Ask a landlord whether there is WiFi, and the answer is almost always yes. Ask a tenant after three months whether the WiFi works well, and the answer is yes a lot less often. Why is that?
Coverage is not the same as capacity
A WiFi network can show "full bars" everywhere and still be slow. Coverage tells you whether you have a signal. Capacity tells you how many devices can work well at the same time.
In an empty room, almost any network works fine. But put fifty people in it with a laptop, a phone and sometimes a tablet, and have half of them on a video call at once. Then you find out whether the network was designed for capacity, or only for coverage.
Where it often goes wrong
- Too few access points. One access point in the corridor for a whole floor is often not enough.
- Wrong location. Access points above a suspended ceiling, behind a concrete column or next to a lift shaft lose a lot of range.
- Old equipment. Older WiFi standards can handle fewer devices at once. Newer standards such as WiFi 6 and WiFi 7 are designed precisely for busy environments.
- No good cabling behind it. An access point is only as fast as the cable it is connected to. Old cabling slows down even the newest WiFi.
- Poor roaming. When you carry your laptop from your desk to a meeting room, your device should switch smoothly to the nearest access point. If that does not work well, your call drops.
How do you measure WiFi?
With a WiFi survey. You walk through the building with measuring equipment and map, room by room, how strong the signal is, how fast the connection is and where interference occurs. The result is a kind of heat map of the building: green where it is good, red where it falls short.
The best time to measure is when the building is in use. A measurement in an empty building mainly shows coverage, not how the network holds up under real load.
What does this mean for the IT-Label?
WiFi carries a lot of weight in the IT-Label. The levels differ largely in WiFi quality:
- IT3 Ready has limited WiFi.
- IT2 Plug & Play has functional WiFi.
- IT1 High Performance has strong WiFi coverage.
- IT1+ Premium has enterprise WiFi with continuous monitoring.
During an audit we measure this on site, where people work.
What can you do as an owner?
WiFi is often one of the quickest ways to achieve a higher label. Extra access points in the right places, or replacing outdated equipment, can make a big difference without having to open up walls. A pre-inspection shows whether that applies to your building too.
What can you do as a tenant?
Before signing, ask for a recent WiFi survey or an IT-Label. And record in the IT Demarcation List who is responsible for the WiFi network: the landlord or you.