Key Questions to Ask When Ordering WIFI Module Supplier

What is Wi-Fi Design?

Wi-Fi design is the process of taking your business’ requirements for wireless connectivity and turning them into a high-performing and reliable Wi-Fi network. It’s the translation of your business needs — how many devices need Wi-Fi (capacity) and where they need it (coverage) — into a deployment plan detailing how many access points you’ll need, where they need to be installed, and how they should be configured in order to satisfy the demands of your users. The end result is reliable Wi-Fi for all of the devices and applications on your network — and happy employees and customers.

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Why Wi-Fi Design Matters

Wireless networks are like electricity in today’s business world. When Wi-Fi is down, work stops. A bad design can not only negatively impact performance today, but it can also have lingering effects, making it more difficult to troubleshoot and fix problems later. Costly outages, loss of revenue, and lack of productivity may all result from bad Wi-Fi design. 

Professional Wi-Fi design tools let you model and validate your design’s effectiveness and ensure it will achieve high performance from day one and allow you to iterate and optimize to account for changes to your requirements over time. When you create your wireless network design — and you get it right the first time — you drastically improve overall Wi-Fi performance. 

Good Wi-Fi is good for business. Wi-Fi is a part of nearly every mission-critical application used in business — from self-driving forklifts in warehouses to the fleet of laptops and phones deployed throughout your organization. It’s in the life-sustaining medical devices we rely on for health and wellness. It keeps us connected when we need to communicate and collaborate, and it gives us an escape when we need to isolate.

You only notice Wi-Fi when it isn’t working. We have all experienced the frustration of poor-performing Wi-Fi networks. Globally, 200 million wireless networks have been reported as poor performing — unable to meet their requirements for overall coverage and capacity with minimal interference. One of the biggest reasons Wi-Fi networks are poor performing is due to poor Wi-Fi design. As people and organizations come to rely more and more heavily on Wi-Fi networks, the risk of their failure becomes increasingly serious.

Well-designed wireless networks are easier to troubleshoot and fix. Awesome Wi-Fi starts with an Ekahau design — which not only establishes a great baseline for your network, it makes it easy to perform regular health checks and spot interferers before they become massive issues.

6 Key Design Considerations for Satisfying Your Business AND RF Requirements

The most important aspect of designing a high-performing Wi-Fi network is defining network requirements. All too often, networks fail to meet requirements due to an incomplete discovery process. 

Think about it this way: if someone told you to go build a house, would you start by loading up on 2x4s? No. You would first ask a lot of questions — how big of a house are we building, are there any lot restrictions, what style of house is preferred, etc. In building a Wi-Fi network, you also want to ask questions first and document a full list of requirements. This will save you from missteps and headaches down the line. 

Requirements can be broken down into two main categories: 1) business requirements, and 2) RF requirements.

Business Requirements

Identifying business requirements for how a network will be used makes it easy to translate business needs into the specific inputs for your design software. 

What are the different types of clients that will need to connect to your network? How many of those clients need concurrent access? What is the least capable, most important device for your business? What are the expectations of the network beyond “We need good Wi-Fi”? The answers to these questions will help you translate the business needs into Wi-Fi design requirements for Coverage, Capacity and the Least Capable, Most Important Device.

1. Coverage 

One of the most fundamental Wi-Fi design considerations is coverage planning. Primary coverage is all about area and optimizing the distance around your wireless transmitters to ensure there is sufficient signal strength for Wi-Fi-enabled devices to connect. Layering in effective secondary coverage ensures you have the right amount of overlap to ease device roaming and provide redundancy for your business-critical Wi-Fi needs. 

Poor design can result in either too many APs (which can increase your overall hardware and installation costs and can cause CoChannel Contention / Interference) or too few APs (which will not provide the necessary coverage requirements and result in coverage gaps).

