How Much Does A Wireless Site Survey Cost And Is It Worth It For My Business?

Companies that use Wi-Fi in their daily activities know the importance of a properly functioning corporate wireless network. If Wi-Fi fails or isn't working properly, productivity can stop dramatically. A bad Wi-Fi connection can be a big deal for a company's profits. More and more companies are relying on wireless detection companies to diagnose and solve their problems. Maybe your company is in this phase and is studying the costs of investigating wireless sites. If so, you are probably responsible for answering 2 key questions for your management team: how much do a survey on the wireless site and a survey on the wireless site cost?

Any company that needs to outsource a technology management service often faces the same problems:

Determine a fair price for the technological service they need.

Find a supplier who will provide the service correctly within your budget.

It is difficult to evaluate your options when you have limited knowledge of what you are looking for and the problems to solve. You can find dozens of wireless site detection companies with a simple Google search. If you dive a little, you will notice that all these companies offer different services at different prices. This can become quite confusing, especially because all of these companies call their service a "wireless site survey".

What is a survey on the wireless site?

The first step in determining how much a wireless site survey costs is to understand what a wireless site survey is. A wireless site survey, also known as a Wi-Fi site survey or an RF site survey is simply the process of planning a wireless network for a given environment to meet its unique coverage, capacity and requirements, roaming, quality of service and other measures that may need to be respected.

It is necessary to prepare a plan of the environment that is expected to be achieved. The more detailed the floor plan, the better. The floor plan should include the dimensions and any structures that could influence the propagation of the wireless signal, such as elevators or stairs. The floor plan will help the wireless site survey firm identify all proposed access point locations. It also allows you to create heat maps that will allow you to understand the wireless signal strength in your environment.

The wireless site survey the report should include the following:

·       Mounting positions

·       Description of the cable glands

·       Scope of work for the installation of a wireless network

·       Controller hardware required for management

·       Tips for a configuration based on unique needs

·       All necessary licenses and support

·       The effort required for ongoing management

·       Recommended access point models (we prefer Ruckus wireless access points for their performance)

Is it worth a survey on the wireless site?

This answer will vary from one company to another, but for the most part yes. If you're a small business that doesn't rely heavily on Wi-Fi for daily operations, chances are you wouldn't need a survey on the wireless site. If you are a medium or large company with several dozen employees who use Wi-Fi every day, it is probably in your best interest to have your workplace reviewed before purchasing an Average Cost Of  WiFi system. Minor investments in this important service can prove financially beneficial in the long run. This will prevent costly repairs that may be needed in case the Wi-Fi system is configured incorrectly. You will also be more suited to growth and expansion as your business grows.

A survey on the wireless site is definitely worth it if your business is:

·       In a place with a very crowded wireless environment like an office building

·       It has facilities that can cause wireless signal interference such as a warehouse

·       In a place full of many solid structures like concrete pillars

·       In any environment where WiFi is an important aspect for basic operations

Are there different types of surveys on wireless sites?

There are several types of surveys on wireless sites and it is important to know which type you are looking for before purchasing the wrong type of service. Some wireless surveys can be performed remotely using floor plans and thermal mapping software, while other on-site surveys require an on-site presence and several hours to complete. There are studies on the site that will produce a bill of materials only for a WiFi distribution, while more advanced site studies will provide a series of cabling and installation works, as well as a level of commitment for ongoing management and maintenance.

Let's compare two of the most common types of surveys on wireless sites: predictive and active.

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Predictive surveys on wireless sites

In a predictive survey on the site, a company will collect the plans of your space. They should also ask you questions about how you plan to use your WiFi and what your general needs are. Using the information provided, the wireless site survey company will suggest an access point model. This model will be used to create a heat map of your location. The heatmap will include the recommended placement of equipment and a visual representation of how the wireless signal will spread in your environment.

A predictive site survey is generally provided for free. It really is more of a sales tool than anything else. Many network equipment distributors will offer a free predictive survey to help you reach an agreement. It can help transform a simple transaction into a more personalized customer experience. Since a predictive survey on the site is generally free, some sacrifices are made in terms of quality and accuracy. In most cases, when deploying more than 3 wireless access points, predictive site detection is not enough. Elements such as positioning of the access point, coverage of the wireless signal and network performance are generally estimated and may require slight, if not drastic, modifications to better align with the environment and needs.

Surveys active on the wireless site

If accuracy is the goal, then an active survey on the site is the way to go. An active survey on the wireless site will require a visit to the site. Usually, it can take a few hours to a few days, depending on the size of the place. An active site survey can be performed in a new environment without wireless equipment installed. An investigation can also be carried out in a place where a WiFi system already exists but must be repaired or configured correctly. The final report will offer an extremely accurate plan for equipment placement, wireless signal coverage, network performance, cabling, and installation.

As in a predictive survey on the site, a floor plan must be shared and the general needs of WiFi must be discussed. Here the similarities end. A wireless engineer downloads the floor plans into his site survey software and places a single access point in space. The engineer then begins to traverse the space and measures the signal strength of the access point. The site detection software will also measure external Wi-Fi interference from nearby wireless networks to allow the wireless technician to provide recommendations for channel selection and other configurations.

The man-hours participating in an active survey on the site is not limited to the time spent on the site. Engineers take several hours after the words to draw the walls of other structures on the floor plans provided to provide an even more accurate representation of the propagation of the wireless signal in space. Stairs, elevator shafts, windows, and walls will all have a negative impact on the wireless signal. Wall building materials will also have its effect. For example, the drywall will not be as bad for wireless radio signals as concrete.

How much does a survey on the wireless site cost?

The value you get from a survey on a Wi-Fi site is clear enough, but when it comes to presenting the need to your company's CFO, the technical requirements must translate into some sort of figure. A predictive survey on the site should always be offered for free. Since it is more of a sales tool than a personalized report, the wireless site survey company should provide it for free. If you are asked to pay for such a relationship, this should be a big red flag for the company you work with and you should start exploring other options.

An active survey on the site is a little more difficult to determine a cost. There are so many different variables that could affect prices. A good range of costs for a survey on a wireless site is between $ 2,000 and $ 10,000 per survey. However, here are some factors that will affect the cost of your survey on the wireless site:

·       Square feet area of ​​the study area

·       Support requirements for specific WiFi applications

·       Ceiling height and lift requirements

·       Plan creation requirements

·       The physical location of the detection environment

·       WiFi hardware requirements

·       The time needed to participate in the survey on the site

·       Report turnaround requirements

·       Customer-specific requirements, such as the need to conduct the survey after hours or to complete it quickly