How to Solve the Problem of Weak Signal in Rural Areas?

Living in rural areas has its perks-fresh air, open spaces, and a peaceful lifestyle. However, a common frustration is weak mobile phone signal reception due to the stretched distance from the mobile networking towers.

Network coverage becomes a matter of life and death when you are lost while hiking far away in rural areas and are unable to place an emergency call. It is also useless to make an intermittent call because of low signal strength as neither of the persons can understand each other.

We can understand that these troubles give you a headache? But worry not. We are here to help you understand the main causes of poor signals in rural areas. Not only that, this article also discusses the alternatives for mobile phone signal enhancement to solve most of these issues so you can be in touch with your loved ones or remote work. Understanding of these issues is so crucial as it helps you choose the most suitable device.

Why Rural Areas Face Mobile Signal Challenges?

In today’s hyper-connected world, a strong and reliable mobile phone signal network is crucial. Poor signal quality is the main reason for dropped calls and slow internet speed. In this case, your money gets wasted purchasing expensive call and text packages. Lack of communication resources also makes your lifestyle limited.

There are various reasons for poor signals in rural areas but following primary factors significantly stand out:

• Lack of Call Towers in Remote Regions
• The Role of Service Provider in Signal Strength
  
• Natural & Man-Made Obstacles
  
• The Challenge of Signal Transmission over Long Distances
  
• The Impact of Storm & Thunder Clouds on Connectivity
  

Lack of Call Towers in Remote Regions

Base stations, also known as cell phone towers, are the backbone of wireless communication networks when it comes to using a mobile phone device. They transmit and receive signals to keep the cell phones connected to the network, ensuring the continuity of call, text, and other services. Hence they are primarily responsible for establishing the communication among all mobile phones.

It requires a huge amount of money to build, start and maintain a cell phone tower as they consume more power and require frequent monitoring and maintenance. The population in rural areas is very low. Therefore, the usage of such services is also less and a company tries to build a base station where there are enough users or congestion issues. This is why there are limited base stations in such places, which is the first and foremost cause of poor network coverage in such areas.

The locals who live in such villages in far away places use different devices, including the mobile cell phone signal boosters, to stay connected with the other world.

The Role of Service Provider in Signal Strength

The quality of your cell phone signal also depends on the services provided by your network operator. Some service providers have more extensive infrastructure and better network technology, allowing them to provide strong signals.

However, not all operators have a quality network coverage or infrastructure, especially in the rural areas. The reasons behind this are low village population and higher maintenance costs.

Additionally, the frequency bands selected by the operators can also affect the signal strength and penetration. Certain package offers from the operators are also intrinsically the ones with poor signal quality. A cell phone network company tries its best to keep the budget as low as possible, even if it degrades the quality.

Blocking Terrain and Buildings

Mobile phone signals are so strong that they can pass through nearly all living and nonliving things in order to maintain the network coverage in a specific region. But they change their direction and lose their strength after passing through dense objects such as concrete with steel bars in it, thick tree stumps, and rocky mountains.

Hence, huge buildings, forests, and hills, etc., are the known obstacles that block the signals from reaching the rural areas. This phenomenon is also known as signal shadowing. Most mobile phones cannot even serve the basic text and call services because of attenuation and reflection. A randomly bounced and poor signal never makes it to the destination mobile device or the targeted cell phone tower.

On the other hand, there are dead zones where you cannot receive strong signals. And most of the rural areas lie in the dead zones. Put simply, dead zones are the blind spots where there is no signal or it is of very poor quality.

Including the terrain-related physical obstacles discussed above, interference, bad weather, blocked antenna, and distance between the tower and cell phone play an important role in creating dead zones.

The Challenge of Signal Transmission over Long Distances

Believe it or not, our planet earth is a ball-shaped celestial object. There is an 8-inch drop for every one mile. Whereas the cell phone towers can spread signals towards a certain area in a straight line. The farther the distance, the weaker the signals. Whereas wrong direction means no signal.

Most of the rural areas lie far away from the cities with towers. Because of all these reasons, the signal strength becomes very low, in worst scenarios absent. These are also the reasons for poor signal in rural areas.

Put simply, lower frequency bands travel farther and penetrate buildings better but they are often limited in capacity. On the other hand, higher frequency bands offer faster data speeds but have shorter ranges and are more easily blocked by obstacles.

Mostly a company with a certain modulation frequency limit has a limited area covered. To overcome this issue by establishing a new cell phone tower is mostly neither feasible nor economic.

