How to set up fast, secure and reliable WiFi in your office

18 June 2019 | SMB, Digitalisation, Internet, Connectivity | 5 min read

Businesses need a fast, secure and reliable WiFi network in the office to ensure smooth operations in a business that relies extensively on wireless technology. Today, more and more offices are relying on WiFi because it's easier to deploy and use than the old cable-based Local Area Networks. There's also a trend towards bring your own device (BYOD) in the office, meaning employees will have their own devices to logon to the office WiFi.

To satisfy employees’ happiness without compromising productivity, having a fast and reliable WiFi network within the office should be a priority.

There are a few factors to consider when setting up a new WiFi network, or upgrading your internet setup in the office to improve connectivity or managing coverage issues. The good news is that you don’t need to be a tech whiz to figure out how to ensure that your office has the most suitable wireless network.

Here are three things to consider:

The optimal wireless network design will differ for an office with 20 employees compared to a business with 200 employees. The network also depends on the nature of your business. Does your business run basic office applications or is there a need for more intense work (like cloud file sharing or video conferencing)? This will help you determine your bandwidth requirements.

Another thing to consider is the kind of wireless networking hardware your office requires. For example, as a business owner, you may have to decide between getting 

• a normal WiFi router (for small office spaces),
• an access point (to create additional WiFi access using a wired network), or
• getting a WiFi mesh (connecting multiple bases for even wider coverage). 

If you have a small office space, with less than eight employees, a WiFi router may be sufficient for you. However do note there can often be weak WiFi signals or dead spots due to the office layout.

An access point on the other hand is usually connected to the network’s router via Ethernet, which then creates a simple but separate WiFi network. These access points can be added in places that are known to be dead spots in the office. However, this depends on the availability of a Local Area Network (LAN) within the office. If you don't have one in place, this won't be possible. 

A WiFi mesh may be more useful for offices that are slightly larger, and can be easier when setting up a new wireless network. There's no need to depend on LAN because the various Mesh bases wirelessly connect to each other, creating one single network that covers a larger area and different floors.

Singtel Wifi Mesh is a cost-effective way to ensure an easy, wireless setup that empowers employees to collaborate with others anywhere in the office without fearing dead spots. This ensures that your employees are not rooted to their desk and are free to be mobile around the office. This could in turn foster more collaboration within the office and this leads to a higher productivity.

Businesses also have to decide whether they want a dynamic or static internet protocol (IP) address. A dynamic IP address means that your Internet Service Provider (ISP) can randomly reassign your IP address. The IP address will change whenever your internet access is restarted, for example when you reboot the optical network terminals (or modems). On the other hand, a static IP address is one that is fixed, regardless of whether you restart your internet access.

So which kind of IP address is suitable for you? Again, it depends on the nature of your business. If your company hosts servers and websites, depend heavily on employees working remotely or when your clients require you to have a static IP address to give you secured access to their systems, then a static IP will be more suitable for your business.

Singtel Business Fibre Broadband (Static IP) offers powerful network capabilities that can meet complex network requirements, 24/7 round-the-clock helpdesk support and Peak Information Rates (PIR) that are as subscribed (connection speeds that go up to what you subscribed to).

However, if your company has no static IP requirements Singtel Business Fibre Broadband (Dynamic IP) is suitable for your day-to-day operations, and offers the same level of reliability and security.

Another consideration is whether your business is expected to offer WiFi to your customers. For retail or food and beverage businesses, offering free WiFi to your customers may help provide a delightful experience. This could be a customer benefit for businesses that want customers to spend a longer time on your premises (and end up spending more money). To do so, you need to ensure that your network is not overloaded.

Fibre Broadband Plus is a service that provides a second line for non-critical business needs (like guest WiFi or for personal devices). This will be especially useful for cafes and restaurants, where guests often expect and request free WiFi.