How is SMS API Changing the Business World?

With the fact that you’re reading this, it could mean that your business has outgrown the use of contemporary SMSs and the conventional approach used by inexorable individuals who are yet to adapt to technological advancements. Forgive the seemingly hardcore tone, but as the need to expand your communication tools becomes more evident and realistic than ever before, you want to ensure that you’ll from now henceforth be utilizing a more efficient approach when reaching out to your consumers. This will not only help boost your revenues, but it will in a way help improve customer satisfaction and rapport. So if this is your wish, SMS API is the way to go.

Here’s how SMS API has changed the business world.

Driving sales

Before you get carried away by the acronym SMS, one thing should be clear, it’s all about boosting your marketing campaign strategies. Ordinarily, sending a thousand SMSs can seem far-fetched. But with an automated SMS API solution, a boost in sales is among the many things you can achieve from utilizing such a system. Sending market-oriented and relevant content to your audience will ultimately result in increased traffic and all you need is a link embedded within the text and you'll be good to go. This, as you find out more about the benefits of utilizing SMS API in your business operations, you’ll realize that with higher conversion rates, you’ll see an increase in sales and revenues. It’s one of the tools you can use to propel your business to greater heights.

Reliability and secure delivery

Utilizing API not only allows enhanced access to an SMS gateway, but it also provides you with enhanced speed and reliability. Reliability in the sense that you can trust the system to deliver hundreds, if not thousands of text messages instantly. This can be achieved when working remotely from your smartphone, your home PC, or even from a cyber café. All this is made possible by the fact that it’s a cloud-based solution that integrates with other systems within your business. But then again, it’s important to find the most proficient API provider. This will help in securing your connections, enhancing data security, and preventing fraud, especially for solutions that use the two-factor authentication feature.

An efficient approach to automation and integration

Things couldn’t be any better than in this era as far as business operations are concerned. Consider this, being on a cruise to the Bahamas and while at it, you can still take a peek and see how things are running within your business, remotely! Talk about integration! An SMS API is a system that can be integrated into your social media platforms, work emails, and web SMSs. With this kind of integration, managing your marketing campaigns and projects even on the go becomes easier regardless of your current geographical location on the globe.

Utilizing SMS API will help improve workflow and productivity. Because let’s face it, unless you’re an elite member of the Justice League or Avengers, sending hundreds of SMSs instantly can take a toll on your fingers! Using an SMS API provides you with a faster approach in SMS distribution without manual involvement. This allows your staff to save valuable time that can be channeled to other important tasks. Additionally, when dealing with time-sensitive texts, you can schedule reminders, status updates, and receipt confirmation with utmost precision. Automation ensures that you can promptly communicate with your clients in good time as well as freeing time and valuable resources your employees need when it comes to the critical operations of your business.

Flexibility

Running a successful business, whether online or offline requires a great deal of plasticity. This is what helps you adapt to changes in the market space. This is because as you may be aware, there are a lot of uncertainties and unpredictabilities in the business world. An SMS API system provides you with functional features that can be enhanced with time without disrupting the core functions of your operations or system applications.

Enhanced collaboration

Today, most businesses, especially online ventures, have many operations taking place remotely. If this sounds anything like you, it could mean that you need systems designed to help reduce the stress it takes to manage or stay in touch with your teams in this fast-paced environment. A good SMS API solution provides insights and tools that allow smooth coordination, efficiency, and collaboration.

While on the same note, you also want to be in touch with your clients from time to time, especially when launching new products, changing addresses, or just appreciating their unfailing support. These are all the more reasons why you may need to shift your attention to the unmatched reliability and convenience provided by SMS API systems for businesses. This will provide you with the means to dispatch field agents in time, liaise with the sales team, track appointments, and solve customer queries in good time.

From a marketing perspective, including SMS API as part of your communication strategy can greatly improve your business operations, enhance rapport, and ultimately boost sales. It benefits your revenue margins. As you can see, SMS API systems are changing the business world in various ways, so don’t be left out!

