Vodafone's Gateway to Boost 3G Coverage Indoors

Mobile phone carrier Vodafone announced on Wednesday the launch of its Vodafone Access Gateway service, the first of its kind in Europe. According to the company, it is meant to offer improved 3G coverage indoors, as well as more reliability. All that users would have to do is to plug a neat box, similar in size to a router, directly into any home broadband line.

The Gateway offers fast and easy installation to any user, as well as support for all 3G handsets. Also, it provides support for up to four voice calls at any time. Those who have had problems with missed calls due to weak indoor coverage now have a reason to rejoice, as the Vodafone Access Gateway is meant to prevent that from happening again.

“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,” says Ian Shepherd, Consumer Director, Vodafone UK. “We are committed to delivering the best, most reliable network and this is another step towards maintaining a seamless service.”

The new Vodafone Access Gateway offers customers the possibility to enjoy the full range of Vodafone services at their home at any time. It will become available for purchase starting July 1, both online from the mobile phone carrier's site, and at its retail stores. The Gateway comes for free as part of an inclusive price plan starting at £15 a month, yet it can also be acquired for £160 with a monthly fee of£5, says the operator.

In addition, Vodafone also announced that users would be able to register the mobile numbers to be linked with the new Vodafone Access Gateway directly on the company's Gateway website (it is not running yet, but will do so as of July 1), and that the service would be up and running within 24 hours from that point.