Wi-Fi design tools like Ekahau AI Pro provide a clear idea of coverage and signal strength allowing you to modify AP locations and configurations on the fly and visualize exactly how those modifications can impact coverage in the environment.

2. Capacity

Capacity planning goes a step beyond coverage and takes into account the different types and number of devices and applications that will connect to the network. Wireless network capacity is a measurement of the amount of traffic supported concurrently on a wireless network based on the bandwidth being consumed. 

Poorly planned capacity requirements can be devastating for users. Slow speeds and intermittent connectivity drops can be the result of not identifying proper requirements for usage. It can also be a symptom of growing pains as more users are added and new devices become introduced over time without adjusting for the increased capacity demand. 

Capacity needs can also vary for different areas of a site, depending on your use case. Let’s take hotels, for example. The guest rooms, lobby, outdoor pool, and conference center may each have unique capacity requirements — and Wi-Fi design software like Ekahau Pro makes it easy to design different capacity areas for the unique needs of each area.

Capacity planning is a delicate balance between adding enough APs and minimizing channel interference. For more on capacity planning, check out our recent webinar, Demystifying Wi-Fi: Capacity Planning Made Simple.

3. Designing for the Least Capable, Most Important Device

While reviewing the various types of devices that will be connecting to your network, it’s key to identify which devices are the most critical, and which of those devices is the least technologically advanced — these are known as the Least Capable, Most Important devices (LCMID). 

Believe it or not, designing Wi-Fi for the latest devices to hit the market is usually quite straightforward, it’s identifying the one device that if it were to suddenly go offline would grind business to a halt — that’s the tricky part. 

Here are some of the usual suspects for your network’s LCMID: 

• A 10-year-old warehouse scanner used 12 hours per day to scan barcodes for inventory management 
• The point-of-sale registers used to facilitate retail transactions 
• Your CEO’s laptop (simply refuses to get a new one) 

For these types of devices, you need to research the manufacturer’s posted specifications to ensure they will perform reliably on the network. Your predictive design is only as good as the inputs you define, and determining your LCMID is critical for the design of your Wi‑Fi network.

Our webinar, Designing For the Least Capable, Most Important Device, provides an in-depth look at identifying your LCMI device, and gathering device requirements.

RF Requirements

The physical environment plays a big role in how a network performs. Turn to the site floor plan and walk the site to gather information to help you identify the radio frequency (RF) behavior in your environment.

How high are ceilings in the coverage area? Is there sufficient access to mount access points? What are the walls made of? How noisy are the neighboring networks? The answers to these questions will help you translate environmental factors into RF requirements for Obstacles in the Physical Environment, Wall Material Attenuation, and RF Spectrum Activity.

4. Obstacles in the Physical Environmental and Where to Install APs

High ceilings, exposed metal ductwork, inventory fluctuations, living atriums, and modern art installations may not be documented in a simple building floor plan, but obstacles like these should be taken into account with your Wi-Fi requirements. 

Floor plans only tell part of a story. Whenever possible, you should walk the site and gather information to help you identify the RF behavior in your environment. 

Doing a pre-design floor walk survey will help you get the correct information to plug into your predictive design software. Make sure you document any potential concerns for RF: exposed ceilings with ductwork, columns, signage, large pieces of furniture, areas off limits, etc. These walk-throughs may also illuminate previously unconsidered limitations to wireless infrastructure placement — where you are unable to place APs, or where you are unable to run cables.

5. Wall Material and Attenuation Testing 

The size, shape, and types of wall materials in your network’s environment all need to be accounted for when designing for WiFi. That’s because the environment’s physical characteristics impact RF coverage. 

Every wall attenuates Wi-Fi signals. That means the RF strength gets partially or fully absorbed by the material. Drywall typically reduces the signal strength by 3dB. Large concrete pillars can stop a Wi-Fi signal in its tracks! Understanding the different materials in your environment and their attenuation values is key for designing a great wireless network.

