Verdict up front: if your site mixes EE, Three, O2 and Vodafone SIMs across up to 1000 m² and up to 100 users, the GDW1000 at £1090.61 is the correct purchase; if the same mixed-network stack fits inside 500 m² and 50 users, the GDW500 at £647.83 delivers identical Bands 8, 3 and 1 for £442.78 less. The GD1000 and GW1000 at £605.16 each drop one service layer and only win when your operators permanently fit a single band pair.

The GDW1000 and GDW500 share the same tri-band architecture: Band 8 at 900 MHz for 2G calls, Band 3 at 1800 MHz for EE and Three 4G LTE, and Band 1 at 2100 MHz for all-network 3G fallback. The gradient between them is purely scale: 1000 versus 500 m², 100 versus 50 users, ≥27 versus ≥23 dBm output, ≥65 versus ≥60 dB downlink gain, and ≥60 versus ≥55 dB uplink gain. The GD1000 (Band 8+3, calls and 4G, no 3G) and GW1000 (Band 8+1, calls and 3G, no 4G) are a different decision: tri-band versus dual-band, not scale.

Use this page as a decision tool. First match the band pair to the operators you actually carry, then scale output power, coverage and user count to measured floor area. The £442.78 gap between the two tri-band units buys doubled reach and doubled capacity; the £485.45 gap from either dual-band sibling to the GDW1000 buys the missing third band on top of the full-scale footprint. Neither gap should be paid for features your site will never use.

Both the GDW1000 and the GDW500 tune Band 8, Band 3 and Band 1 together. Both ship with the 8 dBi weatherproof Yagi directional outdoor antenna, the 5 dBi panel or whip indoor antenna, the 10 m outdoor plus 5 m indoor low-loss coax with N-type connectors, and the AC 100 to 240 V 50/60 Hz to DC 5 V UK 3-pin adapter. Both carry UKCA and CE marks, are Ofcom licence-exempt, and install DIY in 30 to 60 minutes. The difference is amplifier stage and rated capacity, not band coverage.

The GDW1000 outputs ≥27 dBm and holds ≥60 dB uplink gain with ≥65 dB downlink gain, rated for 1000 m² and 100 simultaneous users. The GDW500 outputs ≥23 dBm with ≥55 dB uplink and ≥60 dB downlink gain, rated for 500 m² and 50 users. On paper the 4 dBm output gap extends free-space reach by roughly 50 percent, and the 5 dB extra downlink gain absorbs an additional floor or partition; together those account for the doubled 500 to 1000 m² rating.

Choose the GDW1000 when measured occupied area sits above 500 m², when two or more floors must hold a clean cell, when 50 to 100 phones attach at peak, or when growth to an annex or second department is planned within the equipment's life. Choose the GDW500 when a single-level shop, five-bedroom home or small office stays under 500 m² and 50 users forever, because the £442.78 saved covers the optional cable and aerial upgrades without paying for unused headroom.

The table below places the two tri-band siblings beside the two dual-band siblings. The decisive rows are frequency bands, output power, downlink gain, coverage, users and the operator matrix.

The £442.78 gap (1090.61 minus 647.83) buys four measurable increments. First, output power rises from ≥23 dBm to ≥27 dBm, a 4 dBm increase that extends free-space reach by roughly 50 percent. Second, downlink gain rises from ≥60 dB to ≥65 dB, paying for losses through an extra floor or partition. Third, the rated footprint doubles from 500 m² to 1000 m². Fourth, the user rating doubles from 50 to 100 simultaneous phones.

Uplink gain moves from ≥55 dB to ≥60 dB as well, which matters for the phone's transmit path to the tower: weaker handsets in a far corner can complete a call or a data session instead of failing mid-sentence. Both units share the same antennas and cable, so the extra performance comes from the amplifier stage, not better kit on the wall.

Do not pay the £442.78 for a bigger number alone. If your measured site is 400 m² on one floor with 30 staff, the GDW500 covers it with margin and the GDW1000's extra half never radiates. Pay the premium only when the measured footprint, floor count, user count or growth plan genuinely reaches the GDW1000's rating.

The GDW1000 versus GD1000 or GW1000 decision is a band decision, not a scale decision, even though all three carry a 1000 m² rating. The GD1000 at £605.16 tunes Band 8 plus Band 3: 2G calls for all operators and Band 3 4G for EE and Three, with no Band 1 3G fallback. The GW1000 at £605.16 tunes Band 8 plus Band 1: 2G calls and all-network 3G, with no Band 3 EE or Three 4G. The GDW1000 at £1090.61 tunes all three.

The GD1000 suits a fixed EE or Three household and team where nobody relies on 3G when 4G drops. The GW1000 suits a fixed rural voice-and-3G site where EE and Three 4G are never required. The GDW1000 suits any premises where operator mix changes, guests arrive on different SIMs, or future-proofing one box matters.

The £485.45 gap from either dual-band unit to the GDW1000 buys the missing band and the commercial amplifier stage. A buyer who later adds the missing dual-band sibling spends £1210.32 for two boxes and still carries a household-scale user rating, which is more than the single GDW1000 while covering less headroom.

The GDW500 stays the cheapest true tri-band option for a permanently 500 m² site at £647.83. The dual-band pair looks cheapest on day one but reaches £1210.32 once the missing band is added, overtaking the GDW1000's £1090.61 for full coverage. The GDW1000 wins the mixed-network growth scenario on both day one and five-year cost.

