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Tips for testing muni Wi-Fi networks indoors |
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Written by Jim Geier
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Monday, 29 October 2007 |
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Most municipal Wi-Fi networks are designed and hopefully installed to provide signal coverage inside approximately 70 percent of residences and businesses, at least near an exterior wall of the facility. It’s possible to go without permission inside some of the businesses, such as hotel lobbies and restaurants, but how do you get inside private residences? I’m currently verifying the signal coverage of a moderately-sized municipal Wi-Fi network, and we came up with a fairly good approach: simply post an advertisement in the local newspaper asking for volunteer residents to open their doors to the test team. We got a surprisingly large number of volunteers! What we learned, though, is to limit testing to daylight hours. It’s very difficult to find the homes at night, even with a GPS. Also, be ready to answer a lot of questions from the residents. Think ahead about how you’re going to response to questions such as: How good is my signal? (I don’t recommend answering that one); When will the network be ready for use?; How will I know if I have signal coverage once it’s ready for use?
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