Getting the coverage and performance you expect from a wireless network starts with understanding the environment it will run in. With a WLAN site survey we measure your building’s RF environment, plan the network around your needs and document the whole process.
The result is a wireless network that delivers the coverage you need, capacity for your number of devices, data rates for bandwidth-hungry applications, seamless roaming and QoS.
What you get
- How many access points you need
- The right locations for those access points
- Detailed coverage (heat) maps and data rates
- Sources and locations of interference
- Detection of rogue access points
- Coverage gaps in existing deployments
- Neighbouring networks and channel usage
- Planning for a room, a building, a campus or outdoor areas
Our site survey process
- We collect floor plans and building-material details to model signal propagation accurately.
- We assess any existing access points to minimise additional mounting and cabling work.
- We optimise access point locations for coverage and serviceability and confirm them with you in a planning session.
- We plan extra capacity for crowded areas and places where critical applications are used.
- We address outdoor coverage separately.
- We validate predicted coverage and bandwidth with on-site measurements.
- We document weak-coverage areas and sources of interference and carry out any additional planning.
- We combine predictive and on-site measurements into a single report.
When do you need a WLAN site survey?
A WLAN site survey is the right starting point when you are installing Wi-Fi in a new building, replacing an existing network, or when users complain about dropped connections and slow speeds. In hotels, guest rooms, meeting rooms and outdoor areas need special planning; in offices, busy meeting rooms and shared workspaces do.
When interpreting measurements, we take into account current Wi-Fi generations such as Wi-Fi 6, Wi-Fi 6E and Wi-Fi 7, as defined by the Wi-Fi Alliance, which certifies Wi-Fi products. The aim is a network that will still have enough capacity for the new devices of the coming years.
At the end of the survey we deliver a clear report with heatmaps, recommended access point placement and a channel plan. Whoever carries out the installation, the report is a solid roadmap for putting the right number of devices in the right places.
Our reports can be used to grade existing networks, to produce a bill of materials for a new network, and to guide the cabling crew to new access point locations.
Related services: network analysis and reporting, hotel Wi-Fi and high-speed internet and all our solutions.