The $89 survey that tells you the truth.
Before you buy a booster, before you order Starlink, before you sign anything — we come out, measure your actual signal, and give you a written report with your real options. Including "nothing will fix this."
Field note
My favourite survey outcome is "you're fine — save your money." No sale, no install, just a guy telling you the truth for $89. Those people send me their neighbours.
What happens during the survey
We visit your property with professional signal measurement gear — not a phone's bar display, which is a marketing widget, not an instrument. We measure real signal strength (in dBm, the actual number) across carriers and bands, outdoors at multiple points and indoors where you actually use your phone.
We check what's around you: which towers and licensed sites serve your area (we've mapped 2,488 licensed cellular sites on the Island — and a licence doesn't mean there's a tower), what the terrain and tree cover do to the signal, and whether your building itself is the problem. Metal roofs, foil-backed insulation and concrete turn homes into Faraday cages — great signal outside, dead inside. That's a fixable problem, but only if someone diagnoses it instead of selling you hardware blind.
What you get
A written report: your measured readings, what they mean in plain language, and a ranked recommendation. Usually one of three:
- Booster. There's usable outdoor signal and the problem is getting it indoors — a classic signal booster installation case.
- Starlink. Cellular is hopeless but the sky is clear — satellite is your connection. See Starlink installation.
- Nothing will fix this. No usable signal, no sky view, no honest product to sell you. You get the report, the $89 receipt, and our respect for not wasting your money.
The third outcome happens. We'd rather give you that answer for $89 than sell you a $1,000 install that disappoints you. That's the whole business model: honesty first, hardware second.
The $89 credit
Book an install with us within 30 days of your survey and the $89 comes off the install price. The survey isn't a sales funnel with a fee — it's paid diagnostic work, and if you hire us to fix what we found, you don't pay for the diagnosis twice.
The most expensive booster is the wrong booster.
Why a survey beats guessing
The most expensive booster is the wrong booster. People buy hardware online based on bar readings and reviews, install it wrong or install the wrong thing, and end up calling us to fix a problem that started as a purchase. The survey costs $89. The average "I bought the wrong gear" story costs four figures and a weekend. Measure first.
Coverage
The $89 survey runs in our day-trip radius from the Parksville/Qualicum base: the mid-Island core, Nanaimo, Port Alberni and the Comox Valley, plus ferry day-trips to the Sunshine Coast and Gulf Islands. See the local pages for signal surveys in Nanaimo, Parksville and Qualicum Beach.
What does the $89 actually buy me?
The on-site visit with real measured dBm readings from professional gear — not phone bars — plus a written report and an honest recommendation: booster, Starlink, or nothing. It’s credited toward any install you book within 30 days, so if the survey leads to work, the survey itself cost you nothing extra.
Common questions
What do the dBm numbers actually mean?
Signal strength in dBm: around -70 dBm is excellent, -85 is good, -100 is weak but workable for a booster, and -110 or worse is essentially nothing a booster can amplify. Your phone's bars don't tell you this — two phones can show three bars at -90 and -105. We measure the real number.
How long does a survey take?
Usually 45–90 minutes on site, depending on property size. We measure multiple outdoor points, indoor dead spots, and check the sky view for a Starlink assessment while we're there. The written report follows within a couple of days.
Do I have to buy anything after the survey?
No. The report is yours regardless. Plenty of surveys end with "you're fine, save your money" or "nothing will fix this." The $89 credit only matters if you book an install within 30 days — it's a discount, not an obligation.
Can you survey a commercial property?
Yes — lodges, campgrounds, marinas and industrial sites get a commercial survey scoped to the property and the traffic. That feeds into a commercial connectivity design. Same honesty, bigger spreadsheet.
My carrier's coverage map says I have signal. Why don't I?
Carrier maps are modeled, not measured — and they're optimistic by design. Terrain, tree cover, building materials and tower loading all eat signal the map doesn't show. Our dataset of 2,488 licensed Island sites tells us where licences exist; the survey tells us what actually reaches your property. A licence doesn't mean there's a tower, and a coverage map doesn't mean there's coverage.
Stop guessing. Start measuring.
$89. Real readings, a written report, and an honest recommendation. Credited toward any install you book within 30 days.