Using a world-class diagnostic and measurement device like the Ekahau Sidekick 2 will give you the exact RF measurements needed for your design. By validating wall types, you’ll either confirm your predictive design is correct or you’ll have a chance to adjust based on the empirical data you’ve collected. 

Check out our blog for a more detailed overview of how to measure Wi-Fi attenuation.

6. RF Spectrum Activity

Your Wi-Fi network lives in a world of electromagnetic spectrum. Understanding the spectrum activity around you leads you toward an effective channel plan for your project. Here are some things to consider: 

• Channel Contention: Access points, whether on your neighbor’s network or your own, need to be spaced properly with proper channel plans or risk suffering channel contention. 
• Non-Wi-Fi Interference: Things like microwaves, Bluetooth devices, spy cameras, and motion sensors can all interfere with your Wi-Fi network’s ability to send and receive data. Issues caused by Wi-Fi interference can range from an intermittent connectivity loss to reduced data transfer and network speeds to a reduction in signal strength. 
• DFS Checks and Radar Activity: Depending on the frequencies being used, radar equipment may interfere with Wi-Fi network data transmission and vice-versa. Radar can impact the performance of your Wi-Fi network by limiting the amount of 5 GHz channels you can use, or it can cause a decline in performance if your APs are constantly changing channels to avoid DFS events. 
• Channel Widths: The wider the channel, the higher the potential throughput. Depending on the current RF environment and density of Wi-Fi radios, you’ll be able to determine the preferred channel width for your project. Always use the widest channel width you can without causing excessive channel contention issues.

Translating Requirements into a Wireless Network Design

A great Wi-Fi network starts with a great design, and a great design starts with accurate Wi-Fi requirements. By asking the right questions and identifying the six requirements presented in this guide, you’ll be able to develop a predictive design perfectly tuned to your business needs. Here is a quick breakdown of how the business requirements translate to design software inputs: 

• Coverage: APs placed and coverage visualized on a scaled floor plan with accurate walls
• Capacity: Usage and device profiles identified listing applications and client models in use
• Least Capable, Most Important Device: Device profile created for the LCMID
• Obstacles in the Physical Environment: Ceiling heights set & deployment notes cited to account for obstacles
• Wall Material Attenuation: Appropriate wall types used throughout the floor plan including custom created wall types
• RF Spectrum Activity: A channel plan that reduces co-channel interference and optimizes client performance

Conclusion 

Now that you have learned the best practices of wireless network design, you are on your way to making better decisions while building your Wi-Fi network. For a full overview on how to design, validate, and perform regular health checks to achieve a high-performing wireless network, download our free guide, 3 Easy Steps to Great Wi-Fi Every Day.

Ekahau delivers the complete collection of must-have tools for Wi-Fi pros and network owners alike. It includes everything you need to design, validate, optimize and troubleshoot your network wrapped up in an easy-to-use, mobile-optimized package. 

Ekahau AI Pro for Creating Your Wi-Fi Design

Ekahau AI Pro is the industry standard for designing great Wi-Fi networks. The AP and antenna database included with Ekahau AI Pro will help you design with known hardware and test out a variety of different configurations to see what will give you the best coverage, capacity and channel utilization for your unique environment. Your design in Ekahau AI Pro is your source of reference for the wireless network. Be sure to amend your design file as you perform regular health checks and make any optimizations throughout the lifecycle of the network.

Ekahau Sidekick 2 for Accurate Diagnostics and Raw Data Collection

The accuracy of the Sidekick 2 allows you to identify Wi-Fi signals correctly the first time ensuring you get the right number of APs in the right location and right configuration for your design. Relying on a Wi-Fi adapter or dongle adds high variance and risk that can significantly increase the cost and reduce the effectiveness of your network. Get the right tool for the job with the Sidekick.

