Network signal lost in buildings

Daily Life, Swiss News and General Topics
1

Hi all,
Maybe just a rant, but would be curious if this happens only to me (because I use Salt) :
I occasionally need to work remotely in Zurich City. I grab a chair inside any random coffee shop and my mobile data signal is almost at 1 bar … and off course I barely can connect to anything, This changes drastically when I go outside at the same random shop.
Happened more than 10 times and in multiple places → so am curious do they use some asbestos in buildings or how come I can barely get any reception inside them … or is it because I use a shitty operator :slight_smile: ?

Thanks,
Alex

2

I think it’s an inherent issue with 5G, great speed when thick walls don’t block it. Just make sure the phone settings allow to connect to 4G network when 5G is not available.

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3

No but they use re-enforced concrete. The rebar (steel framework) inside the concrete and the inherent shielding effect of the concrete itself can partially reflect a signal, attenuating it greatly.

I discussed this with a Swiss architect once and he hadn’t got a clue about it and then he closed the discussion by saying it was a good thing because of Feng Shui.

TIS

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4

Banks got Nanocells intercepting all cell signals.

Usually only works with Swisscom. Other providers: zero bars.

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5

It’s the thick walls, rebar, windows with IR metal coating that either absorb or reflect the radio waves.
Salt isn’t probably installing as many BTS’s (cells) as one could and since there is safety limit on RF power that results in bad coverage.
I wonder if Swisscom has better coverage. I use Salt in Vaud and at our place on a hill the signal is sufficient indoors, but elsewhere indoors it’s often too low.

6

If you check the bands allocation, Salt has the least of all, so your guess is about right. The narrower the available spectrum the more congestion. Then the number of cells also plays an important role. Most likely Salt doesn’t have many, so you may be lucky having a good transmission connecting to a distant cell outdoors because there’s a clear line of sight.

Too bad OpenCellID doesn’t indicate the network the cell belongs to
OpenCelliD - Largest Open Database of Cell Towers & Geolocation - by Unwired Labs

However scrolling through the map, it becomes apparent that there is a lot of voice cells, non LTE, so you might get much better voice call quality around the city than data transmission.