Michael installed a robust and trouble-free system which was ideal for my requirements. I use him for all my IT issues. Highly recommended.
London SW2
Everything you need to know about your WiFi options
We have compiled a comprehensive, jargon-busting guide to help you understand the options available for achieving reliable and robust WiFi in your home or business.
With over twenty years’ experience, we are one of the leading WiFi installation specialists in London and the South East. Since 2005, we’ve been designing, installing, and managing WiFi networks for homes and businesses across the region.
A common misconception is that internet and WiFi are the same thing but, whilst co-dependent, they are very much two separate services. Internet (most commonly broadband) is supplied to your premises by an ISP (internet service provider) whist WiFi, is the internal wireless distribution of your internet service. Not only can we deliver secure, reliable and robust WiFi systems to your home or business, we can provide the underlying internet service too.
READY FOR RELIABLE WIFI?
WIFI NETWORK OPTIONS
OPTION A
- WIFI ACCESS
OPTION B
- WIFI ACCESS
- AUTOMATIC CLIENT HANDOVER
- SINGLE SSID NETWORK SUPPORT
- DUAL BAND OVER SINGLE SSID
- PoE SUPPORT
- SURFACE MOUNTABLE
OPTION C
- WIFI ACCESS
- AUTOMATIC CLIENT HANDOVER
- SINGLE SSID NETWORK SUPPORT
- DUAL BAND OVER SINGLE SSID
- PoE SUPPORT
- SURFACE MOUNTABLE
- FIRMWARE UPDATES
- CLOUD SUPPORT
OPTION D
- WIFI ACCESS
- AUTOMATIC CLIENT HANDOVER
- SINGLE SSID NETWORK SUPPORT
- DUAL BAND OVER SINGLE SSID
- PoE SUPPORT
- SURFACE MOUNTABLE
- FIRMWARE UPDATES
- CLOUD SUPPORT
All systems include dual-band WiFi (2.4GHz and 5GHz) over a single network name, Power over Ethernet support for flexible placement, surface mounting for discreet installation, and professional configuration optimised for your property.
OPTION A: BASIC WIFI EXTENSION
Best for: Single room or outbuilding coverage extension
Typically used to extend WiFi coverage to a single area of your premises rather than providing a complete WiFi solution. Common applications include garden offices, garages, outbuildings, or extending coverage to a specific room.
- Home offices in garden buildings
- Garage or workshop connectivity
- Single room coverage gaps
- Temporary or supplementary coverage
Note: For comprehensive whole-premises coverage, we recommend Option B or higher.
OPTION B: PROFESSIONAL ENTRY LEVEL
Best for: Homes, small offices, and straightforward business environments
Our entry-level professional option provides reliable WiFi throughout your premises and is powerful enough to support modern connected devices and systems.
- Homes: Family households with multiple devices, streaming, and home working
- Small Businesses: Offices up to 10 users with standard business applications
- Retail: Small shops requiring basic guest WiFi and POS systems
- Hospitality: Bed & breakfasts, small cafés, or boutique establishments
Capabilities:
- Supports multi-room audio systems (Sonos, etc.)
- Compatible with smart home devices (Ring doorbells, smart heating, etc.)
- Handles multiple simultaneous 4K video streams
- Seamless roaming between access points as you move around
- Reliable coverage for work-from-home video conferencing
Key Features:
- Professional-grade hardware (not consumer products)
- Single network name throughout your premises
- Automatic connection to strongest signal
- Dual-band operation (2.4GHz and 5GHz)
- Power over Ethernet for flexible placement
- Discreet wall or ceiling mounting
OPTION C: PREMIUM CLOUD MANAGED
Best for: Larger homes, growing businesses, and performance-critical environments
Cutting-edge WiFi technology delivering guaranteed reliability and performance with remote management capabilities.
