LTE booster solutions specifically designed and intended for use in vending scenarios can greatly increase efficiency, reduce false card approvals (reducing the number of transactions that time out), and improve customer experience because of faster transaction times, leading to increased repeat sales. We concentrate on two areas in vending environments: uptime and customer experience. At the end of the day if you can provide your customers a fast transaction time while ensuring all card transactions are being processed online at the time of the sale you will enjoy increased profits from each covered location due to increased sales.
Understanding different types of environments and types of equipment is vital to implementing a successful LTE solution. Factors to consider include:
- Indoor/Outdoor Signal Strength vs Signal Quality
Signal strength at the vending location vs near-by indoor and outdoor signal levels. This can be measured using any iPhone for a particular carrier as a good starting point – but remember that there are multiple options for LTE carrier connectivity. Open the Phone dialer on your iPhone, then enter #3001#12345#* and press the green call button. You will see a screen pop up that shows Field Test mode. On this screen, go to RsrpRsrqSinr. On this screen, RSRP will show signal strength and SINR will show signal quality. An RSRP of -80 or higher (ex. -70 or -60) is generally considered having a strong signal. If your RSRP is much lower than -80 (ex. -90 or -100) you should strongly consider implementing a single carrier LTE booster to ensure consistent service. Any SINR over 10 is strong, between 9 and 5 is generally considered ok, between 5 and 0 is fair and below 0 is poor. You should strongly consider implementing a single carrier LTE booster to ensure consistent service for any SINR below 5. - Indoor/Outdoor Speed Test
Download the app “Speed Test by Ookla“, ensure that Wi-Fi is turned off and run a speed test from the exact location your stand-alone antenna for your LTE modem would be placed without any booster. We generally recommend a minimum of 2Mbps download speed and 1Mbps upload speed for up to two kiosks. Make sure that these tests are run during the peak time that customers will be using the machines/kiosks. If you are unable to receive an appropriate speed from behind the machine, try again from in front of the machine. If you receive an appropriate speed test from this location, you could consider using a high-gain external antenna for a small boost or a full external IOT LTE amplifier that connects directly to your LTE modem to amplify the signal being received and transmitted, and provide increased bandwidth. - Cell Tower Saturation
Often times vending companies end up trapped in poor service locations just from looking at the bars of service on a cell phone. The issue with this is that even if you are 500ft from the closest tower – if there is not enough available bandwidth from that particular tower to meet your needs that tower will not be of much use. This scenario is common in warehouse and distribution centers because of high concentrations of people in a small area with numerous devices all requiring data. - RF Noise in the Environment
Since we’re discussing warehousing and distribution centers, the biggest complication in these environments is the incredibly dense RF interference from Wi-Fi access points, location tracking RFID readers, handheld radios, alarms, sensors, and other proprietary systems. Because of this it is often detrimental to use an amplifier in this environment as it can not only amplify the LTE signal, but also other RF interference causing an overall loss in quality. In this type of environment it is often necessary to use a high-gain directional antenna unless you are provided an existing roof penetration or are near an exterior wall. - Cabinetry Materials & Building Construction
Have a great signal quality and speed while testing but not after everything is assembled and installed? Depending on the frequency that the cell tower is using it can be very difficult for the signal to pass through certain materials. While you will likely only have minor signal loss through MDF or plywood, if your antenna is installed inside a machine or behind an aluminum sign, shelving system, or cabinet you are likely to lose most of the signal quality without utilizing an external antenna and or signal amplifiers. A great place to install antennas is above a drop ceiling as that will hide the antenna and allow you to position it and secure it so that it stays perfectly pointed at the nearest tower while keeping it out of site for your customer. Remember to cover wires on the wall with plastic or metal wire molding and use screws to attach it to the wall – not just double sided tape.