Ofcom UK Expands the Range of Indoor Mobile Signal Boosters

Ofcom has today confirmed that they will next year introduce new changes to help expand the range of licence exempt “mobile phone repeaters” for UK consumers to adopt, which can be used in locations where people want to boost mobile signals for indoor and in-vehicle (low gain) use.

Since 2018 it’s been possible for consumers to use repeaters that boost and retransmit UK mobile signals, which can help to improve local mobile coverage, provided they follow the rules and don’t cause undue interference, or other adverse effects, for nearby customers. However, so far only Nextivity‘s (Cel-Fi) kit has been officially recognised as meeting Ofcom’s requirements.

Part of the problem was that Ofcom required that such repeaters should operate only over the frequency bands of any single licensed network operator at a given time. Such devices also had to adjust their power to the minimum necessary to make a reliable connection and incorporate anti-oscillation measures.

In order to improve the situation, Ofcom will now allow the use of two additional types of repeater, including provider specific repeaters and multi-operator repeaters. On top of that they’ll also publish a list of mobile signal repeaters that can meet their requirements, which should help to tackle situations where some manufacturers have made misleading “Ofcom approved” style claims.

Ofcom’s Statement

We have decided to extend the range of static indoor repeaters available for people to buy and install themselves without a licence. In particular, we will allow the use of two additional types of repeater:

• provider specific repeaters; and

• multi-operator repeaters.

Both these types of repeater may amplify the frequencies of more than one mobile operator at a time, provided they meet appropriate technical requirements specified by Ofcom.

In order to help the public identify repeaters that can be ‘legally’ used without a licence – rather than ‘illegal’ devices that risk causing interference – we have also decided to publish on our website a list of mobile phone repeaters that we understand comply with the technical requirements of our licence exemption regime.

To be clear, Ofcom will not endorse or approve particular products. Instead, the list will simply identify devices that have been subjected to testing by an accredited test house to show they meet our technical requirements, using a voluntary testing standard produced by Ofcom.

Ofcom’s decisions will be implemented in “early 2022“, after licence Exemption Regulations come into force. Until then, the use of mobile phone repeaters, apart from those single operator repeaters covered by their existing licence exemption and those supplied and operated under the control of a mobile network operator, will remain unlawful.

Take note that such devices are not to be confused with Wi-Fi Calling or Femtocell based signal boosters, which require the customer to have an existing broadband connection in order to function. The repeaters mentioned above simply boost an existing mobile signal, which is handy if you live in an area where fixed broadband does not exist (e.g. boats, camper vans and other situations where such things can come in handy).