ST. GEORGE, Utah Motorcoach operators wanting to make it more convenient and reliable for their passengers to use cell phones while traveling have a new tool.

Utah-based Wilson Electronics designs and manufactures cellular amplifiers and antennas for a variety of vehicles, including buses, cars, trucks and RVs.

Wilson says its products help users extend their signal range as much as 10 times, increase data rates for cellular data cards, and significantly reduce dropped calls.

A typical Wilson system consists of an amplifier and two antennas. One antenna, mounted on the outside of the bus, communicates with the cell site and transfers cellular signals through a cable to the amplifier inside the vehicle.

The amplifier boosts those signals and re-broadcasts them through an inside antenna, typically mounted on the coach ceiling or wall.

Because of the amplifiers bidirectional technology, the process is reversed when the cellular devices transmit, and a stronger signal is sent back to the cell tower.

No physical connection is required between the amplifier and the cellular device; multiple cell phones and data cards can benefit simultaneously from the stronger signal. Thus, a number of bus passengers can have improved cellular performance in a coach equipped with a Wilson amplifier system, says the company.

In addition to increasing passenger convenience, a Wilson amplifier system provides an extra measure of safety for the coach operator and the bus company when calls for assistance are required. In an emergency, a cell phone is of no use without a reliable signal. This is particularly critical for travel in remote areas, the company notes.

While most cell phones operate with output power of half a watt, Wilson boosters have up to three watts of power, and that power is managed by microprocessor-based technology to protect cell sites from potentially harmful interference.

As a motorcoach draws closer to a cell site and the signal becomes stronger, the amplifier reduces its power, even shutting down when no amplification is needed. When the signal begins to fade, as the vehicle heads away from the cell site or into an area where the signal may be blocked by buildings, hills or valleys, the amplifier automatically goes back to work, increasing its power to match the need.

Wilson says it offers single- and dual-band mobile wireless amplifiers to support virtually all North American cellular carriers. The company also manufactures a variety of high-gain exterior and interior antennas.

For more information, go to www.wilsonelectronics.com.