Why Your Home Cell Phone Signal Has Stopped Working

Cell Towers vs Distributed Antenna Systems

If you live in a rural area of the United States it is likely that your cell phone signal strength has been fluctuating or might have dropped entirely in recent years as carriers move from 3G to 4G LTE. Wireless carriers are increasingly moving services in areas from the very tall cell phone towers to the smaller distributed antenna systems as you see in the picture above. Why?

These very tall cell phone towers can provide 2G, 3G, and 4G LTE coverage of 1 to 2 miles and service several thousand people and homes from a single tower. Carriers are increasingly dealing with capacity issues on these tall towers and have to turn wireless signals down or off in areas on antennas where there are congestion problems (too many users) or not enough customers (not profitable).

This could result in your home that previously had several bars of cell phone signal suddenly not having any signal at all. The wireless carrier may put up a DAS system in your neighborhood to fix the problem if you complain enough. DAS or Distributed Antenna Systems are essentially smaller and lower power cell towers that are installed on top or inside of buildings or utility poles most commonly. DAS antenna systems will provide service to a smaller number of people. The theory is that your signal will be more reliable and faster.

Unfortunately, the FCC or FTC has no mandate for the wireless carrier they have to inform you of changes in signal strength in your neighborhood. Carriers might not even reflect this coverage accurately on their coverage maps for several years. Deadcellzones.com has been operating for the last 18 years collecting complaints on a map of where customers have trouble getting cell phone signals.

The complaint latest trend in the industry seems to be carriers optimizing their networks in markets and dropping coverage for "unprofitable" markets. There is no guarantee that coverage will be provided at your home and this is the biggest portion of customer traffic adding data to the dead zones map.

I am curious what some homeowners have done to remedy this problem with carriers. Please comment below if you have any feedback or suggestions on how to solve this problem with each carrier. These carriers have gotten so big that bureaucracy is probably the biggest obstacle to getting solutions for customers who have lost good home cell phone signals.

The Advance of High-Definition TV

The television has been the background and forefront noise of our lives. We watch the news to learn about world and local events. We watch television for entertainment, allowing it to take us on adventures and create feelings of joy and sadness. This appliance takes up space on our shelves and walls, but it did not always have the look it has now. It has a history of graduating from archaic to modern. It was not until 1947 that many households had a television, so imagine the great change that has been brought about. It was not common for people to own a television and to do so meant you were financially comfortable. Now, it is the norm for every household to have a TV or two in its rooms.

Prior to electric televisions, there were mechanical televisions. The early televisions were rudimentary with mechanically scanned images that were then transmitted on to a screen. The slow trek to the television we know today started with a simple line on the screen, the first ever transmitted image. Later the dollar sign was successfully transmitted. The television was tweaked between 1926 and 1931 and finally, the electronic TV was introduced.

Skipping along the TV history timeline, the first remote control, the Tele Zoom, was created. It did not change channels, but it did zoom in on the TV. Thankfully Zenith released the true remote in 1955 and was completely wireless. This remote changed channels and altered the volume. The color TV has a patent from 1925, but did not come forth until 1946. Color TVs were an electronic image war between CBS and RCA. The two stations created their own types of TVs. The public felt they were beyond having the black and white versions and wanted to choose the color versions. The FCC declared that the television CBS created was superior and declared it the national standard, this was the color TV. Since then it has been a great walk to the different types of television watching we know today. Many nations have participated in making the television experience great. Japan was a great contender in improving image quality.

What a journey it has been to the TVs we know today: high definition (HD), satellite, smart TV and even the ability to watch TV on the Internet. Nowadays, we have the world at our fingertips. The remote has graduated to the voice-activated remote control. We now have applications, or apps, that connect directly to the TV. This makes watching the Internet even better. It's a great comfort to be able to watch Netflix and YouTube straight from the TV. Additionally, watching TV is like watching a better experience. The 4K Ultra HD gives a rich experience. This is quite a big step from having a remote that only zoomed in to give a bigger picture on the screen.

