Can Cell tower be used to transmit Wi-Fi and if so, does that make their signal stronger (more far reaching) than the Wi-Fi Signal a router emits?
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Short answer: no.
WiFi has a useful range of, oh, 300 feet or so, depending on the transmitter power of the device in question.
The problem is regulatory. WiFi runs on frequencies that are semi-regulated… there’s no requirement you get permission to operate a WiFi device, but the device is subject to a bunch of limits like their transmission power. That’s part of the reason they’re limited to 300 feet. That and the simple fact that, being semi-regulated, the frequencies are popular and also used by Bluetooth, baby monitors, microwave ovens, not to mention your neighbour’s wifi, and a bunch of other stuff that can cause some interference. With interference, you want to be close to your wifi access point so that its signal is the strongest for you and the connection is good.
The other thing you have to consider is WiFi is 2-way. Even if you built some cell tower with WiFi on it and a mega-powerful transmitter and somehow it was legal, your tiny little cell phone doesn’t have the transmission power to reach back to the cell tower if you’re beyond that ~300 feet limit.
Cell phones transmit at 0.5-1W max.
Cell phone companies provide wireless data over a wireless frequency. Usually in the 700 mhz, 800 mhz, 2100 mhz or 2600 MHz range. Some frequencies are better at reaching a phone 3 miles away. Other frequencies are better if you’re 50 feet from a tower but behind concrete. Bigger phone companies usually have 5-7 bands of wireless data, while smaller companies have 1-3 bands.
Wi-Fi is typically a 5 ghz signal which is 7 times higher than a 700 MHz frequency. So data transfer happens quicker. You’re taking a wired signal, and broadcasting it at 5 ghz.
Cell phone companies are broadcasting at significantly lower frequencies.
Google “speed checkup” if you’re reading this at home. Screenshot the result. Then in a parking lot, perform the same test. The result will most likely be significantly less over wireless data vs a Wi-Fi network.
There was an effort many years ago to implement such a thing, the problem is that WiFi has a lot more interference issues than typical cellular networks, so each tower cannot support that many users. In fact you run into this problem a lot in hotels and convention centers, where the WiFi is not set up correctly to handle a large number of users.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WiMAX
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