Being part of a connected world is no more considered a luxury. In fact, it has risen to be a crucial investment for busy individuals and businesses alike, irrespective of size. Wi-Fi has also been integrated as a measure of customer satisfaction by many businesses and public services. Businesses or public services offering free Wi-Fi are experiencing a higher level of sales and customer satisfaction apart from higher employee productivity. With each passing day, connectivity is becoming more and more crucial for businesses, governance, health, finance and a sea of other activities bringing enterprise wireless access point into focus. Soon we may even see more dynamic services offering competition to Wi-Fi itself.
Presently, connectivity goes for a toss when you are on the move particularly when there is a thin population for several miles. Speed is another concern when there are too many devices trying to access the same network. Those who breathe technology day in and day out are today seriously engaged in seamless connectivity irrespective of the load on a particular bandwidth or the type of terrain.
On that note, let us examine how you can set up a wireless solution.
Table of Contents
Wi-Fi Antenna
The Wi-Fi antenna you choose will significantly impact the speed with which you access the internet and browse through various pages. There are many variants of the antenna in the market and it is important that you choose one that answers your needs best. Your focus in choosing the Wi-Fi antenna should be on the following attributes:-
- Connectivity – Your Wi-Fi connectivity will significantly depend on the line of sight from the antenna and hotspot you want to access. This works similar to soundwaves emanating from the speakers. Therefore, when you have more buildings, mountains, walls and trees and even other users in between, the quality of your connection will suffer. Specialized antennas may be able to address such a situation in certain instances. However, the more sophisticated a gadget, the more money you would be expected to spend too.
- Power – In the US, the Federal Communication Commission determines the power of your connection. Traditionally, most service providers were using 2.4 GHz to 5 GHz with no licensing stipulations. However, in recent times, the FCC has ushered in 6 GHz and this can change depending on the user’s location and Federal measures with respect to bandwidth allocation. With more power to the antenna and the router, the quality of your connectivity can improve significantly.
- Elevation – While the two factors mentioned above play a key role in accessing your signals, elevation is another important factor that will impact the available bandwidth. In simple terms, you should understand that the Wi-Fi signals do not come in a straight line and can move around in all directions before it reaches your device.
In modern times, we have apps for nearly every conceivable utility and Wi-Fi too has an app called Wi-Fi analyser which can be downloaded to help you understand the strength of your signal. Notice however that signal strength is represented with a (-) sign and the number closest to ‘0’ is considered the best.
Number of devices
The next consideration is the number of devices you are seeking to connect to a hotspot at a distance. This step will also significantly impact the choice of your antenna. With the proliferation of devices and the need for simultaneous connectivity, people need more sophisticated connections even when the hotspot is at a far distance. In answer to this need, a wireless bridge has come into play and there are many variants of this depending on your physical location. However, you may need in-depth technical expertise to set up the wireless bridge and activated advanced settings while configuring your router. If you have trouble doing this, you could be better off with simpler enhancers like the Wi-Fi repeater kit.
Choosing your antenna
As mentioned earlier, Wi-Fi antennas are available in different sizes, shapes and strengths. But, generally, these are divided into two classes called Directional and which may also be labelled as uni-directional and multi-directional. When you are focused on coverage, Omni directional antenna works better because of the 360o radiation from this antenna. You can understand this better by visualizing the way light radiates from the lamp. Light from the bulb radiates in all directions.
Directional antennas
Directional antennas are best with regard to reach. These antennas are ideal when the source of the signal is known so that you can focus more strength from the antenna to your hotspot. Although this type of antennas is used over the long-range they are useful in short-range too since you can expect faster speeds.
You should also know that Wi-Fi antennas invariably have a dBi rating. The lower the numerical on the rating, the higher will be the radiation and as we mentioned earlier, dBi rating is expressed with a minus sign preceding the number. Placing the antenna in an outdoor location and drawing a cable inside is another helpful measure to improve speed.
Choosing the cable
Coaxial cable and Ethernet cable are the two types of cables that you will use in conjunction with the Wi-Fi. If you use Ethernet cable, the signal will turn from radiofrequency or RF to the data feed. With the signal coming as data, you can be sure that there will be no data loss even when the cable is about 300 feet or more. The coaxial cable is not considered as efficient as the Ethernet cable and can potentially lose about 3dBi for every 100 feet.
Conclusion
With the pace at which technology is evolving today, what we have discussed above may not be comprehensive and therefore you should look further into the digital world for day-to-day developments.