HDTV offers more detail and quality and is far better than the standard analog television, or even other types of digital TV formats. HDTV is digital and the broadcast transmits widescreen pictures. HDTV is known to be the best quality DTV format available. You feel as if you are a part of the action in the movie and not just an outsider to the experience. Optimum.com can give you that experience and more. Contact them and get the viewing experience you deserve.

The HDTV is slowly replacing the standard television from fifteen years ago. The clunky version of the TV is not seen as much on the store shelves. Instead, there are flat screen TVs with HD. So far, this is a perfect marriage of entertainment. The flat screen TV saves a lot of space and delivers a better picture, not to mention the different types of sound systems available with the brands of TV today. Sound and image create the perfect condition for binge-watching TV shows and having a special family night of movies.

The graduation to a better television experience continues to get better. What an amazing progression, going from a simple line on the television to seeming as if the people we are watching are standing directly in front of us.

Is Apple Creating Bugs To Trick People Into Buying New Phones?

When Will Congress & EU Investigate Apple for Antitrust Issues About Purposely Creating Bugs to Trick People Into Buying New iPhones?

Have you ever asked yourself why your iphone keeps crashing every October or November before the Christmas shopping season? I think this coincidence of this annual phenomenon is actually done on purpose by Apple secretly to trick people into thinking that they need to buy new phones.

Apple has created an amazing business through planned obsolescence but ever since Steve Jobs passed away they have not innovated enough that would entice most frugal people enough into buying the latest new iphones. I think Apple knows this and is not purposely creating bugs in the iOS operating system to make people think their phone is defective. If the truth was ever was to be investigated and discovered I think this could destroy about half of the companies market capitalization. Watch Apple's stock if you ever start to hear about an investigation like this.

If you understand the software business it is not hard to imagine why Apple wouldn't purposely create bugs in their operating system to trick people into thinking their phone is now defective. Everyone I talk with who owns an iPhone thinks they need to buy the latest iPhone hardware in order for their phones to continue working.

The Android World is much difference and Google does a much better job of releasing updates and that are consistent with the phone hardware. You can use an Android phone for many years after a phone is released. However, older iPhones seem to get bloated with worthless software and bugs that seem to crash and clutter phones with things you really don't need.

Another thing that Android does is allow you to offload photos to Google Photos easily for minimal costs and doesn't scam you into thinking you need to buy iCloud storage to backup. This is such a scam by Apple. If you are a sophisticated iPhone user having Google Photos backup and remove all of your photos is essential so you don't have to use Apple's worthless iCloud storage.

Would love some Apple supporters to comment on this below.

How Do I Remove Google Prevented Suspicious Sign In To Your Account Using Your Password Notification?

Why won't this notification bar go away?

I traveled to a new location during the Thanksgiving Holiday now this notification won't go away after several verification attempts that the Unknown Device was me. Now each time I sign into Google this notification appears on the top of my browser. Can someone please help?

AT&T & Verizon "Drop The Ball" Providing Emergency Cell Service

Why Are AT&T & Verizon Not Providing Emergency Cell Phone Coverage?

Have the big carriers become lazy about helping out for emergencies in California? Have politics and political agendas got in the way of these corporate giant telecom bureaucracies helping California?

Just like Trump called out the Forest Service as mismanaging resources in the time of emergencies. I am calling out AT&T & Verizon for not helping out enough to provide emergency wireless cell phone coverage in the Thousand Oaks, Westlake, and Malibu areas during the fires. Do the management teams of Verizon and AT&T hate California as well? These companies are based in heavily conservative areas in the deep South of Georgia and Texas.

Why didn't they bring in emergency cell phone towers along Mulholland Highway which has notoriously horrendous cell phone coverage? These companies have helped out tremendously during hurricanes in Florida and North Carolina. Why not help California? Cellular companies should have dozens of these trucks in California during the fire season. Here is a photo of only 1 truck on PCH during the Woosley Fire. Where were the AT&T & Verizon wireless drones providing emergency cell phone service as you promoted on CNBC?

