Phone, Data, Home Networks and WiFi

“I don’t need data wiring, I have WIFI” This a common statement that I hear, and it may be true if you only browse the internet and you don’t stream movies or TV shows. Once you start streaming on one or more TVs while others in your house are browsing the internet on the phones or tablet, the WIFI network starts to slow down because the bandwidth required exceeds what the WIFI router can handle. This creates a bottleneck effect.

What we suggest is that anything with a network connection on it should have a data cable run to it from the router. This will free up the WIFI network for smart devices

How does it all get wired?

We go through with the client and discuss where the data outlets are required. We work out what size home network board we need to install and we decide on a good position for it. We wire to the TCF premises wiring cable installers guidelines which says that we should install “2x Cat6a data cables with RJ45 outlets at each data point and 4x to a TV location”. We have been doing this for the last two years and have had no issues.

What about fibre?

We can install Fibre to the home for you. We run a combination fibre and copper cable from the Home Network board to the Chorus demarcation point on the outside of the house. We can also install the lead in pipe from the street if you require it. All you need to do is to ring your provider and get them to come in and connect it up once you have set up an account with them

My WIFI has terrible range!

With the increase in portable smart home devices and streaming media available like Spotify, Lightbox and Netflix, strong Wi-Fi is a must.

• Long range routers – Many of the latest wireless routers can provide strong coverage to most rooms of a typical medium-size house, but larger homes and dwellings with dense walls or multiple levels may require additional components to bring Wi-Fi to areas that the router can’t reach.

• Wi-Fi extenders – These can do a good job filling in dead spots but sometimes they only operate at half of the bandwidth of your main router.

• Wireless Access Points (WAP) – Creates a blanket of wireless coverage around the home by evenly distributing the access points throughout the house. They are scalable so the number that you will need will depend on the size of the dwelling. Each WAP is hard wired with Cat5e or Cat6 back to the router which creates a robust Wi-Fi network

• Install a WIFI mesh network – Like WAPs, a mesh network is a blanket of wireless coverage around the home, except in this case, the mesh network works by each module or node relying on each other to send and receive data. Each node acts as a hop point for other nodes in the network. These can be a more simple to set up compared to Wireless Access Points as the work off the same SSID and password as the router.