Ekahau Survey for Effortless Site Surveys and Documentation

Connected to the Sidekick 2, Ekahau Survey makes it easy to perform Wi-Fi site surveys with nothing more than your iPad or iPhone. Ekahau Survey uses the built-in camera, Apple ARKit and sensors to track your movement and continuously survey the network. It takes the traditional stop-and-go method of surveying and adds more data points at every step for the most accurate readings and heatmaps. Ekahau Survey also lets you add photos to your .esx file and even change or create coverage requirements right from within the app.

Ekahau Cloud for Improved Team and File Sync

Let's face it -- sifting through a variety of home internet providers and considering their speeds, plan type, pricing and promo deals can be a headache. That overwhelming amount of information is not fun. While there are some households that will have one or few options, most US households have at least three internet providers to choose from, many of which offer a variety of speed tiers and multi-service bundles.

And while shopping for new internet service isn't exactly enjoyable, it can be rewarding when you find the best service for your home. Here's how to do it.

How do you know which provider and plan is best for your needs?

Somethings to look out for:

The company is the world’s best WIFI Module Supplier supplier. We are your one-stop shop for all needs. Our staff are highly-specialized and will help you find the product you need.

Locating local internet providers

• Speed usage 
• How much you want to spend on your internet
• Internet provider related details: connection type, additional fees, contracts and data caps

Read more: Here's How You Can Stop Internet Throttling By Your Broadband Provider..

1. Evaluate your internet speed needs

The best place to start is asking yourself these questions: How much internet speed do I currently use? Would I like a better connection? How many people in my home use the internet and how many devices are connected to my network? Is there a gamer or two in the house? Does anyone work from home? Is there more than one smart device connected to the network?

Locating local internet providers

For basic internet use like online shopping, browsing social media and light TV streaming, download speeds of 100 megabits per second are usually enough (and they meet the Federal Communications Commission's new definition for broadband). But I recommend faster internet speeds for working and learning from home, streaming in HD on multiple devices simultaneously and connecting numerous smart home devices like security cameras, video doorbells and smart speakers. 

Gigabit and multi-gig plans will all but guarantee you've got enough speed for every person and device in your home, but those are often the highest-priced plans. If you don't want to splurge on gigabit service but still prefer something on the faster side, consider speeds in the 300 to 600Mbps range, assuming they're available in your area.

Advertised vs. actual speeds

Pro tip here: Keep in mind that advertised speeds and actual speeds are two different things. An ISP's advertised maximum speeds may be 100Mbps, but those are speeds to the home. 

Actual speeds in the home are likely going to be lower, even more so when using a Wi-Fi connection and adding multiple devices to your network. CNET's Trisha Jandoc discovered this upon facing slow speeds despite being on a gigabit plan. Additionally, if you have an outdated router, you may not be getting the speeds you're paying for. When shopping for internet service, be sure to factor in that speed loss and select a plan with advertised speeds faster than what you'd like your actual speeds to be.

For an in-depth examination of how much speed your house might need, you can check out our internet speed guide.

2. Explore all of your ISP options

Available internet providers vary by location and possibly by address within the same ZIP code. Even if you aren't moving far, the available internet providers, and the technologies they use, could be different. Your options can understandably feel limited, so know that it's uncommon for one provider to be the absolute only ISP option in an area. 

In markets where a cable internet provider such as Xfinity or Spectrum is available, there's also likely to be a fiber or DSL service available from providers like AT&T, CenturyLink or Frontier. Additionally, the recent rise of 5G home internet from T-Mobile and Verizon has further increased broadband competition in both rural and urban settings.

Serviceability check tools like the one you'll find a bit further up the page are a good way to identify the internet providers in your area and get an overview of potential plans and pricing. I can't speak for all serviceability tools, but CNET's version uses proprietary in-house technology to help ensure your results are accurate and keep your information secure.

3. Consider the connection type

Speed and cost are among the most important considerations when it comes to choosing an internet service, but you may want to start by comparing the internet connection type each provider uses.