T-Mobile & Sprint also have horrible service in this area but typically these companies are using AT&T & Verizon networks in this area. So I can't exactly call out these companies in this area as easily. Here is an AT&T Map of coverage.

Buying a Home Next to a DAS Antenna or Cell Tower

DAS Antenna on Utility Pole Next To Homes

If you are buying a home these days you should probably do your due diligence on cell phone towers and DAS antennas that are within a few blocks of your home.

One of the biggest concerns of a prospective home buyer today is the cell phone reception quality of a home. Will my new home get a good cell phone signal? However, most people don't often think of living too close to a DAS antenna on a utility pole (picture above) or a cell phone tower being in their backyard (below). Here are some articles on cell tower health and safety issues. Another concern is property values declining near cell phone towers.

Cell Tower in Back of Home

It is not always transparent if you are new to a neighborhood if there have been historic health and safety issues from a cell phone tower or DAS antenna nearby. In fact, cell phone companies have dozens of local public relations people on staff to keep the surrounding communities appeased by donating to charities and sponsoring local events. Public relations is a huge part of trying to squash any negative press or city council issues about putting up new cell phone towers and potential safety issues.

Deadcellzones.com uses public FCC data sources to map cell phone towers and other unregistered antennas (DAS) in the United States. The cell phone coverage and cell tower map can be found here. The map on the left shows dead cell zone complaints and the map on the right show cell phone towers and DAS antennas that have been registered and some unregistered antennas. The green dots are unregistered antennas and the black dots are cell phone towers. We do not have all registered & unregistered antennas in this map. If you see a particular area that you would like us to add unregistered cell phone towers please email us.

We often get emails from real estate agents looking for data to help their clients better understand what cell phone towers exist in the neighborhood near the home. This is often true of out of state buyers looking at homes who are unfamiliar with the area. Homebuyers from out of the area often want to know how the cell phone reception is of a particular home or apartment and don't want to be surprised if a cell phone tower or antenna is hanging on a pole near the house.

Deadcellzones.com is also actively trying to get cell phone reception feedback used by real estate companies like Zillow, RedFin, HomeSnap & Realtor.com. We think cell reception and cell tower data should be an attribute used by real estate companies similar to how Walkscore provides information about things nearby a home like schools, restaurants, and parks.

Most real estate companies have been very reluctant to share this data with prospective home buyers for obvious reasons. Why would any real estate agent want to give a reason NOT to buy a home? Hopefully, this culture of dishonesty will change in the near future and this data can provide some transparency.

Some areas in particular where we have a lot of readers are in California. So if you are looking to find places to live here is one resource that might help when trying to find tiburon apartments.

Could 5G Small Cells Cause Cancer?

Restrictions on 5G small cell site deployments could complicate 5G’s upcoming nationwide rollout.

Here are 10 tips that should help you be prepared for the worst during a disaster.

I was traveling in Europe this summer with my family and was very disappointed with the lack of roaming service T-Mobile provided. For the record, I was using an iPhone 6 that is in perfectly good shape. I even called T-Mobile before I left on the trip to confirm that free international roaming would work in each Country and there was no extra charge. I even had plenty of data available on my plan.

In each country, I visited T-Mobile connected to the network of a carrier using 3G but I was unable to receive texts or make phone calls. The only way I was able to receive texts or make phone calls was by connecting to a wifi network at a hotel, coffee shop, museum, or restaurant.

My first visit was in Oslo, Norway where I began to experience the problems connecting. I called customer service using a wifi network and they began to troubleshoot asking me to turn off the auto find carrier network and then select manually. I did this and it worked for about a few minutes until I had to move to another cell tower. I tried multiple times to reset the phone power and this still didn't solve the problem. I finally gave up and just used wifi only when I could to send and receive messages.

I visited Greece next and the problem still persisted. It continually indicated that my phone was on a 3G network but sending and receiving messages was impossible. I had to connect to a wifi network in Greece as well.

Lastly, I visited Paris, France for a few days, and yes the roaming problem still persisted and I was unable to send and receive messages even though it "said" I was connected to a network.

