People love their WiFi, but take it for granted. And since not everyone is blessed with inborn technical proclivities, when the home WiFi is not working, expletives tend to be hurled. And bad thoughts tend to be thought about the Internet service provider.
Of course, “not working” can be due to many factors — modem placement, device technology, electronic frequencies, construction materials and so on. But subscribers don’t want to mess with thinking about that. They just want their Internet access to all their devices, and they want it now.
One operator grabbing that issue by the pointy end of the bull is Midco, which just unveiled its Whole Home WiFi, a service that strengthens and extends wireless Internet signals. Midco is the first U.S. company to use the AirTies intelligent mesh system to create improved in-home WiFi coverage.
Last November, AirTies announced its expansion into North America with Midco’s intention to deploy. “Providing quality Internet to subscribers is no longer about the ‘last mile,’ but rather the last few feet,” Philippe Alcaras, CEO at AirTies, says. ”Ensuring that the bandwidth coming into the home is actually available throughout the entire home requires a new approach, and that’s what we deliver. Our WiFi Mesh networks have been proven to enhance in-home speed and coverage for operators across Europe and Asia, and our network intelligence capability is flexible enough to work across wired and wireless environments.”
Whole Home WiFi from Midco uses a series of wireless access points (manufactured by AirTies) to create a mesh of wireless coverage throughout the home. While a typical wireless extender will push wireless range out further, it will also cut WiFi speed in half. With Midco’s Whole Home WiFi, each access point transmits its own signal at full power, which reportedly results in better, more reliable WiFi coverage.
“With more connected devices than ever and bandwidth consumption doubling every 18 months, home wireless networks can become overburdened. At the same time, factors such as home layout, other wireless devices, and devices using older technology can interfere with WiFi signals,” said Jon Pederson, CTO at Midco, says. “Our Whole Home WiFI solution helps customers’ wireless networks provide a consistently strong signal to every corner of the house, even to decks and patios.”
A Midco technician visits a customer’s home to perform an assessment of the wireless network performance, which includes a heat map showing wireless signal strength throughout the home. The tech then recommends how many wireless access points are needed to extend the signal strength, installs them and creates an updated heat map showing the results.
Whole Home WiFi became available to Midco residential customers in the Sioux Falls, S.D., area as of March 2, with prices starting at $7.95 per month for up to four wireless access points.
