External antennas, also referred to as ‘panel antenna’ are technically very similar to the indoor High Gain Directional Antennas – although they are generally larger and are designed for use in areas where the mobile reception is particularly bad. They are not particularly portable and are therefore suitable for fixed locations such as a home or office – although they have also been used in caravans and campervans.
External Antenna are typically provided with a longer cable (up to 10 meters), giving you the flexibility to mount it up higher. This can be particularly useful if you are in a low-lying area where the signal struggles to reach. There is a trade-off however – the longer the cable is the less efficiently the antenna will work.
As with the clip antennas, panel antenna comes in 2 flavours – one with a crc9 connection for dongles that support that format, and then the universal format that just wraps around any usb dongle like a glove. If your dongle supports the crc9 connection then that would probably be the best one to go with.
External Antennas certainly do help improve your 3g mobile broadband signal, but if you are living in a remote rural location you might still be just too far for even the external antenna to be able to help – and in this case you may have to resort to a fixed line or satellite broadband option.
As they require the use of a fixed external aerial, external antenna signal boosters are only an option to consider if you are having difficulty achieving a good mobile broadband signal in your home or office – they are not really an option for the truly mobile user who wants to improve their 3g mobile broadband signal on the move.
