Most of us use WiFi wireless technology to connect to the internet at home, at the office or in a hotel room using our laptops, tablets and smart-phones.
While wireless access is certainly very convenient, it can also be very frustrating when it is difficult or even impossible to connect to the internet because of a poor wireless signal.
The reason for a poor wireless signal is usually a combination of distance from the broadband wireless router, thick walls or possibly walls or ceilings that incorporate materials such as metals that block radio waves.
In such cases it would be necessary to boost wireless coverage by deploying one or more additional wireless access points.
Each additional wireless access point has to be connected to the internet router either directly or via an intermediate network switch. There are three different methods of doing this each of which requires a different type of device. The different methods are:
- an ethernet cable connection;
- a Wireless Repeater device; and
- a Homeplug device .
Here we consider in detail how a wireless repeater could be deployed as a possible solution to the problem of a poor wireless signal.
Click on the appropriate link above for more information on the other methods.
Wireless repeater device
The simplest and cheapest way of boosting a wireless signal is to use a device known as a Repeater that plugs into a strategically located mains electricity socket.
The mains socket to which the wireless repeater is connected must be located so that it can receive the wireless signal from the wireless router and re-transmit the signal into the required coverage area as shown in the diagram below.
The diagram shows that in this case the broadband wireless router is located in an upstairs room and that the Repeater is connected to a mains electricity socket in an adjacent room so that it provides wireless coverage in that room and also in the two rooms downstairs.
The key point is that the Repeater must be located within range of the broadband wireless router.
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Get in touch with us if you have a specific requirement or if you wish to discuss how your business could make better and more cost-effective use of its existing telecommunications and internet infrastructure and services.
