Sprint has announced the Magic Box, a signal booster that it’s making available free of charge to ‘qualifying’ homes and businesses. The booster – which it bills as ‘the world’s first all-wireless small call’ – amplifies LTE data signals from nearby cell towers, increasing both upload and download speeds by an average of 200%.
The box is designed to benefit both those buildings installing the device, and the wider network. The company says that the device will cover around 30,000 square feet inside the building and also reach those outside it to a range of around 300 feet.
The box is free of charge, and requires no installation.
The Sprint Magic Box is an indoor, self-configuring small cell, about the size of a shoebox, that’s easy for customers to install. It requires no implementation, labor, or rental costs that are a hurdle for many traditional small cell deployments. The unit is simply placed near a window and plugged into a power outlet. Sprint Magic Box connects to a nearby Sprint cell site and within minutes is up and running. Customers immediately have a better experience inside their businesses and homes while streaming videos, surfing the web, and using their favorite online apps and services.
The company doesn’t give any clue as to who qualifies for the box – it likely chooses homes and businesses in areas with poor existing coverage, and where there are plenty of people passing within the 300 foot range that benefits people in the street.
You can, however, apply online and the company will get back to you.
Walt Piecyk noted that the company had previously used the ‘magic box’ label …
In 2007, the Airave femtocell was “described as a "magic" box by Sprint” $S #Dejavu https://t.co/7RGv7fT1qZ
— Walter Piecyk (@WaltLightShed) May 3, 2017
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