The Impact of Storm & Thunder Clouds on Connectivity

You must have noticed that you lose signals to your mobile phone device, especially the satellite data network, when there are thick thunder clouds loaded with electric charge and water before or during rain.

The small water droplets in the clouds have the ability to absorb and randomly scatter the wireless signals. This phenomenon is also a cause of poor and disrupted signals, no matter how good your operator service is.

Bad weather is a well-known culprit contributing to lowering the signal strength, making it nearly impossible to travel from a cell tower or satellite to the mobile phone and vice versa. Hence, if you live in such an area that is mostly surrounded by such thunder clouds, storm,s and hurricanes, you will have less network coverage issues even when using a satellite phone.

Fixing Weak Signals: How To Enhance Mobile Phone Signals In Rural Areas

These methods can help you completely improve network coverage:

Poor signals can be frustrating, especially when you are far away from the city in a distant rural area. All of us rely on our mobile phones for communication, work, and entertainment. Fortunately, there are several effective ways for mobile phone signal enhancement. Here are three practical solutions to consider:

Choose The Right Operator & Package

T-Mobile, AT&T, Verizon Wireless, & Rogers (North America)

Vodafone, Deutsche Telekom, Orange, and EE (Europe)

Telstra and Spark (Australia & Oceania)

Etisalat (UAE)

Saudi Telecom Company (Saudi Arabia)

MTN (Africa)

Claro and America Movil (Telcel) (Latin America, Mexico, & Brazil)

China Mobile, NTT Docomo, SK Telecom, and Reliance Jio (Asia)

Get a Signal Amplifier or WiFi Phone

Use The WiFi Calling Function / Mobile Data

Get a mobile cell phone signal boosterr Antenna

Solution 1: Choosing The Ideal Operator & Package for Your Needs

As we discussed earlier, all operators cannot provide strong and quality signals in rural areas because of different reasons such as lack of infrastructure or selection of a specific frequency band.

Hence, to enhance mobile phone signals in rural areas you must research the best operators in that area. Choose the network that most of the people are using in that area as top companies have better frequencies and modulation techniques than others.

Similarly, cheap packages use poor quality frequency bands, causing your cell phone to communicate, with hardly dropping calls and delayed messages. Most of the expensive packages offer clear communication as they utilize a better network coverage.

Hence, most all-in-one packages have an improved signal quality. Despite that, other factors like bad weather and obstacles can mess up with the signal, degrading its quality.

Here is a brief detail about the signal coverage of major operators:

Verizon Wireless

Verizon is known to be the best operator for rural coverage in the United States of America. It has a vast network that expands approximately 70% of the geographical area including rural and hard-to-reach locations.

Pros:

• 4G LTE coverage, ensuring consistent connectivity and high speed
• Unmatched reliability in rural regions
  
• Performs well in challenging terrains
  

AT&T

Secondly, AT&T is considered the best in terms of coverage as it covers 68% of the rural and suburban geographic area in the US.

Pros:

• Expanding its low-band network in specific rural regions
• Reliable 4G LTE coverage in most remote areas
  
• Easily affordable
  

T-Mobile

T-Mobile covers more than 60% of the United States’ geographical area and serves 99% of the American population. Now they have about 100% coverage after merging with Sprint.

Pros:

• Rapidly growing low-band 5G network, especially in rural areas
• Competitive pricing and unlimited data plans
  
• Improved coverage in previously underserved rural locations
  

US Cellular

This network operator is considered the best in the Midwest and rural areas in the Southeast. It provides reliable coverage in underserved and remote areas.

Pros:

• Excellent coverage in its service areas
• Localized support and strong customer service
  

Best Network Providers Across The Globe

Verizon Wireless, AT&T, T-Mobile, and Rogers wireless are famous operators in North America with good network coverage even in the rural areas. Whereas Latin America, rural areas of Mexico and Brazil, prefer Claro and America Movil (Telcel).

Europe is famous for the best operators like Vodafone, Deutsche Telekom, Orange, and EE. Similarly, Asia utilizes China Mobile, NTT Docomo, SK Telecom, and Reliance Jio. Telstra and Spark are top operators in Australia and Oceania.

Here is a list of top mobile phone operators around the world known for their strong signal strength. These companies have invested heavily in infrastructure including cell phone towers and engineering services only to provide excellent connectivity:

The Middle East has a top company in the UAE named as Etisalat while Saudi Arabia has its own network operator company called Saudi Telecom Company (STC). MTN group is the largest well-known company in Africa and its rural regions.

