Wi-Fi Alliance, the organisation that certifies products, but also helps with other programs like WPA and WPA2 to replace WEP, came with a new program called Wi-Fi Home Design.
Wi-Fi has become more and more important in companies, but in SOHO as well. A co-worker of mine told me that when he needed to do a change in his own house he needed to find a change window. My son is not old enough that he needs to use Wi-Fi (15 months at the moment), but there are kids that cannot do without Wi-Fi and don’t like that dad (or mom) need to change something in the router/WLC or access point that results in downtime for a while.
What is Wi-Fi Home Design
Wi-Fi® is an important component of any home—nearly as critical to daily life as electricity and appliances. Sixty-four percent of home buyers would pay more for a new home that is pre-wired with high quality Wi-Fi equipment, and 76 percent indicate interest in employing smart home devices, such as thermostats and keyless door locks. (Wi-Fi Alliance)
Lennar Home Technology Survey, 2016
source: Wi-Fi Alliance
Wi-Fi Home Design is only for new houses. During the construction phase, the houses will be deployed directly with Wi-Fi. This is not only for the USA, but also for all construction companies worldwide that are members of the Wi-Fi Alliance. When you buy a house, you assume that electricity is working, but in the near future you can also assume that there will be high quality and whole home Wi-Fi coverage in your house according to Wi-Fi Alliance.
My first question was, who is doing the design and implementation for this? According to Wi-Fi Alliance it will be a professional network installed and designed by experts. The process is that the contractor needs to be a member of Wi-Fi Alliance and submit their Wi-Fi design to the Wi-Fi Alliance. Wi-Fi Alliance will certify this design and the builder can implement this. This will work only when you have a big new building project where every house has the same floorplan. Every unique floorplan needs to be submitted and certified by Wi-Fi Alliance. The contractor is allowed to use a third-party for designing the floorplan, and this third-party doesn’t need to be a member of the Wi-Fi Alliance, the contractor does. My experiences to date with builder-designed Wi-Fi have not been good because the builder isn’t knowledgeable on Wi-Fi. This only works well if the designer is knowledgeable on Wi-Fi.
So, when I’m buying a new house, I will still be allowed to design my own wireless as long as the contractor is a member of the Wi-Fi Alliance.
For more information, see the below links.
Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Home Design
Article Wi-Fi Home Design