Are your employees complaining that they’re having trouble connecting their devices to the network? Are they frustrated that their connection isn’t good enough to participate in video calls? Do they say that their connection keeps coming and going? Mesh WiFi could be the solution you’re looking for.
Reports show that a growing number of small businesses in Australia aren’t happy with the service they’re receiving from their broadband provider. Of course, there are a number of reasons for this. However, one important thing to remember is that some issues that are being experienced may not be down to the provider. They may be caused by connectivity issues within the office.
There’s a difference between broadband connectivity and WiFi connectivity. Broadband connectivity refers to the internet service that’s coming into your business. WiFi connectivity refers to how well your wireless network is able to deliver that broadband signal around the office. It appears that WiFi issues are increasing, with 26% of Australians saying a poor WiFi connection is impacting their work.
Why do businesses have connection problems?
The strength of your WiFi signal is always going to be strongest near the router. At the router, signal strength should be 0 decibels, which is perfect. Strength to the devices closest to the router should be around -30dB, which is excellent. But the further away your employees are from the router – and the more obstacles that are in the way, such as walls and doors – the weaker the signal will get. When the signal reaches -70dB or -80dB, many businesses are going to start seeing problems.
This is very common in businesses, simply because there are lots of people working across a large area. And as the open-plan environment is rapidly being replaced with enclosed spaces to facilitate virtual and remote collaboration, there are more and more obstacles standing between router and device.
If you’re experiencing these sorts of connectivity issues, you might want to look into Mesh WiFi.
What is Mesh WiFi?
The standard way that business broadband works is like this: an internet signal is delivered into your office. The router then uses WiFi to transmit that signal from a single point, across your space. That’s why WiFi signal is always strongest at the router – because the signal comes direct from here.
Mesh WiFi is different. With a mesh WiFi system, you get a number of ‘nodes’ which mimic the actions of the router. These nodes can be placed around the office. In this situation, WiFi transmits the internet signal from the router to the nodes. The nodes then rebroadcast this signal in much the same way as the router. This can result in a stronger WiFi signal further away from the router.
Building your mesh
As part of our commitment to boosting workplace efficiency and productivity here at Perigon One, we’re here to support you in finding the right solutions for your IT problems. WiFi connectivity issues may be common in businesses – especially those working from large office spaces – but that doesn’t mean you need to suffer. Chat with us about your IT frustrations, and we’ll work with you to identify the most cost-effective solutions that can bring significant value to your organisation.