- Homes: Large properties, tech-savvy households, extensive smart home integration
- Medium Businesses: Offices 10-50 users with bandwidth-intensive applications
- Retail: Multi-site shops requiring centralised management
- Hospitality: Hotels, restaurants, pubs with guest WiFi requirements
- Warehouses: Coverage for inventory systems and handheld devices
- Education: Training facilities, small schools, nurseries
Capabilities:
- High-density device support (50+ concurrent connections per access point)
- Advanced QoS for prioritising critical applications
- Guest network isolation for security
- Captive portal support for guest WiFi
- Real-time network monitoring and alerts
- Remote troubleshooting and configuration
Key Features:
- Cloud-managed access points with centralised dashboard
- Automatic firmware updates for security and features
- Network health monitoring and diagnostics
- Usage analytics and reporting
- Email alerts for network issues
- Remote management from anywhere
Additional Benefits:
- Reduced on-site maintenance requirements
- Proactive issue detection and resolution
- Scalable architecture for future expansion
- Support for IoT devices and guest access
OPTION D: ENTERPRISE ULTIMATE
The ultimate WiFi solution utilises our pick of the best hardware available on the market at the time of installation. This is WiFi you can set and forget.
- Large Businesses: Enterprise offices, headquarters, multi-floor buildings
- Retail: Shopping centres, large stores, chain locations
- Hospitality: Hotels, conference centres, large restaurants
- Healthcare: Care homes, medical facilities, hospitals
- Warehouses: Large logistics operations with high-density coverage needs
- Education: Universities, large schools, campus environments
- Public Venues: Event spaces, stadiums, community centres
Capabilities:
- Ultra-high-density support (100+ devices per access point)
- Advanced band steering and load balancing
- Mesh networking for seamless coverage
- Multiple SSIDs with VLAN segmentation
- 802.1X authentication support
- Enterprise security standards (WPA3-Enterprise)
- Advanced analytics and heat mapping
- API integration for third-party systems
Key Features:
- Premium enterprise-grade hardware
- Advanced cloud management platform
- Priority firmware updates and features
- Comprehensive network analytics
- Advanced troubleshooting tools
- SLA-backed uptime guarantees available
- 24/7 remote monitoring (optional)
Additional Benefits:
- Maximum future-proofing and scalability
- Exceptional reliability and performance
- Comprehensive reporting and compliance tools
- Dedicated account management available
- Custom integration capabilities
MOVE YOUR WIFI INTO THE FAST LANE!
HOW IT WORKS
1. Book Your WiFi Survey
We carry out a professional WiFi site survey to determine the number of wireless access points required and their optimal placement for reliable coverage throughout your premises.
For Homes: With a domestic WiFi survey, we assess room layouts, building materials, dead zones, and your usage requirements (working from home, streaming, gaming, smart home devices).
For Businesses: With a commercial WiFi survey we evaluate office layouts, user density, business applications, guest access requirements, and compliance needs. For commercial premises, we can provide detailed heatmap analysis showing coverage strength and performance.
2. Infrastructure Planning
The survey establishes the physical cable infrastructure requirements and routes. All data cables are installed as discreetly as possible, utilising external elevations, internal voids, and ceiling spaces.
Aesthetic Priority: We always aim to provide an installation that’s aesthetically pleasing, with cables hidden and access points positioned to be as unobtrusive as possible whilst maximising performance.
3. System Design & Quotation
Following your site survey, we provide:
- Comprehensive system design document (yours to keep)
- Recommended WiFi option based on your requirements
- Access point placement plan
- Cable routing scheme
- Fixed-price quotation with no hidden costs
4. Professional Installation
Once approved, our experienced engineers install your WiFi system with minimal disruption. All work is completed to professional standards with tidy cable management and proper configuration.
5. Testing & Handover
We thoroughly test your WiFi network before handover, ensuring coverage meets design specifications and all devices connect properly. You receive training on managing your network and ongoing support is available when needed.
READY FOR RELIABLE WIFI?
WIFI NETWORK
Contrary to popular belief, WiFi networks rely heavily on wires. This diagram of a WiFi network illustrates the internet service being supplied to the premises, either via the phone line (ADSL/VDSL) or via a cable (fibre optic) service. The internet router is configured to bring the internet connection into the property, to which all other devices must connect, in order to use the internet.
