It’s 2016, and Wi-Fi is all the rage nowadays. We find it in hotels, shopping centres, petrol stations and we can even get in our cars if we want to. Wireless internet is taking over for sure, but there’s still reasons why many businesses don’t use it.
While they might have it for recreational or light work purposes, the main source of internet usually comes through a cable. But why?! Why would you possibly keep using cables when there’s another alternative? Let’s take a look.
It’s not as fast
Plugging a cable direct into the source almost always produces faster results. Wireless might be more convenient, but there’s a lot of factors that are involved in the speed of the connection.
Unless you’re sitting right next to the Wi-Fi box (which I wouldn’t recommend, by the way), your speed will be compromised. You can get a network installation by JNB that will provide you with a cheap way of cabling your business.
Convenience doesn’t need to come into it; simply build a setup that allows you to access a cable from anywhere in the office. It’s not an expensive thing to do, and you’ll benefit greatly in the long run.
It’s not as reliable
Wi-Fi always used to struggle with reliability, but it’s come on a long way in the last few years. That doesn’t mean it’s perfect though. The nature of being a signal-based connection device means that wireless internet can suffer all sorts of problems. Materials can block the signal if they get in the way.
Some parts of the office will struggle to get a connection to the box if the signal isn’t powerful enough, either. You can boost these signals with repeaters, but it’s another unnecessary cost for something that you don’t need.
It’s not as safe
The nature of wireless internet means that it can be seen by anyone within range of its signal. That means that potential hackers can get access if they can break down your security.
Of course, you can equip powerful password systems to combat this, but they’re not 100% safety proof. A cable system is much harder to break into, as they’ll need physical access to the cables to do so.
Employees and guests are much more likely to ask for access to the Wi-Fi password for their phones and tablets, too, putting it at risk. Cabling won’t solve the problem of computer viruses, though.
If someone wants to hack your PC or alternate device through the network, they’ll try and get through your antivirus. Having a cable-based system will just make it a bit harder for them.
At the end of the day, I’m not saying that wireless internet is a bad thing. It’s obviously more convenient for those who have lots of devices.
For a business, though, when reliability and speed is paramount, it’s not the best option. You need to analyse the pros and cons and make an informed decision.