Boosters can help to fill in gaps in coverage that exist despite 99.6 percent of U.S. residents being covered by mobile voice service, the FCC said. Boosters can help consumers make emergency calls and keep public safety workers connected, but badly designed devices that interfere can prevent those same benefits, it said.

The FCC document lists several proposed requirements for signal boosters.

They should comply with power limits, automatically shut down if they cause harmful interference or go out of compliance with the FCC's technical rules, and in the case of boosters for vehicles, shut down when they get close enough to a cell tower that they are not needed. The paper also lists proposals to require clear information in labels and marketing about the legal use of the devices, and a requirement to coordinate frequency selection and power levels with the carriers operating nearby.

There are two major ways that a signal booster can harm a cellular network, according to Wilson, one of four entities that petitioned the FCC for new rules. If it is too close to any cell tower, it can interfere and degrade service, said Laine Matthews, director of business development. If the indoor and outdoor antennas of the booster are too close to each other, they can create oscillation, which can actually force nearby carrier base stations to shut down, Matthews said. This effect is similar to loud feedback caused by a microphone being too close to a speaker, he said.

Wilson claims its products come with mechanisms to detect and prevent both problems by powering down or turning themselves off. Some of its older gear lacks these, but Wilson immediately replaces them for free when they are reported, Matthews said. Wilson's position is that other boosters may not have these features, but all should be required to have them.