My wife is a Verizon customer and she didn't have any problems getting her iPhone to connect to a 3G or LTE network in Europe. She received and sent multiple text messages and received several phone calls. So I ask you T-Mobile what will you blame your scam on now? Clearly, this is another bait and switch T-Mobile scam that many other customers have experienced as well based on the multiple social media posts on the topic.

I have been a loyal customer of T-Mobile for over 15 years. This was the last straw that broke me to now move over to Verizon. I was so convinced that T-Mobile had more value versus Verizon internationally before I left for the trip but now I am clearly wrong. Bye-bye T-Mobile you lost me.

The Role of Social Hiring and Social Intelligence in Quality Employee Recruitment

As more companies continue to leverage technology to improve efficiency and service delivery, human resource managers are also using social media platforms to recruit the best employees. The term social recruiting refers to the process of hiring potential candidates through the use of social media profiles. Social hiring gives the hiring team a background information check of the potential candidate without interfering with his/her privacy.

Today, more and more companies are adopting social hiring concept as their new way of hiring employees. By using popular social media platforms such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter, hiring managers can find the best top-cream candidate on the market for a specific job vacancy.

Social hiring is beneficial to the recruiting team in many ways including:

• It gives comprehensive background information about a potential employee to ascertain his/her integrity. It helps you review and flag any user-generated content regarding racism, acts of violence, illegal activities or even sexually explicit materials.

• Getting candidate with the best skills and experience faster

• It takes less time to hire a potential candidate as compared to the conventional method of recruiting

• Social hiring helps in increasing quality employees' referrals to potential recruiters

As a recruiter, it's essential that you understand the social hiring concept better to save time and target the right potential candidates. To achieve this, you must ensure that you are using the right keywords at any given social media platform to filter more relevant data.

Also, there are various social platforms that deal with specific types of professionals. For instance, if you want to recruit a graphic designer, there are specific social platforms such as Dribble that deal with graphic designers only.

Joining useful social media groups and applications can also help recruiters find qualified candidates faster. Different social media platforms have different groups and boards where one can join and filter the right candidate for the job.

Social Intelligence Hiring

Social intelligence concept helps organizations in hiring a large number of employees at all levels faster and at a low cost per hire. With this concept, the recruiter can get the best candidates who are up and running.

Social intelligence hiring focuses on hiring candidates based on their self-mastery skills, innovative, interpersonal skills, reasoning, applied technical knowledge, influencing ability, passion for work, resilience and affecting ability.

These innovative hiring methods help recruiters hire all-round candidates who are not only passionate about the job but, with uncompromised integrity. The risk of wrong hiring is also low compared to the traditional hiring methods.

Social intelligence hiring is also very useful when it comes to hiring employees who will be charged with key decision-makers in any organization. It helps recruiters, select managers, with abundant real-time experience and inputs that can be absorbed immediately after the hiring process.

These innovative modern hiring methods are ideal for startups and large companies looking for multiple hires. It takes a lot of time for companies to recruit large numbers of staff using the traditional hiring methods but with the adoption of social intelligence and social hiring concepts, recruiters can now get qualified candidates within the shortest time possible.

It's the high time that companies appreciate the importance of these new recruiting concepts and take advantage of social platforms to hire the best employees who are equipped with the required skills and experience.

Improving Cell Signal for United States Cellular Networks

Staying connected to family, friends and, as much as we hate to admit it, work, while you’re using your cell phone at home, office or vacation home is now totally dependent on having a usable cell signal.

This post explains why your mobile signal strength is weak and identifies which solution will be your best means of getting stronger cell reception in your home, vacation home or small office.

Why do some buildings have weak cell signal

The cause for weak signals inside of a building can stem from a few different sources. As a general rule, anything between your cell phone and the cell tower will weaken the radio frequency (RF) signals that give your phone the ability to call, text and stream data.

Here is a list of things that block mobile signals:

· Non-Conductive Construction Materials have a moderate impact on your mobile connectivity. This includes materials that cannot conduct electricity: drywall, plastic matter, wood, glass and others will modestly impact your mobile connectivity but, in most cases, will not completely block a strong signal.

