Hotel WiFi Design: 6 Key Principles for 100% WiFi Coverage

In today's hospitality industry, ensuring seamless and reliable WiFi coverage has become a paramount consideration for hoteliers. Guests expect high-speed internet access throughout their stay, whether they're in their rooms, lounges, or common areas. To achieve 100% WiFi coverage in hotels, it's crucial to adhere to six fundamental principles:

1. Coverage Does Not Guarantee Capacity

Hotel WiFi design can be categorized into two distinct types: "coverage-focused" and "capacity-focused" designs. While coverage refers to the strength of the signal, capacity focuses on the ability to transmit multiple signals through the air.

In dense environments like hotels, access points may provide strong signal coverage. However, the limited airspace results in reduced airtime available for devices, leading to slower connections and unsatisfactory user experiences.

To ensure truly satisfactory wireless network performance and capacity, the following considerations should be taken into account:

• Optimize the network design to make the most efficient use of the available spectral capacity.

• Implement measures to minimize co-channel interference.

• Encourage devices to utilize the 5GHz frequency band, which is less crowded compared to the more congested 2.4 GHz frequency, using intelligent Band Steering techniques.

• Employ load balancing techniques to distribute wireless users among the available access points, ensuring a balanced utilization of resources.

One standout solution for achieving such high-performance wireless network efficiency is the FS hotel wireless solution. FS offers exceptional customization capabilities tailored specifically for the hospitality sector. With FS solutions, hoteliers can benefit from a meticulously designed network that takes into account the unique architectural features and guest density of each hotel. This ensures robust and seamless coverage, balancing between optimal signal strength and high capacity to handle multiple connections simultaneously. The FS wireless solution enables hoteliers to deliver an exceptional internet experience, meeting the diverse needs of modern guests while supporting the hotel's operational requirements.

2. Assessing Client Device Capabilities

When planning network upgrades, it is essential to conduct a comprehensive requirements-gathering exercise. By gaining a deep understanding of user needs, you can develop a solution that aligns with your business objectives. Through the requirements gathering process, you can identify network design goals, ensuring that the WiFi network aligns with business targets and delivers the desired performance levels.

To gather the necessary requirements:

• Identify the types of client devices and their wireless capabilities.

• Determine the number of devices that will require support.

• Assess the data rates and frequency bands required by the devices.

• Calculate the maximum throughput achievable by each device on the network.

3. Estimating Required Data Throughput for Network Applications

The following table provides a reference for the average bandwidth demands of commonly used applications.

After identifying the requirements of client devices and applications, you can predict the necessary access point radio capacity and then estimate the number of access points (APs) needed to achieve complete WiFi coverage.

4. Calculate Network Traffic (Airtime) Estimation

• To estimate the required network load (airtime) for a specific application, begin by dividing the desired throughput by the maximum TCP or UDP throughput achievable on each device type. This will determine how much airtime the application will consume on each device.

• Next, calculate the number of AP radios needed to support the devices in the environment by multiplying the total quantity of each device type by the required airtime per client device.

• Finally, to estimate the total AP (access point) capacity needed, calculate the sum of AP radios required to support each device type at the desired application throughput level. If only a fraction of clients will be connected and transmitting simultaneously on the WLAN, adjust the number of radios accordingly. If all client devices are online concurrently, no adjustment is necessary. Since dual-radio APs are commonly used in deployments, divide the adjusted number of AP radios by two to determine the number of dual-radio access points required to support the identified devices and applications. If the calculation yields a fractional number, round up to the nearest whole number.

Please see the following examples to help you better understand it:

A 1-Mbps standard definition TCP video application running on an Apple iPad 2 that is capable of achieving a maximum of 30 Mbps of TCP throughput yields an airtime consumption of 3.33% per device on a particular channel. This means that every iPad 2 device running the video application requires 3.33% of the capacity of a single access point radio (assuming no outside noise or interference).

Perform this calculation separately for every device and application type that will be supported in the environment.

Then, if there are 40 total Apple iPads, and each one consumes 3.33% airtime, then a total of 1.33 AP radios are required to support all 40 devices concurrently (40 x 3.33%). Perform this calculation individually for every device type that will be supported in the environment.

Note: Keep in mind that the calculations provided are approximations, and the actual scenario may differ. Nonetheless, this process serves as a valuable tool to assist you in designing a suitable and purpose-built wireless network.

5. Optimize Utilization of the 5GHz Frequency Band

To ensure uninterrupted network connectivity as wireless devices move throughout your hotel, it is essential to have seamless coverage overlap between access points.

In situations where access points operate on the same frequency, they compete for the available airtime. In densely populated environments like hotels, having multiple access points on the same frequency, with signal fields that overlap, does not improve capacity or performance. Instead, it leads to increased competition for airtime and decreased performance, known as co-channel interference.

Therefore, it is crucial to ensure that WiFi cells operate on different frequencies to minimize interference and maximize network efficiency.

6. Enhance WiFi Coverage Across the Entire Hotel

To optimize the data rates for WiFi clients, it is essential to ensure that they are situated in an area where the signal strength from the access point is robust and free from substantial interference. Manufacturers generally recommend aiming for a consistent signal strength ranging from -65 to -67 dBm, accompanied by a signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of 25-30 dB.

Consequently, hotel networks should be designed in a manner that ensures signals can be maintained with at least two access points operating on non-overlapping channels (to facilitate seamless roaming). Additionally, a high SNR should be maintained to sustain optimal data rates.

Conclusion

In conclusion, achieving 100% WiFi coverage in a hotel requires meticulous design from multiple perspectives, including coverage, capacity, client device capabilities, network traffic estimation, frequency band utilization, and overall hotel coverage optimization. By strictly adhering to these principles and leveraging advanced technologies like the FS hotel wireless solution, hotels can not only provide seamless and efficient wireless network services but also ensure robust handling of multiple connections, significantly enhancing the guest experience. Whether for business travelers or leisure guests, the expectation for stable and fast internet connectivity anywhere on the property is paramount. Only by integrating these considerations comprehensively can truly satisfactory wireless network coverage be achieved, meeting the demands of the modern hospitality industry.