There are some exceptions, but if we're ranking connection types in order of most to least desirable, I'd start with fiber-optic, cable and 5G home internet. Keep DSL, fixed wireless and satellite as a last resort.

Fiber-optic internet is the best bet for fast, consistent speeds, low latency and greatest overall value. Service also comes with the advantage of symmetrical or close to symmetrical upload speeds. Cable internet is not far behind in terms of speed and value, and is often a good choice for cheap internet, especially since you can often get a cheap cable TV and internet bundle from some providers.

Meanwhile, 5G home internet is quickly proving to be a convenient alternative to cable and even fiber connections in rural areas. In fact, customers are reported to be more satisfied with a wireless 5G connection due to it's affordability and accessibility. The new technology could also provide much-needed upgrades to broadband in rural areas where less speedy or reliable DSL, fixed wireless and satellite internet services are often the only options.

4. Compare speeds, not just pricing

Here's where the bulk of your internet shopping takes place: comparing plans from each available provider.

It's tempting to look at the price first and speed second, but I'd suggest focusing on speeds first, then price. Opting for a cheaper plan that doesn't quite meet your household's speed demands, especially one that comes with a contract, may end up costing you more when you need to upgrade to a faster plan or provider anyway.

Look for plans with the speeds you want, or higher, then compare the prices among those options. Find the one that best fits your speed demands and your budget. 

Price vs. value

Pro tip here: A low price is nice, but is it a good deal? To get an idea of a plan's value, consider the cost per Mbps by dividing the cost by the advertised speed. For example, Xfinity's cheapest plan is available for as low as $20 a month for speeds up to 150Mbps -- that's a cost of around 13 cents per Mbps. Not bad, but one of Frontier Fiber's cheapest plans costs $45 a month, almost twice that of Xfinity's cheapest plan. Frontier's plan comes with speeds up to 500Mbps for a cost per Mbps of just 9 cents. Although Xfinity's plan is cheaper, Frontier is the better deal.

5. Beware of set price increases

So you've identified potential providers and plans. Let's take a closer look at the monthly cost. Will it be the same a year down the road? Or are there steep price increases and hidden fees waiting for you?

On average, internet costs around $63 a month in the US, but your monthly bill could be more than that once the promo period ends. I know that low pricing can be tempting, but a cheap plan can lose its value entirely from one bill to the next when the price goes up by 50% or more. Xfinity, Spectrum, Cox and others have competitive introductory pricing but a looming monthly hike of $20, $30 or more after 12 months.

Carefully examine the FCC-mandated broadband labels for each plan. Check for hidden infrastructure fees or equipment fees you could bypass by buying your own equipment. The good news is that providers have to be fairly transparent about price increases as far as when you can expect them and how much they'll inflate your bill. Additionally, many providers don't require a contract, so if the price hike is too steep, you can cancel without penalty. 

Not all providers have a planned price increase. AT&T, Frontier, Verizon Fios and a handful of others, including EarthLink, don't have promotional or introductory pricing, so you won't have to worry about a guaranteed price increase. Your bill may still go up at some point, which understandably happens, but it won't go up as drastically or quickly.

6. Know your (data) limits

Some ISPs enforce data caps and will charge extra fees or throttle internet speeds when you go over. Be aware of the data cap, if any, before signing up for an internet service.

Those considering satellite internet will have to be the most mindful of data caps and usage. Although none of the major satellite internet providers impose overage fees for data used, unless you upgrade to an unlimited data plan, your speeds will significantly slow after going over your priority data allotment.

Data caps are less of a problem with every other connection type, but they're still there. Fixed wireless internet like what you may find from AT&T or Rise Broadband in rural areas often comes with a data cap of 250 to 350GB. Select cable and DSL providers also have data caps, although typically much higher, between 1 and 1.5TB per month. 

That's a generous amount of data and much higher than the average household will use, but still, a plan with unlimited data is preferred. You don't want to have to watch your data usage all month, and you certainly wouldn't want to suffer slowed speeds or added fees for going over.

