Do I need a MESH Wi-Fi System?

Mesh Wi-Fi networks are all the rage right now - and for a good reason too. A good mesh network will fix you up with fast Wi-Fi where you need it when you need it without a complex, convoluted array of cables crisscrossing your home or office. If your current network has the dreaded Wi-Fi dead spot disease or doesn't get into all the nooks and crannies you need it to (yeah, I DO need a Wi-Fi signal in the bathroom) then the prospect of installing a  Wi-Fi Mesh system has no doubt found it's way into your periphery.

Mesh Wi-Fi is your all-in-one solution to your issues of poor internet connectivity. By taking the radio signal from your Wi-Fi router, capturing it, and rebroadcasting it with improved signal strength, you can say hello to smooth streaming and goodbye to dead spots! Instead of one router generating a Wi-Fi signal for your entire home, mesh networks use multiple, smaller routers, AKA ‘nodes’, AKA ‘satellites’, to pick up the signal from your main router and send the waves of Wi-Fi all over the joint, covering it like a warm blanket of connectivity. A similar solution to that of setting up multiple Wi-Fi extenders, mesh systems are much easier to set up. Just plug in the units and follow some pretty simple steps that are detailed in the systems associated app. Most of the advanced, complicated features are out of the user's way, and the real stuff that people want are easily accessible and simple to use, such as guided setup, guest access, parental controls, and device prioritisation.

Netflix streaming, security cameras spying, gamers gaming, thermostats regulating - that's a lot of traffic on the Wi-Fi highway. Fear not. A wireless mesh network is built to handle high volumes of traffic in a big area with the benefit of utilising the full speeds your network can handle. The nodes are compact and often stylish too - unlike the bunny-eared routers of yore. The Mercku Wi-Fi Systems even have the option of customising the outside skin to match your decor, if you so see fit. And don't fear growth! If you extend your home or workspace, a mesh system is flexible and allows you to expand your network ease. As a bonus by offering up another node, traffic is shared over more points. Therefore the network runs even better.

To the dreaded dead spot. The black spot, the cut-out zone, the dead spot.  It is alive and well in almost every large household and oddly L-shaped office spaces. You have great Wi-Fi in the lounge room, but upstairs is a vapid wasteland of buffering and frozen pages. VOIP works a dream in the boardroom, but you are scrambling over desks to discuss that big job with your number one client before they drop out. If you can happily stream Netflix in parts of your home that are close to the router, but then encounter the dreaded "loading' screen in other parts that are blocked from the good stuff by notorious Wi-Fi enemies such as pesky walls or L-shaped building designs, then you need a mesh solution to spread the uninterrupted connectivity. For a multi-story home or an area that's bigger than 280 square metres, mesh networking is the winning choice, hands down.

The main selling point for Mesh Systems is reliability. So while your router's signal may only have a range of about 30 metres, your mesh Wi-Fi units - or nodes, or even satellites as the can be known -  can reproduce the signal to cover an entire building. Better yet, there's even coverage outside the building. If someone wants to access the Internet outside the building, they're covered. Man caves, poolside tiki bars, and granny flats have no reason to be left out of the Wi-Fi party.

Mesh Wi-Fi solutions will, in most cases, provide the coverage your home or office requires. It is flexible and reliable, and with more and more companies bringing their versions to the market, you are bound to find the right one for your space and price point.