· Conductive Construction Materials have a significant impact on your mobile signal and these materials, like tin, copper, silver, aluminum, and others, have the ability to render a strong mobile signal completely useless.

· Organic Materials can have a wide-ranging effect on your signal. Depending on the size of the impediment and its material makeup, these can either modestly dull or completely block a strong signal. For example, mountains, hills, large snow-mounds, dense tree or plant matter, bodies of saltwater (conductive material), and more can completely block a strong signal. On the other hand, sparse tree or plant matter, small bodies of salt or freshwater, small or loose-packed snow piles and others may only moderately reduce the signal strength.

· Weather like fog, snow, rain, sleet, hail, dust, and more, can have a weakening impact on your signal. Depending on the density of the weather system and the distance the signal needs to travel, these can either dull or completely block a strong cellular signal.

· Mobile Tower Direction & Locations send a limited strength signal in a general direction. If your mobile device is further than the power of the mobile tower can reach or does not fall within the tower’s window of reception, you could receive a reduced signal or none at all.

· User Capacity is not infinite on mobile towers. As more simultaneous users send and receive signals from a nearby mobile tower, the less power the tower has to offer each user.

· RF Interference can be caused by being surrounded by other devices that emit an RF frequency that disrupts the signal you are using to make calls, send or receive texts, or stream data using a mobile signal. Naturally, this has a dulling impact on the strength of a usable signal.

Solution 1: Signal Booster

Signal boosters are a very common choice for most buildings. The defining requirement for a signal booster is that the building has a usable signal existing just outside or nearby to the building. Signal boosters capture that outside signal, amplify the signal’s strength and retransmit that signal within the structure. These are wideband solutions, which means they support all US, Canada and Mexico mobile network providers simultaneously. This includes Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Sprint, Bell, Telus, Rogers Wireless, Sasktel, Bell MTS, Telcel, and all others. Signal boosters support all voice, text, and data signals for 2G, 3G and 4G LTE and support buildings as small as 5 square feet and up to just under 500,000-square-feet. Prices range from a few hundred dollars for a small or medium-size space to over one thousand for larger spaces.

Solution 2: Femtocells

Femtocells are often the go-to solution for customers who only need coverage for a few users in a small space and who all use the same mobile network provider. These are carrier-specific solutions, so if you buy a Verizon femtocell anybody with another carrier will be unable to get cellular service. These are great for buildings that have no signal outside or nearby to the building but have a strong internet connection. These work by creating a mobile hotspot in your home that pulls from your internet connection. These cost between $100 and $400 and require a monthly fee on your internet bill, which varies from provider to provider. These are limited to four simultaneous users and the maximum coverage area on these is usually one or two small rooms.

Solution 3: Active DAS

Active distributed antenna systems (DAS) are most often used in very large buildings above 500,000-square-feet. These solutions require approval by any carrier that the system supports because Active DAS uses base stations and remote nodes that are connected directly to the carrier’s network. This being the case, these solutions are more expensive, require a substantial amount of time before installing, and, in turn, are typically the option of choice for very large buildings and businesses – think sports stadiums, very large hotels, casinos, and more.

Each of these presents a great solution for a specific application. Let’s wrap it up with a simple summary of which mobile solution will be best for your building.

Choose Active DAS for very large buildings that have time, money and a high user count. Femtocells are best for small spaces with strong internet, no outside signal and very few users who are all on the same mobile network. Signal boosters for small, medium and larger spaces up to 500,000-square-feet that have a decent outside signal and need coverage for all carriers throughout the building.

Solutions for Weak Cell Phone Signals at Home

The relationships, work, and information that fuels our lives is made possible by our cellular-powered devices. Remaining connected at home is no longer a matter of want; it has become a need.

This post is for those of you who have already tried the free tricks to improve cell signal and are now looking for paid solutions that can provide reliable cellular coverage within the walls of your home.

To improve cell signal for your home, you’ll want to start by answering the following questions to better assess your needs.

