WiFi 5 mesh network fine for 910 FTTP?

[mrochester]

Hi all.

I have had a BT whole home WiFi 5 mesh network for years. In a couple of weeks I am finally getting FTTP installed and I have plumped for Openreach’s 910 down/105 up.

I have no issue with my BT whole home currently on a 65down/20up connection but will I start running into WiFi 5 limitations with my new FTTP?

It seems tri-band 6E and 7 are still really expensive but I’d be willing to upgrade if it’s going to be worth it.

I do play online games so ping is important to me.

Many thanks.

M.

 

[robj20]

Hi all.

I have had a BT whole home WiFi 5 mesh network for years. In a couple of weeks I am finally getting FTTP installed and I have plumped for Openreach’s 910 down/105 up.

I have no issue with my BT whole home currently on a 65down/20up connection but will I start running into WiFi 5 limitations with my new FTTP?

It seems tri-band 6E and 7 are still really expensive but I’d be willing to upgrade if it’s going to be worth it.

I do play online games so ping is important to me.

Many thanks.

M.

If ping is important, use a cable for your gaming pc. WiFi is for convenience not performance leave that for your mobile phones.

 

[mrochester]

If ping is important, use a cable for your gaming pc. WiFi is for convenience not performance leave that for your mobile phones.

I game on a laptop and a wired network is not possible so I need good WiFi (ping around 25ms on my current setup).

 

[robj20]

I game on a laptop and a wired network is not possible so I need good WiFi (ping around 25ms on my current setup).

How is it not possible, do you walk around while gaming or something?
The majority of your ping will be WiFi limitation so if ping is important that's the single most effective thing you can change.

 

[mrochester]

How is it not possible, do you walk around while gaming or something?
The majority of your ping will be WiFi limitation so if ping is important that's the single most effective thing you can change.

There’s no wiring to connect to. The router is elsewhere in the house. Let’s just pretend I am not asking about the absolutely best way of reducing my ping, but the best solution that is WiFi.

 

[~Divine~Wind~]

Ymmv in all honesty mate


I used the bt wifi discs in my last place and they were absolutely fine.
Im using the bigger better ee pro ones now and theyre kinda poop

 

[robj20]

That's the point you run the cable, I didn't just mean run a patch cable.
It's really not that difficult to tuck it along carpets and skirting.
I did mine properly under the floorboards and that only took me a weekend to do the whole house. Pings are whatever my router to server are, 4 or 6ms generally.

 

[mrochester]

That's the point you run the cable, I didn't just mean run a patch cable.
It's really not that difficult to tuck it along carpets and skirting.
I did mine properly under the floorboards and that only took me a weekend to do the whole house. Pings are whatever my router to server are, 4 or 6ms generally.

No I’m not interested in running cables. I want the best I can get from WiFi (hence my question is about WiFi, not wired).

 

[GregI]

It feels like you are focused on wifi and nothing will change your mind but remember it does not need to be in the same place the current wiring has came into the property. Please fully consider the possibility that for your gaming setup you could get the ONT insalled in the same place as your main gaming setup and just attach a 1 or 2m Ethernet cable.

If the engineers state they can't put it exactly where you want, they are just trying to make their job easier.

 

[Armageus]

will I start running into WiFi 5 limitations with my new FTTP?

Ping should be no different to your existing connection.

You may not be able to reach the full speed 910Mbps down on a single PC via Wifi 5 (but realistically higher bandwidth connections are more about allowing multiple devices to make use of that bandwidth).

The limiting factor in Wifi Meshes is the backhaul, which if they are operating entirely wireless then you are effectively halving the available bandwidth due to them having to talk wirelessly to the next node. If you can at least Wire your mesh points back to the router, then you will ensure you get more of the possible bandwidth.

 

[mrochester]

It feels like you are focused on wifi and nothing will change your mind but remember it does not need to be in the same place the current wiring has came into the property. Please fully consider the possibility that for your gaming setup you could get the ONT insalled in the same place as your main gaming setup and just attach a 1 or 2m Ethernet cable.

If the engineers state they can't put it exactly where you want, they are just trying to make their job easier.

I know they can bring the wiring in somewhere else (the wiring is currently in the hall, and I want it moved away from there). At the moment my plan is to have them bring the wiring into the front room in the house, which is directly over the road from the pole.

My gaming spot is in the sitting room at the back of the house so I’m not sure how they’d get the cable there other than going over the roof or running a cable through the front room first and drilling 2 walls.

 

[GregI]

My gaming spot is in the sitting room at the back of the house so I’m not sure how they’d get the cable there other than going over the roof or running a cable through the front room first and drilling 2 walls.

They will run cabling along the side of the building to the back and drill then. They have to attach a junction box on the outside of your property anyway. You just have to weigh up if having a small wire slightly longer on the outside is worth having proper full speed and never having to worry about wifi speeds and ping.

 

[agw_01]

I have no issue with my BT whole home currently on a 65down/20up connection but will I start running into WiFi 5 limitations with my new FTTP?

In my experience, with a 40MHz channel width on 5GHz you'll see around 250Mbps on WiFi 5 and 450Mbps on WiFi 6.

If you have a low number of neighbouring APs around you, you can probably get away with an 80MHz channel width which will see those speeds increase, but you won't be anywhere near to maxing out a 900Mbps connection on WiFi 5.

 

[meandu229]

From your laptop ping your router. This is your latency from wifi this wont change. However your ping to the outside world may change moving to FTTP. I.e my ping to router on hardwired PC is 0.1ms ~ and then my ping to 1.1.1.1 is ~4-6ms. From my wifi 5 access point my macbook pings the router at anything from 3ms-10ms (in the same room as AP) so then just add on the 4-6 for a total of 7-16ms. However this can all change depending how many devices are on wifi and actively using it at anyone time these results are pretty much best case for wifi 5 I think. Speed wise I can hit 500mb on wifi.

 

[mrochester]

They will run cabling along the side of the building to the back and drill then. They have to attach a junction box on the outside of your property anyway. You just have to weigh up if having a small wire slightly longer on the outside is worth having proper full speed and never having to worry about wifi speeds and ping.

That’ll be quite a long cable as the pole wire will come in at the front corner where our house adjoins our neighbour and then have to run all the way along the front, down the side of the house and then along the back of the house to the back corner where our house adjoins our neighbour, and then across that back room as I don’t sit near the window but on the other side of the room

 

[robj20]

That’ll be quite a long cable as the pole wire will come in at the front corner where our house adjoins our neighbour and then have to run all the way along the front, down the side of the house and then along the back of the house to the back corner where our house adjoins our neighbour, and then across that back room as I don’t sit near the window but on the other side of the room

Distance is largely irrelevant with fiber. Mine goes from the junction box through an air brick all the way under the house to the other side and into the ONT which is under the stairs next to the electricity meter. Then a Cat6 to my server cabinet in the garage. I kept the full length of fiber coiled up under the floor in case I ever wanted to move it.

 

[mrochester]

A follow up question, is the openreach box that is installed on the wall where the fibre cable enters the modem?