Local Only 3G Router via Broadband Device?

Question

I am looking for the name/type of device which does the following:

• Connects to the internet via ethernet or wireless and
• then produces a "fake" 3G signal for my iPhone to connect to.

The 3G siginal in my office is very weak or non-existant and I need a way of boosting or replacing it.

Answer 1

You can't do this, you can't just replicate a 3G signal. The 3G signal is encrypted with a routing encryption and decrypted by your phone. Besides it being non-existant for consumers, your provider uses broadcasting frequencies that are restricted for other devices so even if such a device would be made, it would be illegal.

Doesn't your phone have Wi-Fi capability?

UPDATE:

A friend pointed me to this, may be possible to make a booster antenna: http://www.horstedkeynes.com/homemade3g.html However, these people still run into problems trying to create one.

Look here for professional solutions: http://www.cellantenna.com/index.php?id=mobileinfo

Answer 2

I have an AT&T microcell site in my house. It connects to my cable model broadband but then replicates an AT&T cell site in my house. It works well for voice, but not so great for data. They are slowly rolling it out nationally.

More HERE

Answer 3

This isn't a direct answer, but some supplementary information that could be useful to other interested parties.

The technology the poster is referring to is femtocell, the ability of a small device to act as a repeater for cellular phones that routes traffic through a broadband connection rather than through the traditional cell site and backhaul network: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Femtocell

This is promising technology that has not been adopted, primarily because the femtocell is using bandwidth purchased by the customer for broadband instead of the bandwidth as part of the cell site and towers. Imagine the AT&T user paying AT&T for minutes on the iPhone that are routed on a Qwest provided DSL backhaul.