7. Weigh all Wi-Fi options in your new home

You'll need a router to create a home Wi-Fi network. Most, if not all, ISPs offer a router either for rent, to purchase or for free. 

If you plan on renting your equipment, take a look at what the rental fee is ahead of time, then go ahead and tack that onto the monthly price. Some rental fees are better than others, but anticipate it to add anywhere from $5 to $20 extra to your bill. In some cases, that means an appealing $20 rate may jump up to $35 or even $40 after equipment costs, so make sure you take a look at the fine print before securing a promotional internet rate.

Many providers have started including your equipment at no extra cost. AT&T, Verizon Fios, Google Fiber and 5G home internet providers T-Mobile and Verizon, for example, have no added equipment fees. Others, like Spectrum, CenturyLink and Xfinity, may include either a free modem (but not the router needed for Wi-Fi) or all of your equipment at no extra cost with select plans. 

You may also have the option of using your own router and skipping the equipment fee altogether. CNET's Joe Supan saved close to $1,000 in yearly fees by deciding to by his own router, for example. Although the upfront costs may be high, including the potential optimizations like mesh Wi-Fi, supplying your own may pay off in a year or two if you can save $15 per month in equipment fees. 

The option to purchase your router is a little less common, but you may come across it with satellite internet or prepaid internet services. This can add to your upfront costs, especially in the case of satellite internet, but you may save money in the long run.

8. Consider any lengthy contracts

Your internet provider may lock you into a contract, sometimes disguised as a "term agreement." Breaking your contract by canceling service or failing to pay your bill before the term is up could result in early termination fees and problems if you want to sign up for service again in the future.

Some providers require a contract, typically of one or two years, with all plans and services. Others may require a one-year contract to qualify for the lowest introductory rate or special offers. Most ISPs require no contract at all. 

Term agreements aren't much of an issue if you plan on keeping the service for the length of the contract, but if you think you may move or want to switch providers at some point, it's nice to know you can do so without penalty.

Also note that if you decide to switch providers and you rented equipment from a previous provider, you return your equipment within the designated timeframe to avoid any other fees (often up to $300).

9. Consider customer satisfaction

It's no secret that most of us aren't particularly fond of our internet provider. Customer satisfaction ratings, such as those from sources like the ACSI and J.D. Power, shed some light on which providers fare better than others and why.

In most cases, customer satisfaction numbers will fall somewhere in the middle of the road and not indicate much one way or the other. In others -- like Optimum's consistently low customer satisfaction score, Frontier's improving numbers or Verizon's consistently high marks -- may be a bit more telling.

Do a little social research. Ask neighbors and friends who they have and why, what they like and don't like. Check out Reddit, downdetector.com and other media sources for further insight. Take the feedback for what it's worth, but don't believe everything you hear or read.

10. Watch out for promotional offers

There's a reason I'm mentioning this tip last. Signup bonuses, much like low introductory rates, are tempting, but they're never incentive enough to commit to an ISP or plan that isn't the right fit for your needs. 

Gift cards, free months of internet service or streaming subscriptions eventually expire or lose their value. When that happens, you don't want to be stuck with an expensive plan that is faster than you need or a cheap ISP that doesn't deliver the speeds you want. Additionally, you may have to sign a term agreement when accepting promotional offers to prevent you from canceling as soon as you get the reward.

Still, promotional offers like Verizon's streaming bundles which comes with a free Netflix and Max subscription for a year and then $10 a month after, may be worth investigating.

Bottom line: finding good internet service is worth the effort

There can be a lot to consider when signing up for an internet service. Along with the cost and speeds, be sure to evaluate the fine print -- price increases, data caps, equipment fees and contract requirements -- so you know what to expect when you get the bill each month.

It can be overwhelming, but ultimately, your research and knowledge of the internet provider you settle for will pay off in the long run.

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10 expert tips to finding your ideal ISP FAQs