On channel boosters quickly receive the OTA signal from the main tower and retransmit the signal on the same frequency.

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Other booster enhancements that have been proposed to the FCC include proximity detection to prevent cell tower signal overload and bi-directional signal amplification, which would improve signal transmissions from cellphones back to cell towers.

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Femtocells are provided by operators to provide a signal indoors in remote areas where the cell tower may be too far to transmit a signal inside the home.

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Even if you're calling someone next door, the cellular signal must first travel to the local cell tower before being routed to your neighbor's phone.

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Perched atop a tower overlooking Arafat and getting a live broadcast signal out through a videophone presents technological challenges that would test anybody's patience.

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The long-awaited CDMA femtocell (once dubbed the Samsung Ubicell) essentially acts as a super in-house signal booster, or, if you'd prefer, a mini Sprint tower sitting right beside your router.

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Also, since radio waves sometimes arrive at your device not directly from the radio tower but rather by being bounced off a building or hill, these signals may be much lower in signal strength than if you had a clear line of sight view to the cell site.

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