Suitable Wireless Network Where There Are Walls -2.4 vs 5GHz
A typical scenario of IT support in Zambia is to pick up a wireless router and install it, secure it by following the default setups or create a password, connect a few devices over DHCP and leave the infrastructure to work.
A week later the client complains that the connection is slow especially when they are in a certain part of the house. The IT guy goes back fugitive around switch off the WiFi and unknowingly position it at a different spot and boom the wireless connection to the bedroom is superb.
Understanding A Wireless Connection Where There Are Walls
There are several different scenarios where a WiFi network is deployed. Some wifi like in the coffee shop or conference is actually placed in the open. However, another deployment requires the wifi in a room and the signal crosses over several walls into other apartments.
It is this type of installation that often causes havoc from slow speeds to virtually no connection. So what is the suitable wireless network where there are walls?
Today wifi networks are everywhere and it’s impossible not to live without one when chances are you want to connect to the internet. Wifi or Wireless network is everywhere. On the technical level, wireless Network is developed with some standards called IEE 802.11 divided into several subs standards following each development.
The 802.11 standard uses either the frequency and bandwidth of 2.4GHz or 5GHz. When you are purchasing a Wifi device its important to look at the frequency in mind of where the wifi is to be deployed.
The 802.11a, 802.11n and 802.11ac standards use the 5 GHz band, which gives the advantage of less interference but faces other problems due to its nature.
High frequency radio waves are more sensitive to absorption than low frequency waves, making a 5 GHz wireless network less effective where there are lots of obstructions, such as walls between access points and wireless clients.
Also an 802.11a network is restricted when it comes to line of sight and more access points might be needed to cover the same area as a 802.11b-based network since 802.11a provides smaller cells than 2.4GHz for the same amount of output power.
A network using the 2.4 GHz frequency band is more suitable when there are a lot of walls.
~ Special thanks to Mahabir Pun and Shahid Ahmad for excerpts.