Planning an office Wi-Fi upgrade
What to gather before you call a network provider, and what a good proposal should contain.
Published
Most offices do not have a Wi-Fi problem so much as a coverage and capacity problem that has never been measured. Preparation makes the difference between a proposal you can evaluate and a guess.
Write down the actual symptoms
"The Wi-Fi is bad" is hard to quote against. Record where problems happen, at what times of day, on which devices, and what the person was doing. A pattern usually appears quickly.
Count devices, not people
Laptops, phones, tablets, printers, payment terminals, cameras and sensors all consume capacity. A twelve-person office often has forty connected devices.
Find a floor plan
Any reasonably accurate floor plan with wall construction noted is enough for an initial conversation. Construction matters more than area: a stud wall and a concrete wall behave very differently.
Ask whether a site survey is included
A provider proposing access point locations without a survey is estimating. For anything beyond a small single-floor space, ask what the survey covers.
What a good proposal contains
Expect access point count and model, mounting locations, cabling work, switch and power requirements, configuration of the wireless networks, and what happens if coverage still falls short after installation.