What happens when there are too many Access Points?
Deploying business grade WiFi requires careful planning. We often go out to troubleshoot networks where customers are achieving high WiFi signal strength but are still experiencing major problems with their WiFi performance.
Incredibly, you can have very poor WiFi performance while having high signal strength if too many APs are running. Why is having too many APs in close proximity a problem? When you have APs in overlapping channels, it causes interference. Since there are only three non-overlapping channels in the wireless spectrum in the UK, the channel interference can quickly become a major problem.
Part of our wireless site surveys involves designing a non-overlapping channel solution. We do not only consider wireless on each single floor as wireless networking signals often penetrate ceilings and floors as readily as they do walls.
Some WiFi equipment has been created with Collision avoidance/channel conflict management tools to assist with ongoing channel management. If channels overlap and there are too many APs this will definitely cause poor performance.
The purpose of a WiFi site survey is to determine the best and most optimal AP placement for the best coverage without channel overlap. A good site survey will produce a floorplan-based site survey document showing the proposed cell coverage and any overlap.
To learn more about our WiFi services, visit our services page.
If you’re experiencing poor WiFi performance despite having good signal strength, we can help. Contact or team to arrange your Site Survey today.
