Why your pub Wi-Fi feels slow (and it usually isn't the broadband)

Line speed is what the broadband delivers into the front-door router. Everything after that — cabling, switches, access points, VLANs — is your network. Most "slow Wi-Fi" in hospitality has nothing to do with the ISP figure and everything to do with what happens once the traffic leaves the router.

If a speed test at the router shows the full line but a phone at the far end of the bar shows 3 Mbps, the network is the problem, not the broadband.

Every business network assessment starts with the same short list. If any of these fails, upgrading the broadband is just spending money on a symptom.

• Router placement — is it inside a metal cabinet or behind a mirror-backed bar?
• Access points — one consumer router does not cover a full building. How many APs are there, where are they, and are they enterprise or consumer?
• Cabling — is the network backbone Cat5e/6, or is it running over powerline / home-plug adapters?
• Segmentation — are card terminals, CCTV, tills and guest devices all on one flat network?
• Interference — how many neighbouring networks are broadcasting on the same channel?

For a typical single-floor bar, that means one central managed switch, a small number of ceiling-mounted access points chosen based on a survey (not guesswork), and separate VLANs so guest Wi-Fi cannot slow down card payments.

Do that once, properly, and the network stops being a topic of conversation. That is the goal.

The £199 Business Network Assessment is exactly this on-site process — a written report and a prioritised plan you can use to quote from us or from anyone else. If you go ahead with recommended installation work over £1,500, the full £199 is credited back against your final invoice.