Wi-Fi® is the defacto connectivity technology in the home today. Nearly 50 percent of U.S. households are wireless only, and Wi-Fi moves more than half of all global Internet traffic. High-performance Wi-Fi will become more critical with the expected growth in connected devices and the increased distribution of HD and 4K UHD video over Wi-Fi. Robust Wi-Fi connectivity in the home is so important that builders like Lennar are developing homes based on Wi-Fi Home Design, with consistent, whole-home Wi-Fi preinstalled for a turn-key experience. There are three simple steps consumers can take to ensure a high-quality Wi-Fi experience.
1. Use today’s Wi-Fi
To achieve a high-quality Wi-Fi experience in the home, consumers should make sure their devices support the latest Wi-Fi technologies. Today, that means high-performance Wi-Fi CERTIFIED, which delivers faster speeds – about three times faster than Wi-Fi from only two years ago – and enables devices to handle demanding applications such as 4K UHD video streaming. Wi-Fi CERTIFIED operates in 5 GHz, but almost all products also support 2.4 GHz to provide support for older devices. Other technologies, like WiGig, complement Wi-Fi CERTIFIED and use the less congested 60 GHz band to send data at multi-gigabit speeds – up to 7 Gbps – at shorter ranges.
2. Check your location
Another opportunity to enhance Wi-Fi coverage and performance throughout the home is by placing access points, the Wi-Fi equipment which provides connectivity to your devices, in a central location where it can reach multiple areas within your home. Avoid the temptation to hide your equipment in a closet or in a cabinet where building materials such as brick and cement walls often make it difficult for the Wi-Fi signal to reach your other devices. Some retail multi-access point solutions coming to market make this even easier by eliminating the need to run cables between each access point. Additionally, homes built to a Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Home Design already have access points installed in optimal locations for whole-home coverage.
3. Make it Wi-Fi CERTIFIED
Consumers should look for the Wi-Fi CERTIFIED logo, designating products that have undergone rigorous testing to ensure they work well with other devices. Wi-Fi CERTIFIED devices include the latest in WPA2 security, providing a high level of security and privacy for communications as they travel across a home network. The Wi-Fi CERTIFIED logo gives consumers confidence that products across many vendors will deliver a good user experience.
Wi-Fi is the home’s connectivity foundation. Even with advances over the last 16 or so years, Wi-Fi is not standing still. It’s important that consumers not only ensure their home Wi-Fi network provides a strong foundation, but also invest in products that meet today’s quality, performance and security standards while maintaining compatibility with old and new devices being brought into a home.
