Cellular Signal Booster Advocates Amplify Their Voice at Hear-Me.org to Protect Cellular Subscribers’ Right to Continue to Use These Devices

ST. GEORGE, Utah--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Wilson Electronics, the nation’s leading manufacturer of cellular signal boosters, has launched www.Hear-Me.org, as part of the company’s effort to keep signal boosters freely available to those wishing to improve their cellular service.

“We firmly believe that as in Canada, where Wilson has worked hand in hand with carriers, Americans must continue to be able to freely and legally use FCC certified cellular signal boosters in situations where they need a stronger signal to fully enjoy their service”

Hear-Me.org is a place where people who rely on cellular signal boosters to improve their cellular voice or data service can share stories on how boosters have improved their quality of life, allowed public safety to better serve the public and bettered industrial users’ ability to monitor and control remote data devices. Signal boosters work by amplifying weak signals and bringing them into a building or vehicle where a cellular device is being used. Most properly designed units also amplify the signal from the phone back to the cell tower.

As recently reported by the New York Times and other news outlets, the major U.S. cellular service providers have been asking the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to declare that boosters can be used only with their express permission, a permission they have not been willing to give. Their claim is that boosters cause interference, which can result when improperly designed equipment is used. This problem can be eliminated not by banning all boosters, but by increasing presently inadequate FCC certification standards and eliminating the boosters that cause problems.

One year ago, Wilson filed its own petition to the FCC asking for a more stringent approval process, in order to remove from the marketplace signal boosters that are capable of interfering with cellular networks.

The stories and testimonials posted on Hear-Me.org are instrumental in showing cell service providers as well as the FCC, the wide use of signal boosters and the many ways properly designed boosters such as Wilson’s product, have benefited their own subscribers. It is Wilson’s belief that cell subscribers in good standing should be allowed to purchase devices which improve their service if they choose to do so, provided no interference is caused to the cell networks.

Hear-Me.org compiles stories and videos of signal booster advocates and customers who rely on these devices to enable cellular voice and data communication in poor coverage areas. Several of the experiences related are by public safety officials who rely on boosters to maintain connectivity for their cellular voice and data communication. Among them are local government officials describing how signal boosters have been installed in emergency response vehicles to ensure that teams on the ground can stay in contact with command and communications centers during any emergency.

In one video, Michelle B. explains how a signal booster allowed her nephew’s friends to summon a helicopter ambulance following a vehicle rollover in a remote area of Washington state where cell phones typically show no available service. Her nephew, she says, suffered critical head injuries in the accident, but the signal booster allowed his friends to make a life-saving cell phone call.

“We firmly believe that as in Canada, where Wilson has worked hand in hand with carriers, Americans must continue to be able to freely and legally use FCC certified cellular signal boosters in situations where they need a stronger signal to fully enjoy their service,” said Joe Banos, chief operating officer of Wilson Electronics. “Instead of throwing the baby out with the bath water, signal boosters should be made to meet more stringent certification standards.

“We launched Hear-Me.org to show cell carriers and the FCC how useful these devices are and to let users—in their own words—detail how crucial these devices are in their lives. It was also created as a place for potential advocates to submit their stories, or sign up to reach out to their legislators asking them to intervene, if necessary, in preventing cellular service providers and the FCC from disallowing these devices to the public.”

Wilson’s position is that cellular signal boosters should continue to be approved by the FCC as long as they:

Are designed with safeguards which prevent interference with cellular providers’ networks,
Are approved by the FCC, which Wilson is petitioning for stricter technical regulation of signal boosters, and
Amplify the cellular signal both to and from the cell tower, so as not to ruin the consumer’s cellular experience.

Visitors to Hear-Me.org can also access background information on the issue before the FCC, find links to relevant news coverage, and learn how to get involved by sharing their own experiences in order to preserve the right to purchase and operate cellular signal boosters.

About Wilson Electronics, Inc.

Wilson Electronics, Inc., a leader in the wireless communications industry for more than 40 years, designs and manufactures a wide variety of cell phone signal boosters, antennas and related components that significantly improve cellular communication in mobile, indoor, and machine-to-machine (M2M) applications. All Wilson products are engineered, assembled and tested in the company's U.S.-based headquarters. Wilson boosters fully comply with FCC regulations for cellular devices and are FCC type accepted and Industry Canada certificated. Wilson Electronics has developed and patented a variety of technologies for protecting cell sites by preventing network interference. For more information, visit www.wilsonelectronics.com.