Note for integrators:
You might know this as a cellular amplification system. The industry term for it is cellular DAS (Distributed Antenna System). Same concept, better results. This blog breaks it down.
I don’t know about you all, but I’m still recovering from the whirlwind that was CEDIA 2025. Don’t get me wrong—it was FUN. I got to meet incredible people like Carol Campbell, who is larger than life and an absolute firecracker, Nick Boever, a phenomenal journalist over at CE Pro, and Michael Restrepo from Restrepo Innovations, one of the coolest people on the East Coast. I was over the moon to fangirl over a drink (or two) with “Cowboy Mike” Cogbill at the Hyatt bar and talked shop (and by that, I mean food and wine) with Thomas Mastrianni from Extreme AVS.
But, alas, when you’re in your ‘ties, fun also wipes you out. So, while I’m recovering, I’m thinking through what really stuck out for me at CEDIA as we spoke to integrators from across the globe about the things that actually matter: what you’re seeing in the field, your biggest frustrations, and what clients are really asking for.
Something that genuinely surprised me? The incredible amount of interest we had in cellular amplification systems.
A South Florida integrator told us about a client with a stunning glass-wrapped home office who couldn’t place a single cellphone call from his desk. Another described a situation where the client could make a call just fine, that is, until they started walking.
Sound familiar?
It’s easy for clients to assume that Wi-Fi calling issues mean a weak network. But in a lot of these homes, the Wi-Fi is super high quality. Coverage is great. The internet connection is fast. And yet, calls drop. Clients blame the integrator.
Michael Restrepo and I were chatting at CEDIA about this exact issue. He told me about one of his clients with a top-of-the-line smart home—top-tier networking gear, flawless coverage, the works. And yet, the client kept losing calls. They were frustrated, pointing the finger at the network, thinking it was all somehow Restrepo’s fault. But it wasn’t the network.
Here’s what most clients (and honestly, a lot of integrators) don’t know: Wi-Fi calling isn’t the same as VoIP, and it’s not as reliable. It was designed as a backup—not a primary solution—and it’s incredibly sensitive to handoffs, interference, and network transitions.
It’s not that Wi-Fi can’t handle voice traffic—it absolutely can. But voice over Wi-Fi was designed as a backup, not as a primary calling method.
Take handoffs. When someone walks from the kitchen to the patio, the phone needs to switch from
Wi-Fi to cellular. But most carriers don’t prioritize Wi-Fi calls during that handoff, and some don’t support it at all. The result? The call drops, the client gets frustrated, and the integrator gets blamed.
Even inside the house, carrier deprioritization can sabotage perfectly good networks. Just because
Wi-Fi is fast doesn’t mean calls will hold. Voice packets don’t get special treatment. If the carrier senses congestion or a weak signal, that call’s gone.
And worst of all? Phones often cling to Wi-Fi too long, refusing to hand off even when the cellular signal would be stronger. It’s not smart enough to switch. So the client keeps calling you, thinking something’s wrong with their “network.”
You install the network. You set up the access points. You optimize the streaming, the smart home, the work-from-home stack. You’re the one who built the system—and when something as basic as a phone call doesn’t work, you’re the one they call.
That’s a hard pill to swallow, especially when the issue isn’t your fault. But perception is reality, and for clients, indoor voice reliability is still table stakes. When they can’t use their phones in their own home, they don’t care whether it’s a carrier issue or a handoff glitch.
They care that it doesn’t work.
As one integrator told us: “We’ve done everything right. But if their call drops, none of that matters.”
That’s the real takeaway here. Even in a well-designed network, Wi-Fi calling problems are still going to surface. The structure of the home, building materials, window coatings, and even neighborhood carrier load can all tank the signal—and you can’t fix that with more access points.
So what do you do?
As one integrator told us: “We’ve done everything right. But if their call drops, none of that matters.”
That’s the real takeaway here. Even in a well-designed network, Wi-Fi calling problems are still going to surface. The structure of the home, building materials, window coatings, and even neighborhood carrier load can all tank the signal—and you can’t fix that with more access points.
So what do you do?
Wi-Fi calling often breaks down in homes with heavy insulation, thick walls, or sprawling layouts. These physical barriers weaken Wi-Fi signals at the edges of coverage—especially in rooms far from access points. But even with a strong network, Wi-Fi calling has its limits. Most phones don’t switch cleanly from Wi-Fi to cellular, and carriers often deprioritize Wi-Fi traffic mid-call, causing drops even when coverage looks solid.
The most reliable fix is to use a cellular amplification system (also known as a cellular DAS). These systems bring outdoor signal inside and distribute it throughout the home—separately from Wi-Fi—so voice calls aren’t tied to the home network.
No. Adding mesh or access points doesn’t improve cellular reception. In fact, relying on Wi-Fi for voice calls adds stress to the network and creates reliability issues, especially for clients who move between rooms during calls.
A Wi-Fi network is designed for data—browsing, streaming, smart home traffic. Cellular DAS is engineered specifically for voice, bringing carrier signal indoors and distributing it through dedicated antennas. The two systems work in parallel.
Yes. SpecOp Secure partners are already doing this through a managed service model. It can be bundled with other connectivity offerings and delivered on a monthly basis with proactive support and guaranteed performance.
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