1. What’s the strongest signal immediately outside of your home?

This is likely the clearest identifier for which solution will best suit your needs. To get started, learn how you can take a signal reading here. Use the results from your signal reading to determine which cellular solution will work best for you.

· If the strongest single point of cellular signal outside of your home is less than -105 dBm your needs will likely be best met by a femtocell, which can provide reliable coverage for one or two small rooms in your home.
· If your reading is -94 to -104 dBm you are in a gray zone; you may be able to use a signal booster but may also require a femtocell.

· If your reading is better than -93 dBm you will be well suited for a cell phone signal booster and, depending on the signal booster kit you select and the size of your home, you can expect to receive usable cellular signals in spaces spanning from just a few rooms to an entire more.

2. How big is your home?

The solution to boost the cellular signal for a two-bedroom apartment will likely be different from the solution for a five-bedroom home or 12,000-square-foot mansion. Signal boosters tend to provide a usable signal to larger coverage areas whereas femtocells are generally used in small spaces the size of one to two rooms.

3. In how much of your home do you need to use mobile devices?

Think about how much area within your home will need to have reliable cellular signals. Depending on the solution you select and the signal outside of your building, you may only see an improvement in a small area. If a small area of coverage is sufficient, a femtocell may be a suitable solution. On the other hand, if you have a moderate outside signal, a signal booster may be able to repeat that signal throughout your home.

4. What is your budget for a cell phone booster?
Your pricing options range from a few hundred dollars for a femtocell or signal booster that can support small spaces to $1000 for very large homes. For signal boosters that can cover very large homes, the cost can exceed $1000 and may require a cellular system design service, which SureCall provides free for buildings above 10,000 square feet. Your cellular provider may offer you a free (or discounted) femtocell solution to enhance your signal within a small area of your home. To pursue that option you’ll need to contact your provider.

5. Are there other carriers who provide better service for your area?

If you have poor reception with your cellular provider but have friends or family who have better reception with a different cellular carrier, you may want to consider transferring carriers. There can be early contract termination fees if you are not at the end of a contract term. Check with your cellular provider for their contract termination fee or to see when your existing contract expires.

Based on your responses to the questions above you will be best served by one of two viable cellular solutions: femtocell or signal booster. Dive into the details of each cellular signal solution below.

Femtocell

Also known as microcells, femtocells produce a cellular signal by using your internet connection. Femtocells can be purchased through your cellular carrier and will be carrier specific. So, if you have a cellular plan with Verizon you will want to purchase your femtocell through Verizon.

Femtocells are the ideal solution for homes with no cellular reception, which we consider readings lower than -100 dBm. In most instances, femtocells will enhance cellular signal for a small space, but typically not much more than one to two small rooms.

Femtocells cost between $100 and $400 and require a monthly subscription that will be added to your internet bill. Your cellular carrier may provide this for free, but this is very situational and something you shouldn’t depend on.

Signal Booster

Also known as bi-directional amplifiers (BDA) or repeaters, cell phone signal boosters come in kits that include an outdoor antenna, indoor antenna, signal booster, and cabling to connect and power the system. Some kits may combine the indoor or outdoor antenna and booster for a minimalist appearance in your home.

Signal boosters are carrier agnostic, meaning most signal boosters will improve your signal no matter which North American device or provider you use. These are the best solution for homes with weak cellular reception (readings stronger than -93 dBm) outside of the building.

Cell phone signal boosters work by capturing the signal that exists outside of your home with an outdoor antenna before feeding it to the signal booster. The signal booster then amplifies the signal strength and sends it to the indoor antenna to transmit the signal inside of your home.

Some signal boosters are more powerful than others, and the coverage area will primarily depend on the signal that exists outside of your home and density of internal walls and building structure.

Generally, with a clear line of sight, signal booster kits with a Yagi outdoor antenna can reach towers up to 40 miles away, whereas Omni-directional outdoor antenna kits reach towers up to 20 miles away. This range is dependent on the strength of the signal leaving the tower and the number of obstacles between you and that tower.

