Does this mean that people will be using my Fios internet connection? I added our 3 cell phones so we get priority, but when we're not using it, people will be using our connection?
how do you "add" your phones? Do you have to add a unique identifier that no one else has on their phone? How would you know if others are using your extender? Does it have status lights on it so you know when it is being used?
as an aside... isn't it interesting that cell phones are using broadband networks to "extend" their coverage?
I'm trying to think .... if a place has cable... why it would also not have a nearby cell tower since cable is not usually extended to rural areas since it needs enough customers hooked up to justify extending cable to those areas.
You add your phones by logging into verizonwireless.com. This gives 3 numbers priority since you can only have 3 connections at a time. So if three people are using it, the phone numbers that have priority will have a connection. It doesn't restrict anyone from using my connection.
As for towers and extending coverage. We're surrounded by 4 towers. I can walk 1000 feet down my road and get 4 bars, but I lose it near my house, and always drop calls in my house. Since I've turned on this extender, not one dropped calls. Well worth the 99 bucks
"as an aside... isn't it interesting that cell phones are using broadband networks to "extend" their coverage?
I'm trying to think .... if a place has cable... why it would also not have a nearby cell tower since cable is not usually extended to rural areas since it needs enough customers hooked up to justify extending cable to those areas."
larryTheG, I live in a rural area, with no cable or DSL internet available. I do have microwave internet using a high gain antenna to get a signal from a mountaintop 15 miles away that works famously. Wireless service is abysmal up here, even with 2 bars, the s/n ratio can make the signal from the tower 8 miles away completely useless.
That's just me. There are other people who may live in an urban area, but be in an inside office or apartment, surrounded by reinforced concrete, where the rebar acts like a faraday cage. Under power lines microwave signals can be adversely affected as well, or in basement offices and apartments, or in any number of locations where signal degredation is an issue.
So, yeah, there are people in the situation you find unbelievable, and this product is incredible for those people. It has it's place, and there's no monthly charge, so it's a real bargain.
"how do you "add" your phones? Do you have to add a unique identifier that no one else has on their phone? How would you know if others are using your extender? Does it have status lights on it so you know when it is being used?"
The device connects via VPN to the Verizon network. There are settings available via MyVerizon to give priority to as many as 50 devices by using a unique identifier called a "phone number" which is tied to the devices unique identifier, called an "IMEI" or "International Mobile Equipment Identifier", everyone who has a mobile device has an IMEI, and presumably a phone number associated with it. From the Verizon website, I presume the settings are sent back to the device via the VPN connection, or alternatively, the device information could be sent from the device upon connection request. It's certainly not terribly complicated.
As far as knowing if someone is using the device, proximity is the easiest way to tell. If they are a Verizon customer, and they are in close proximity, they are using the device. Also, if one is connected to the device, there is a tone preceeding all phone calls. It's fairly easy to know if you're connected, and safe to assume any Verizon customer in proximity is as well. However, the range of the device is such that you don't need to worry about people too far away using it. Your neighbors might be using it, perhaps even without their knowledge, but the bandwidth it uses is negligable, and any devices that are given priority will disconnect a non-priority number if all 3 "lines" are being used.
Hope that helps clear it all up for you.
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