Five Environments Where External Antennas are Essential for Reliable Wi-Fi
There are two types of access points: those with the antennas integrated
and those with ports to connect to external antennas. Access points
with integrated antennas exhibit omnidirectional radiation patterns and
provide uniform coverage in all directions. However, APs connected to
external antennas are commonly needed to provide sufficient coverage and
capacity in certain applications.
When ceiling heights are higher than 25 feet
At heights greater than 25 feet, the coverage area directly below the
omnidirectional antennas degrades to the point that multipath (signal
reflections) will not improve coverage. High gain, directional antennas
are needed to provide adequate coverage and capacity below the antenna.
When propagation characteristics are affected by buildings or natural obstacles
In order to get coverage in areas where physical obstacles and multipath
interference are prevalent, such as building materials (concrete,
steel) or natural elements (lobbies or interior public spaces with
water, trees and bushes) external antennas with higher gains than those
traditionally seen in APs with integrated antennas may be needed. Just
moving the AP with integrated antennas to a different location to try to
improve coverage may create more of a problem than a solution depending
on the integrated antenna’s coverage characteristics. Through proper
selection and placement of external antennas, coverage can be extended
easily into these problematic areas.
For hallways, long corridors, aisles, and other structures with spaces in between
Omnidirectional antennas, with their dispersive radiation patterns, have
difficulty providing the focused RF coverage needed in warehouse,
library and retail store aisles or in hospital corridors. External
directional antennas can focus beamwidth between the aisles, and provide
excellent coverage and capacity in these environments.
In temperature-limiting areas and environments
Freezers, test labs, and other cold room applications often have
operating temperatures that exceed those recommended by the AP
manufacturer or the components are not rated to perform in those
environments. To protect valuable equipment in these applications, the
AP can be placed outside of the environment and the external antenna can
be placed within the environment so that wireless service is possible.
For high-density network deployments
High-density networks ensure adequate coverage and capacity for large
concentrations of mobile device users by addressing the issues of
interference, which is the most significant cause of limited performance
in these environments. This is accomplished by “mapping” clients into
smaller, radio frequency (RF) cells of operation. These narrower cells
are created by using external narrow-band antennas connected to the AP.
Fewer users per AP minimizes channel-to channel interference and
maximizes the use of available spectral capacity. Visit
www.ventev.com/wifiantennas to learn more.
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