connection without first forcing a hard reset of the device (this was needed after every power-off or SIM change). Curiously this only occurred in areas with a strong signal, while the WiBE appeared to have no difficulty registering with a mobile operator when situated within a weak signal location. Deltenna has since acknowledged this problem and are working on a fix.

Provided Deltanna can get all of these initial problems sorted, and we have no reason to believe that they can't (most appear to be easy software fixes), then the WiBE could quickly become a lifesaver for some of the country's remotest communities. It won't push operators any faster than they can already physically go but it is capable of receiving a Mobile Broadband signal in areas where most devices would struggle. That's no small feat.

Conclusion

Overall the WiBE is an absolutely wonderful piece of kit, although we wouldn't go so far as to call it a miracle but it does come very close. The current hardware is designed to support existing HSPA based Mobile Broadband networks, although Deltenna are already talking about building an LTE and WiMAX (4G) compatible device.

Naturally this might make some of you, especially rural folk, want to rush out and buy it; indeed we'd probably be doing the same if it wasn't for the hefty price tag. At present the WiBE could set you back a not insignificant £250 - £350 (UPDATE: now available from Amazon for just over £200), which isn't a surprise given the early state of Deltenna's technology.

However at this price the WiBE is still too much of a risk for some and will need to enter the £50 - £100 area before most would be willing to have a punt. That will only happen if Deltenna's supply and demand picks up or a major mobile operator steps in to offer some form of subsidy, which is a shame because this really is quite a clever and incredibly useful piece of kit.

All we can say is, from our experience, the WiBE achieved a 1-2Mbps connection in a deeply rural area where no other signal boosting solution has ever managed to do the same and even gave us a substantial speed boost in an already strong urban location. If it can do that, and at a lower price point, then Deltenna could have a real hit on their hands.

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