As an expert provider of business WiFi and telecoms solutions, people like to pick our brains when they have a telecoms question. We thought we’d make it a little easier and put the answers to some of the most common questions we get from businesses about their WiFi.
Some of our team work remotely and sometimes use public WiFi hotspots in cafes, trains etc. Is this safe?
By default, you should not trust any wireless connection which is not under your control. When you connect to a public WiFi hotspot, you have no idea who controls the connection or if it is secure. For example, the network might be called “Southern Rail WiFi Hotspot”, but in fact could be being operated by someone else using that name to trick you.
This doesn’t mean that you should never use public WiFi, it does have its uses. However, we would recommend using a corporate VPN to prevent the user’s data from being intercepted. By blocking all access to your network from connections other than the VPN, you also increase your network security by verifying the credentials of any users trying to connect.
Alternatively, you could provide your users with mobile broadband dongles so they never have to rely on public WiFi.
Some of the meeting rooms in our office don’t get good WiFi coverage. How can we improve the signal?
There are several solutions available for expanding the WiFi coverage of your office. The one we normally recommend is to install additional wireless access points to increase the range of the signal. The number that you need will depend on the size and layout of your office.
Our WiFi is unreliable and sometimes cuts out. What is causing this?
It can be difficult to know what is causing a WiFi network to be unreliable. Interference, congestion, or poor configuration could all play a part. We would recommend following the steps in our 10 Common Internet Connection Issues And How To Fix Them Quickly blog. If you’re still finding your connection is unreliable, it might be time to upgrade your business broadband.
Our WiFi works fine, but video calls are really glitchy and often cut out. Why?
VoIP and video calls are becoming increasingly common, and they require more bandwidth than most online activities. Ensure that your WiFi network satisfies these requirements for your level of usage. If it doesn’t, you need to upgrade your connection to one with more bandwidth. Our team can help analyse your existing internet usage and determine which business broadband would best suit your needs. If your usage is high enough, you might benefit from switching from standard fibre broadband to a leased line instead.
Can we replace our business WiFi with 5G?
Although WiFi and 5G internet are fundamentally distinct technologies, they both aspire to provide dependable, high-speed wireless connections. They each are better suited to different tasks. Open spaces with a high concentration of devices are well suited to 5G, for example, a town centre. WiFi is better suited to indoor areas. Wi-Fi is also better for bandwidth-intensive applications like high-resolution video streaming, while 5G is better for time-sensitive applications like voice or remotely controlling a device over the internet.
Another key distinction is that whereas a WiFi network is often owned by the company that utilises it, most current 5G networks are controlled by a centralised telecoms operator. Because of this difference in ownership, while a 5G network might save you money in the short term, it will cost far more in the long run due to the service fees you would have to pay to the provider.
Should our business have a wired connection, or can we go WiFi only?
WiFi offers several benefits, including increased user convenience and cost savings due to the elimination of the requirement for wired infrastructure. However, whether you can go fully wireless will depend on the requirements of your company. Most businesses, in our experience, require a mixture of wired and WiFi networks.
We hope this list has answered some of the questions you might have had about business broadband and WiFi. If you’re still not sure what solution you need, our team is happy to help. At Carden Telecoms, we’ve helped businesses across the UK to improve and secure their business broadband connections. We can even conduct a site visit and help address connection problems on your premises. Speak to our team today to learn more about our managed telecoms services.