In the case of a wireless network, wireless access points are cabled back to the router, so that when wireless devices (iPhones, iPads, laptops etc.) connect to the wireless access points, internet data is passed back to the router and out to the internet.
WIFI TERMINOLOGY
WiFi access quite simply means the ability to connect to the internet using a wireless connection.
This allows wireless devices to automatically connect to the WiFi access point broadcasting strongest signal, negating the need for the user to physically scan for and manually connect to the WiFi network.
A SSID or Service Set Identifier, is quite simply the name of your WiFi network (e.g. MYWIFI). It is important that your wireless access points can all be configured with the same SSID, thus forming one network throughout your premises – basic WiFi equipment doesn’t support this.
Today’s WiFi operates on two bands or frequencies, 2.4 GHz and 5GHz – the latter being the faster. Not all wireless clients/devices support 5GHz meaning, if using sub-standard equipment, you’ll need two SSIDs running on your wireless access points – usually differentiated by “2.4GHz” or “5GHz” on the end of the SSID (popular on Virgin Hubs). All our suggested options support dual band over single SSID so you’ll only see and connect to one.
PoE (Power over Ethernet) means that your device can be powered via the attached data cable using a device called a PoE injector or a PoE switch. This creates complete flexibility when deciding the placement of your wireless access point, as you don’t need to install it near a power outlet.
The device can be physically mounted to a wall or celling for a discrete and aesthetically pleasing installation.
Most, if not all, internet connected devices have software built into them known as firmware. It is the firmware that controls the device and allows it to perform specific functions. The hardware vendor will release periodic firmware updates keeping the hardware secure, free from bugs and feature rich. It’s preferred that your hardware updates itself automatically or manual firmware updates fall to the end user
A term which has got everyone asking, “What on earth is The Cloud?”. The Cloud quite simply means a service which is supplied over the internet. If you’re backing up your computer data to “The Cloud”, you’re backing it up online/over the internet. Cloud support for your WiFi hardware means it too can be connected to an internet-based service where it can be controlled, configured, troubleshot and updated.
I found PC Man in a google search and initially spoke to Michael – he scoped the work and then arranged for the installation of a ‘bridge’ system to extend the reach of my wifi. Great service and the team made the process easy for a non technical person. Overall a great service and I would recommend.
Excellent service as ever from Michael and the team.
We had terrible wifi signal at our house. Our broadband provider was little to no help and we needed to get it sorted. I found PC Man’s website so I called up and Michael was extremely knowledgable and helpful. He knew exactly what to do to solve the signal problem and since he came and fixed it we haven’t had any problems. Its been over 3 years now. I would 100% recommend this service.
Michael is a highly knowledgable tech talent, top-rate overall professional and just a lovely, efficient, helpful dude.
Would highly recommend him.
We used PC Man to design and install a wired WIFI system in our house and are extremely happy with the result. PC Man was responsive, professional and courteous and everything was delivered as agreed. And the system works exactly as expected. 100% recommended
Great service and wifi.
Great professional service – worked fastened competently and everything now works like it should!
5* service! We were having so many WiFi issues in our home and being self employed and working from home it was important that we had a fast connection throughout the entire house (which we didn’t). We spent a lot of time in Starbucks just to get some work done quickly! Michael spent the day at ours organising everything properly, we haven’t had a single issue since. He ensured we have a strong connection throughout the entire house – it’s been a game changer for working at home! I’d thoroughly recommend Michael, he really knows his stuff!
All round rock star – Very professional and very helpful and more importantly for someone who is not technical he didn’t try to “up sell” me products or services I didn’t need. Highly recommend
Swift and accurate diagnosis of the problem. Very efficient delivery of the solution – actually used less equipment at a lower cost than originally expected. Very tidy work. I will use again.
Very pleased with the service provided by this company. As somebody with limited understanding or knowledge of different wifi systems, Michael was able to explain clearly to me the options available to replace the existing poor wifi in my property. Living in a upper floor maisonette in an old house in Kensington, presented challenges regarding access etc, but the installation works subsequently carried out were done with minimum disruption and mess. I would highly recommend PC Man.
