Business WiFi Tips: How to Fix Slow and Patchy Office WiFi
A plain English guide to better office WiFi, covering where to put access points, which frequency bands to use, what WiFi 6, 6E and 7 actually change, and when a cable is the better answer.
Structured data cabling
Structured cabling is the permanent network wiring in your building: cables running from each desk, phone, printer, camera and WiFi access point back to a central network cabinet. Done properly, it lasts for many years and makes moves and changes simple.
We install the cable category that suits your building and needs:
- Cat5e supports gigabit speeds and is still found in many existing buildings. We maintain and extend it where it makes sense.
- Cat6 is a common choice for new office installations, supporting gigabit to every desk with more headroom.
- Cat6a supports 10 gigabit speeds over full length runs and suits newer high capacity WiFi access points and future proofing.
- Fibre backbone links connect cabinets on different floors or in separate buildings, covering longer distances than copper and avoiding electrical interference.
Every point we install is tested, labelled at both ends and recorded, so anyone working on the network later knows exactly what goes where.
Network cabinet installs and tidy ups
Most of us have seen a network cabinet full of tangled cables, sometimes called spaghetti cabling. It looks bad, but more importantly it makes faults hard to trace, restricts airflow to equipment and turns simple changes into long jobs.
We install new cabinets and tidy existing ones. That means proper cable management, patch leads cut to sensible lengths and colour coded by purpose, labelling of every port and a record of what is connected. Re patching can be carried out outside normal office hours so your team is not disrupted. We can also relocate cabinets, add capacity and audit what you have.
Business WiFi that works everywhere
Poor WiFi is one of the most common complaints we hear. Usually the cause is too few access points in the wrong places, consumer equipment that cannot handle many users, or interference from neighbouring networks.
We start with a site survey to understand your building, its walls and floors, where people work and how many devices connect. From that, we design the right number and placement of access points. We regularly install UniFi equipment, which offers business features and central management at a sensible cost, and we work with other business grade systems where they suit better.
Properly designed WiFi lets people move around the building without dropping connection, handles busy meeting rooms and gives you visibility of what is connected.
Guest WiFi
Visitors, contractors and customers often need internet access. A separate guest network gives them that without any access to your computers, files or printers. We can add a simple password, a splash page with terms of use, or time limits, depending on what you need.
Firewalls and VPNs
A business firewall sits between your network and the internet, blocking unwanted traffic and controlling what can connect in and out. We install and manage firewalls, keep their software updated and make sure admin access is protected, which is also one of the five technical controls in Cyber Essentials.
Where staff need to reach systems in the office from home, or you have more than one site, we set up secure VPN connections. As more businesses move to cloud services, the need for VPNs is reducing, and we will tell you if you no longer need one.
4G and 5G backup connections
When your internet connection goes down, so do your cloud apps, email and, if you use a cloud phone system, your phones. A 4G or 5G backup connection can take over automatically when the main line fails, keeping essential work going until it is fixed. Speeds depend on mobile signal at your premises, which we check during the survey.
Through our sister brand Cyber Fibre, we can also provide the main business broadband connection, so one team looks after the line, the router, the firewall and the network behind it.
Networks that support phones and cameras
Desk phones, WiFi access points and IP cameras can draw power over the network cable using Power over Ethernet (PoE), which avoids extra power sockets. We design networks with the right switches and capacity for VoIP phones and CCTV systems, and configure them so voice calls get priority over less urgent traffic.
Local engineers across the North East
Network work needs people on site. Our engineers are based in Sunderland and work across Tyne and Wear, County Durham and Teesside. If your network is slow, untidy or unreliable, or you need cabling for a new space, get in touch or call 0191 543 3432 to arrange a survey.