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Hi

It's unclear whether Nick is trying to improve the signal in the office or the signal for staff moving around the area and using mobile phones.

If it's a question of improving the reception at a particular location then the easy solution is to get a car kit for a mobile phone and put the antenna where it gets the best signal - on a pole at the top of the roof for example. Then the phone can be put into the car mount in the office and or guesthouse.

If it's a question of comms to staff who are working around the area then if the mobile signal is unreliable the simple solution is to use old-fashioned VHF. A repeater station can be set up fairly easily if there is either a good location at the office or alternatively rent mast space from a commercial company who already has a communications mast up somewhere. (this is the easiest solution - that way they already provide security for the equipment, and often have a technician available to do the installation.)

Using a VHF repeater Nick will get communications out to a surprising distance in an environment like South Sudan - if a mast on a hill is used then the range will be anything up to about 30km radius, which should cover most requirements in an operational area. The big advantage from a security point of view is that the VHF system is unlikely to be switched off or overloaded in an emergency, and also unlike mobile phones, everyone on the network can hear everyone else which is extremely valuable for keeping track of staff if things get messy.

Hope that helps a bit. Tony