Consumers traditionally deploy a single Wi-Fi router for the home and adapt their usage around the router. But, changing needs are rendering this strategy unworkable for many homes as the coverage area needs are increasing, the prevalence of mobile devices is changing the access patterns and a host of consumer Internet of Things (IoT) devices are now entering the home. Commercial Wi-Fi mesh technology has been available for years and can address these needs. Because of these changing needs, consumer networking companies are beginning to bring those technologies to the consumer market to bring a better Wi-Fi experience into the home.
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Table of Contents
- Executive Summary
- Today’s Customer Needs
- Mesh Networking vs. Traditional Routers
- Backhaul Connectivity: A Critical Mesh Consideration
- Wi-Fi Extenders: The Illusion of Higher Throughput
- Testing Mesh Systems
- Google Wi-Fi
- Amplifi HD
- Other Mesh Choices
- Call to Action
- Figure 1: Traditional Wi-Fi and "Sticky" Clients
- Figure 2: Mesh Network
- Figure 3: Wi-Fi Extender
- Figure 4: Existing Wi-Fi Configuration
- Figure 5: Google Wi-Fi Configuration
- Figure 6: Amplifi HD Configuration
Companies Cited
- Adtran
- Amazon
- Apple
- Eero
- Linksys
- Netgear
- Roku
- Sonos
- Ubiquiti Networks
