The Necessity of Network

Every day exciting new products are unveiled that offer some enhanced form of communication with the network enabled devices in your home. What was once a tool for integrating computer systems, can now connect everything in your house from the refrigerator to the thermostat. We depend on our network to provide streaming music and video, security, communication, and the ability to work from home. Everybody in your house is competing for space on your bandwith, and the hardware provided by your ISP (internet service provider) is probably restricting their access to it. Worst of all, the ISP has the audacity to charge outrageous rental fees for their inferior hardware. In this article we’re going to discuss ways to enhance your network environment, while saving you money in the long run.

Home WiFi connectivity isn’t reserved for the extremely tech savvy anymore. It is estimated that in the U.S. over 80% of homes have more than two networked devices, whether they are cell phones, personal computers, entertainment devices, or smart appliances, they tend to add up fairly quickly. I would imagine if you asked your neighbors who has Wifi in their home, nine out of ten people would answer yes. This means added interference to consider. Just like an AM radio can experience interference caused by other AM stations resulting in static, other WiFi network environments can cause similar interference to your home network. A lot of your devices are constantly scanning for every available network they could connect to. This means your iPad might be fighting network traffic interference from your next-door neighbor’s WiFi. Having a well defined and strong network environment is the best defense against this issue.

Internet service providers are almost thought of as a utility these days. Similar to your water and power company, ISP’s availability is generally assigned to you depending on where you live. Most people are only given 2-3 options due to location. We expect a minimum level of performance from these “utilities” seeing as they are rapidly becoming a necessity, but how sophisticated is the hardware they rent to you? To put it plainly, the hardware is the absolute cheapest money can buy. Comcast, for example, has an incredibly high customer base in the U.S. and needs to at least offer network adapters (modems & routers) to their clients. Taking into consideration the staggering amount of clients they need to provide hardware for, it’s not surprising that the hardware performs at the lowest possible standards. Adding insult to injury, the hardware they provide has a monthly rental charge that surpasses the value of itself if you rent it more than eleven months. We suggest purchasing your own network hardware, and returning the “one size fits all” rental equipment that your internet service provider supplies. That way you will own your equipment, and can take it with you if you move or switch ISP’s. This can also dramatically improve the performance of your network, if carefully selected.

The friendly and knowledgeable staff at Wilson Audio can help you get the most out of your monthly internet bill. We offer state of the art modems, routers, wireless access points, gigabit switches, and network enabled storage drives. Best of all, usually after a year of switching to our superior hardware, clients save money by canceling their rentals. This is the very definition of win win. If you are concerned you are overpaying for your network equipment, give us a call and we can work up a custom proposal tailored just for you.