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The Best Mesh WiFi: Consumer Vs Carrier Class

Categories: Advanced WiFi Tags: Mesh WiFi Return

When it comes to home WiFi, the most important thing is that it works—so you never have to think about it. Unfortunately, with many home WiFi networks, this is not always the case. Poor connectivity, slow speeds and dropped connections are all too common. There are some steps you can take to improve WiFi performance in your home, however, such as moving your router to a different location, making sure its settings are optimized, or even upgrading to a newer model. But when these actions don’t result in any noticeable improvement, it may be time to consider a different type of WiFi solution. 

Enjoy a superior experience with Mesh WiFi

Fortunately, there is an exciting new alternative to conventional home WiFi networks. Called a Mesh WiFi network, this new technology combines a WiFi router with one or more satellites, which are small wireless devices you place in different rooms in your home. These satellites communicate with the router and provide you with a strong WiFi signal everywhere, whether it’s your bedroom, your home office, or even your backyard. 

Consumer Mesh WiFi

Consumer-grade Mesh WiFi: Convenient but Expensive 

Once you’ve decided a Mesh WiFi system is for you, there are two options for making the jump. The first is to pay a visit to the nearest consumer electronics store and purchase your own Mesh WiFi system. These systems typically consist of a router and one, or sometimes two, satellites. 

While this may seem like the simplest option, there are a couple of significant drawbacks. The biggest one is the price. Consumer Mesh WiFi systems are expensive. While you can purchase some starter systems for around $300, others can cost upwards of $500, depending on the number of additional satellites you need to extend coverage throughout your home. 

Along with the high price tag, you are responsible for installing the system and managing it on an ongoing basis. This may or may not be a problem, depending on your comfort level with technology, but there is a chance that you will encounter problems in the future that you’re not able to fix on your own.

Another major drawback of consumer Mesh WiFi systems is that they don’t support certain vital features, like IPTV. So, if you have a consumer WiFi system and your service provider offers an IPTV service, you will have to purchase your TV service from another provider, which will end up costing you more. 

Carrier Mesh WiFi

Carrier-class Mesh WiFi: Worry-free and Cost-effective 

The second option is to purchase your Mesh WiFi as a service from your service provider. Instead of paying several hundred dollars upfront for a consumer-grade system you have to install and manage by yourself, you can instead pay a small monthly fee, get the best Managed WiFi system available—with superior performance and coverage—and rely on your service provider to take care of any technical issues that may come up. 

With a managed solution like this, your service provider has complete visibility into all the devices in your network. They can access your network remotely, then quickly identify and resolve any issues you may have, so you don’t experience any downtime. 

Carrier-class WiFi also provides more flexibility than consumer systems, which require you to buy satellite units in groups of two or three. If you only need one satellite in your home, this means you have to pay for a minimum of two, which means you have to pay for something you don’t need. 

With carrier-class Mesh WiFi, you can order up to four satellites along with your WiFi router. If you only need one to provide coverage throughout your home, then there’s no need to pay for more. 

Contact CTC

If you’re ready to enjoy the superior online experience and other benefits that come with Carrier-Class WiFi, contact CTC. We’ll help you with everything you need to upgrade your current WiFi network to a high-performance Mesh WiFi system and provide you the support you need—so you can enjoy worry-free WiFi that just works.

 

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