As I’ve discussed in a recent post, the type of client device has a big impact on the user’s experience with a wireless network. In order to compensate for limited transmit power of client devices, some designers may assume or even recommend the use of external, higher gain antennas on user client devices.As I’ve discussed in a recent post, the type of client device has a big impact on the user’s experience with a wireless network. In order to compensate for limited transmit power of client devices, some designers may assume or even recommend the use of external, higher gain antennas on user client devices.
These antennas physically connect to the client radio card, generally through a cable, and bypass the standard antenna. The use of external antennas may offer better performance for some devices, but I don’t recommend requiring them for public access. There are several reasons for this.
For one, not all client device radios accept the connection of an external antenna. For example, on my Dell laptop which has an integrated Wi-Fi radio and antenna, there is no connection for attaching an external antenna. Even if it’s possible to connect an external antenna, most users won’t have one. These antennas are not readily available in consumer stores, and most users wouldn’t know the type of antenna they need. Also, it’s not fair to require end users to purchase external equipment just to make it possible to connect to the network. This isn’t expected in a cellular phone environment, and it should be expected or tolerated in a wireless network serving the public.
As a result, be certain to design and verify a public municipal wireless network without the need for external client radio antennas. Some users, especially the techy ones, may take advantage of possibly better performance with an external antenna, but most users will probably balk if they must use an external antenna for basic services and performance.
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If only laptop manufacturers would assure that they put a decent WiFi device and antenna assembly in their hardware! It’s a bear to often have to blame the client side equipment, but when the radio is 30mw or less and the antenna is an inch of tinfoil, what can the consumer expect??
-DJ