Mobile broadband users with Vodafone soon to get much better reception

It has been announced that Vodafone will soon be selling a broadband device that allows its users to improve their mobile phone signal strength by using the home broadband connection to route calls.

At a cost of about £160 and an additional monthly charge of £5 per month the new product know as the Access Gateway is set for release by the end of June.

The consumer director of Vodafone UK, Ian Shephard has said that he believes the device will be perfect for users in rural areas of the country where access may be limited, although many experts have criticised the new signal boosting device is just a cheap way for Vodafone to increase its network coverage.

Shephard advised “The Vodafone Access Gateway will boost indoor mobile phone coverage for customers who today find they need to move around the rooms in their home to get a consistent signal strength.”

The new device connects over a standard broadband line, is similar in size to a broadband router and will allow users to access the device with any mobile phone that is able to connect over a 3G network.

Among the many benefits that this product offers users the device could also prove useful to mobile broadband users using a USB modem according to some experts.

Using this device could prove to be a valuable asset for the government who are currently working hard to achieve the promise they made in the recent Digital Britain report to provide universal broadband access at a speed of at least 2Mbps by 2012. These devices could provide the extra coverage required to give broadband users in the more rural areas access where laying fixed-line connections is currently considered to be unfeasible.