Solution 2: Solving Weak Signals with Amplifiers & Wifi Devices

A signal amplifier, also known as mobile phone signal booster, is a device that captures poor signals from the cell phone tower, boosts them and rebroadcasts the stronger signals. These devices are also known as cell phone repeaters and are used in areas with poor network coverage, especially the hiking, camping, parks, and rural areas, including concrete buildings with thick walls, thick forests, and mountains etc.

Alternatively, you can switch to WiFi-enabled mobile phones which allow you to send messages and make calls over a WiFi network instead of relying only on cellular signals. This is a great option when you are in a rural location for any purpose. To improve your signals using these methods you can either buy a portable WiFi router or signal amplifier.

Real-Life Case Study: A Farmer’s Success Story

Here’s an outstanding example of one of our most recent customers Ben. Ben, a farmer in a remote village, struggled with weak signals, making it difficult to send and receive signals for his irrigation system at a high-end golf course in Phoenix, United States.. After researching solutions, he purchased a HiBoost Signal Booster. With minutes of installation, he noticed a dramatic improvement, stronger signals, clear calls, and faster internet in his remote village.

Solution 3: Enhance Your Calls and Internet with WiFi & Mobile Data

If the basic texting and voice call system of your mobile phone is not working because of the poor signal, you can use the WiFi Calling feature or Mobile Data roaming. WiFi calling or texting function requires a WiFi router, a WiFi-enabled cell phone, and certain apps like WhatsApp, Skype, or Zoom to make a call or send a text message.

Mobile Data is also known as cellular data which is a wireless internet connection to communicate through the internet even when the WiFi is not accessible. To activate this you have to purchase an all-in-one data package before starting your journey to distant places.

Personally, we will recommend you to get a monthly data package that would be more economical. It also depends on your stay in a remote rural area.

Solution 4: Solving Poor Signals Installing a Mobile Phone Signal Booster Antenna

A signal boosting antenna is another effective solution for improving mobile signal strength. These antennas are specially engineered and designed to capture the poor signals and amplify them, making them powerful enough to be used in rural areas with weak network coverage.

Luckily, there are portable signal booster antennas that you can take with you wherever you want. You will be surprised to see the results not only in a far way location but even in a moving vehicle. Alternatively, you can have one with fixed installation. Just make sure that the antenna you buy is compatible with your mobile cell phone signal booster amplifier.

Real-Life Case Study: A Customer’s Experience in Central Texas

John, a 68-year-old resident of Central Texas, had excellent cell service when he first moved to his rural home. However, as the area’s population grew, the infrastructure couldn’t keep up, leading to a sudden decline in the signal strength of his cell phone signals as well as wifi and internet. He was constantly facing call dropping and mobile internet instability issues.

Frustrated, John researched a solution and based on his brother-in-law’s recommendation, purchased HiBoost Signal Booster after weeks of research. Installing the system was easy as it required mounting an outdoor antenna and carefully positioning the indoor amplifier and his efforts paid off. With the mobile cell phone signal booster, his reception improved from one bar to four signal bars inside his home. He quoted

“This mobile cell phone signal booster changed my life! I can finally make calls and browse without interruptions. The installation was a bit of work, but the results are worth it. Highly Recommend It!”

The Future: Can 5G Solve Rural Signal Problem?

Undoubtedly, the 5G technology is spreading faster, but for huge companies, it is not yet affordable to provide the 5G services in most of the rural areas. With 5G rural areas may experience better coverage in coming years. For now, the best solution is to use existing mobile cell phone signal boosters and VoWiFi technology.

Conclusion

Most of the rural areas do not have base stations as compared to the cities. That is the top reason for poor signal strength. Secondly, the obstacles like concrete buildings with thick structure, forests, hills and mountains etc interfere with the signal, either making it weak or changing its direction. Earth’s curvature and distance from the cell phone tower also affect the signal strength.

Poor mobile phone signals don’t have to disrupt your daily life, especially when you are in a rural area. You can get rid of this issue by investing in a signal amplifier and mobile cell phone signal booster antenna. Choosing the right operator and cell phone package also helps a lot in terms of mobile phone signal enhancement. Alternatively, you can use a WiFi-enabled phone with WiFi router to communicate using specific apps like WhatsApp, Skype, and Zoom for calling and texting.

Hence, evaluate your specific needs, feasibility, and environment to choose the solution that works best for you in terms of economy and accessibility. With these tools and techniques you can stay connected no matter where you are.