Work down these steps in order. The operator mix decides the band pair; the measured area and user count decide the scale.

Step 1 — Count the operators on the site

List every SIM used by staff, residents and regular guests. If the list includes EE, Three, O2 and Vodafone groups, continue to the mixed-network branch. If only one operator family appears, check the single-operator branches below before paying for tri-band.

Step 2a — EE or Three-only branch (calls + 4G, no 3G need)

When every active SIM is EE, BT Mobile, ASDA, Three, iD, Smarty or Plusnet and nobody relies on 3G fallback, the GD1000 at £605.16 covers Band 8 calls and Band 3 4G over 1000 m². Move to the GDW1000 only if guest SIMs, rural fallback or growth make Band 1 worth having.

Step 2b — O2/Vodafone calls + 3G branch

When the site is O2, Vodafone, Giffgaff, Lebara, Lycamobile, Sky, Talkmobile or TalkTalk and the requirement is calls plus 3G with no EE or Three 4G demand, the GW1000 at £605.16 covers Band 8 calls and Band 1 3G. Remember that O2 and Vodafone Band 20 800 MHz 4G is not boosted by any of these four models.

Step 3 — Mixed four-network branch (tri-band)

When the site carries more than one operator family and both 4G and 3G must work, only the GDW1000 or GDW500 applies. Both deliver Band 8 calls, Band 3 EE/Three 4G and Band 1 all-network 3G; choose by area and users in Step 4.

Step 4 — The 500 vs 1000 m² floor-area check

Measure occupied area on every floor, deduct 20 to 30 percent for stone, concrete and steel losses, and count active phones. Under 500 m² and 50 users: GDW500 at £647.83. Above 500 m², across multiple floors, or between 50 and 100 users: GDW1000 at £1090.61.

The GDW500 at £647.83 is enough for a single-floor shop up to 500 m² with 20 to 40 staff and passing customers, a five-bedroom detached home around 400 to 500 m², or a small office where every desk sits on the same boosted cell. It carries the identical tri-band service matrix, so nobody loses a band by choosing it.

The GDW1000 at £1090.61 is mandatory when measured area exceeds 500 m² after structural losses, when two or more floors must hold steady signal, when 50 to 100 phones attach at peak, when a warehouse, meeting suite or annex sits beyond the GDW500's edge, or when the business plans growth that a second GDW500 would only duplicate at higher total cost.

A practical mid-case: a 450 m² single-level dentist practice with 15 staff fits the GDW500; a 700 m² two-storey accountancy office with 35 staff plus 30 guest phones on meeting days exceeds it and points to the GDW1000. The 4 dBm and 5 dB gap is what carries the second floor without fading at the far landing.

The GD1000 and GW1000 share the £605.16 price and the 1000 m² rating but split the service layers. Choose the GD1000 when EE or Three 4G over Band 3 is the priority and calls are needed across all operators; its gap is the absence of Band 1 3G fallback, which rarely matters in towns with solid 4G and matters a lot on rural edges.

Choose the GW1000 when calls plus all-network 3G over Band 1 are the priority, typically in a rural village where 4G has not arrived; its gap is the absence of Band 3 EE or Three 4G, which rules it out for streaming and video calls on those operators.

Neither dual-band unit carries the GDW1000's 27 dBm output or 100-user rating, and neither can add the missing band by itself. Treat the £605.16 saving as permanent commitment to one band pair rather than a discounted version of the tri-band flagship.

dBm is a logarithmic unit. Moving from 23 dBm to 27 dBm adds 4 dB, and every 3 dB roughly doubles radiated power in free space, so the GDW1000 radiates about 2.5 times the usable power of the GDW500 at the antenna. Combined with the 5 dB extra downlink gain, that pays for roughly two additional wall crossings or one additional floor slab before the edge signal falls below the phone's receive threshold.

The 1000 m² rating assumes single-storey-equivalent open space. On a two-storey building, apply the 20 to 30 percent structural loss first: a 750 m² two-floor office behaves like roughly 550 to 600 m² of open equivalent, which already exceeds the GDW500's 500 m² and justifies the GDW1000's headroom.

User capacity works the same way. The GDW1000's 100-user rating covers peak occupancy: staff phones, guest phones, tablets and a handful of IoT trackers attached simultaneously. Beyond the rated count the serving tower throttles automatically; this is a scheduler limit, so choosing the higher rating avoids congestion at peak rather than boosting single-phone speed.

A 900 m² Devon four-bedroom detached home with an eight-person home office: GDW1000, because the annex office and first floor exceed the GDW500's reach and 100 users covers staff plus family. A 420 m² single-floor village shop with 12 staff and passing customers: GDW500, because mixed-operator calls and 4G fit inside 500 m² without the premium.

An EE-only rural bungalow where every resident is on ASDA Mobile: GD1000, because Band 8 calls and Band 3 4G meet the need and Band 1 3G is unused. An O2-only farmhouse where 3G is the only available data layer: GW1000, because Band 8 calls and Band 1 3G are the whole requirement and Band 3 4G does not exist outdoors.

A two-storey 700 m² technology office with EE, Three, O2 and Vodafone staff phones: GDW1000, because mixed bands, two floors and peak occupancy exceed the GDW500 on every axis. A 480 m² light industrial unit on EE with no visitor SIMs: GD1000 over 1000 m² rated capacity, because the band pair matches and the footprint never tests the tri-band premium.