Signal boosters cost around $300 for small homes and apartments, around $400 to $600 for large homes, and around $1000 for very large homes. These kits can be customized with different indoor antennas to adapt to the layout of your home and outdoor antennas to adapt to the distance between you and the nearest cell phone tower.

Both femtocells and cell phone signal boosters present strong solutions that, given your cellular circumstance, can take you from weak or unusable cellular signals to strong signals. If you have any questions, we suggest doing your research on SureCall, a top signal booster manufacturer. Check out all of SureCall’s cell phone signal boosters for home.

Things You Never Knew You Could Do With a Smartphone

Today, smartphones rule the world. Yes, we live in a world where phones are no longer tools of sending voice communication from point A to point be.

You can use your smartphone to get directions to your preferred destination, do research for your school project, type a few things for presentations, and even send bulk emails to your leads!

Your smartphone will also come in handy when you want to lookup critical information such as if you are a horse racing fan and you are looking for Kentucky Derby news and updates. We cannot also forget to mention that a smartphone is an entertainment toolkit that you can use to watch movies, stream programs, watch live feeds, and navigate through different social media platforms.

There is a lot that smartphones can do. But did you know that there are many smartphone uses that your online vendor or local phone store will not tell you about? Well, here are some of them;

1. Get warnings on speed traps.

Sometimes, you are in a hurry to get to a destination when the worst happens. You are arrested by traffic offices for overspeeding, and you have to part with a significant amount of money or face a jail term!

If you have a smartphone, you don’t have to go through such troubles. With apps such as Trapster, you will get real-time alerts about speed traps on your path. Additionally, you will be notified about speed cameras and other hazards on the way.

Through this app, you can continuously monitor your speed, and get red lights and early warnings before you fall on the wrong side of the law.

2. Use your smartphone as a remote control.

You don’t need to replace your lost remote controls as long as you have a smartphone. There are many apps on Google and Apple stores that help you turn your gadget into a remote control.

With the right app, you can control your DVR, digital cameras, computers, and other devices in your home.

3. Monitor your heart rate

Whether you have a heart problem or not, monitoring your heart rate is critical. The good news is, you don't need to buy a medical gadget or go for a regular checkup to achieve this.

All you are required to do is take your smartphone and download the Instant Heart Rate App. This application will accurately measure your pulse and instantly calculate the heart rate.

Using this app, you can also calculate how your body burns fat and how your heart recovers after a workout.

4. Track your loved ones

Apps like Verizon Family Locator and Find My iPhone permits you to know your loved ones' whereabouts at all times.

If you are tracking your children (or spouse), some apps will send you a notification when a phone leaves the designated area. This is made possible by GPS tracking technology, which is amazingly reliable and accurate.

5. Complete your carpentry duties

Are you a carpenter, or do you have a soft spot for carpentry, but can’t find the right tools in your local store? Well, don’t worry! You can use your smartphone as a handy carpenter’s tool. With an app such as the iHandy Carpenter, you can use your phone as a surface level, bubble level bar, steel protractor, ruler, and plumb bob. With pleasant lighting and woodgrain effects, all virtual tools by this app are both useful and visually appealing.

6. Pay your bills

Apps like Google Wallet allow you to securely store credit card information and pay for goods and services without using physical cards. All you need to do is to tap your smartphone on the checkout reader, and your transaction will be completed in seconds!

In case you don't possess a card from participating banks, you can opt for the Google prepaid card, which allows you to make cashless payments anytime, anywhere.

7. Finally…make a decent living.

You don’t have to leave the comfort of your convenience to make some extra cash or a decent income. There are lots of things you can do on your phone and make money. Simply identify your talent and get an app that will monetize it. For instance, you can download the Fivver app and sell things you love doing, such as writing poems and songs to a wide range of clients.

You can also record videos about topics you are conversant with and post them on social media and YouTube. When your following grows and you become an influencer, brands will knock at your door and offer lucrative endorsements.

There is a lot you can do with your phone. Try all the things mentioned above and have fun!