The reality is, you can buy the fastest fibre connection available, but if your WiFi is not properly designed and set up, you will not get the experience you are expecting.
A single router may not provide a reliable WiFi connection in a home or office mainly because of three reasons:
Limited Coverage: A single router can only provide a limited coverage area, and if there are areas in a building or house where the signal can’t reach, then users in those areas will experience weak or no WiFi connectivity. Thick walls or obstacles are the common culprits for creating dead zones or poor coverage areas.
Congestion and Interference: With a single router, all devices in the network have to share the same wireless connection, which can lead to congestion or interference, especially if there are many devices connected at the same time. This can result in slow speeds or even dropped connections.
Scalability: As the number of users and devices in a network increases, the single router may not be able to handle the traffic. This is because routers have a finite capacity to manage simultaneous connections, and beyond a certain limit, the performance of the network can degrade.
To overcome these limitations, external factors need to be taken into consideration when designing and deploying a high-quality WiFi network. This includes:
Site Survey and Analysis: Before deploying a WiFi network, a site survey should be conducted to identify areas where coverage is weak and the strength of the signal is limited. This ensures that the network design takes into account the layout of the building and any obstacles that may obstruct the signal.
Access Points: Access points are used to extend the coverage area of the network. They connect to the router wirelessly or via a wired connection and enable users to connect to the network from different areas.
Network Segmentation: To reduce congestion and interference, network segmentation can be used to group devices by function or location. This can be achieved by creating separate VLANs or SSIDs for different areas of the office or home.
Load Balancing: Load balancing distributes traffic across multiple routers or access points. This helps to prevent any one device from overwhelming the network and ensures that each device gets a fair share of the bandwidth.
Network Capacity Planning: By accurately forecasting the future needs of the network, capacity planning ensures that enough resources, such as bandwidth and access points, are available to handle an increasing number of users and devices.
In conclusion, a single router may not be enough to provide a reliable WiFi connection in an office or home, and external factors need to be taken into consideration when designing and deploying a high-quality WiFi network. This includes conducting a site survey, using access points, network segmentation, load balancing, and network capacity planning. By considering these factors, a high-quality WiFi network can be created that provides reliable coverage, high performance, and a great end-user experience.