The world is more connected than ever, but there are still physical barriers, from mountains to skyscrapers, and geographic dead zones across America’s 3.8 million square miles that could snuff out critical communication between truckers, their fleets and customers. For the nation’s trucks and vans, which rely more on telematics to stay in contact with their support teams, communication interruptions could provide impediments to the supply chain. To combat the silence and static, WilsonPro, through its weBoost line, released two new fleet cell phone boosting antennae, the 5G-ready Drive Reach OTR Fleet and Drive X OTR Fleet.
Drive Reach OTR Fleet is the company’s most powerful booster and is available on all cellular devices and carriers. The fin-like design increases surface area and allows users to travel twice as far from cell phone towers with more than twice the signal strength. This allows drivers to reach cell towers 74% farther from the vehicle. The five frequency bands range from 700 MHz to 1900 MHz.
Installation requires attaching the mount and bracket, typically under the seat or in the vehicle trunk, hard-wiring the device to the truck power supply, and mounting the external OTR antenna. The antenna is adjustable from 17 in. to 45 in. The package uses an SMB connector.
One user explained on the website that when his vehicle got stuck in the mud in Idaho, the tow truck driver was having cell service trouble until getting closer to the booster, where there was a “near-perfect cell signal.” Both the stuck customer and tow truck driver were using Verizon.
Drive X OTR Fleet boasts a maximum connection range 60% larger than competitors, enhancing available signals by 32 times with a 50 dB system gain and also rides on five bands which range from 700 MHz to 1900 MHz. The system uses a ruggedized, all weather OTR Truck Omni-Directional Antenna.
