Statement published 4 November 2021
Repeaters are devices that can help people with a poor indoor mobile phone signal get better indoor coverage . They work best when there is a good outdoor signal that can be boosted indoors
We have decided to extend the range of static indoor repeaters available for people to buy and install themselves without a licence. In particular, we will allow the use of two additional types of repeater:
- provider specific repeaters; and
- multi-operator repeaters.
Both these types of repeater may amplify the frequencies of more than one mobile operator at a time, provided they meet appropriate technical requirements specified by Ofcom.
In order to help the public identify repeaters that can be ‘legally’ used without a licence – rather than ‘illegal’ devices that risk causing interference – we have decided to publish on our website a list of mobile phone repeaters that we understand comply with the technical requirements of our licence exemption regime. We will publish the list in due course.
To be clear, Ofcom will not endorse or approve particular products. Instead, the list will simply identify devices that have been subjected to testing by an accredited test house to show they meet our technical requirements, using a voluntary testing standard produced by Ofcom.
Ofcom has today published our decision (PDF, 655.1 KB) to make new regulations by statutory instrument. These regulations implement our decision, published in November 2021, to extend the range of mobile phone repeater devices that can be self-installed without a licence.
To provide guidance on the testing of static indoor repeaters against the technical requirements in these regulations, Ofcom has also published a voluntary testing standard (PDF, 860.4 KB) alongside this statement.
The regulations were made on 26 May 2022 and come into force on 16 June 2022.
