Minimum requirements to take advantage of the connection
make the most of fiber optic rate that we have contracted with Orange, Movistar, Digi… is one of the big headaches for users. For this reason, we are going to know the minimum requirements that we have to meet so that the speed is symmetrical, that is, that they are real.
Wi-Fi connection
we already have 100 Mbps, 300 Mbps, 600 Mbps o 1 Gbps, the truth is that the WiFi connection is more difficult to offer us a real symmetry. More than anything, because the environment and the quality of the router influence here. And it is that, depending on these points, the connection speed will be more real or more or less Mbps will be lost along the way.
However, if we are in a clean environment in terms of electromagnetic radiation, without other neighboring WiFi networks or other devices, and at a maximum distance of 2 meters, the connection will be real, that is, the one we have contracted. If so, these are the requirements that we must meet:
To enjoy 100 Mbps, with 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz networks (router with 802.11n standard), it will be necessary to work with a 40 MHz bandwidth, instead of 20 MHz. From the router settings you can set up. Instead, if your router uses a standard 802.11ac (5 GHz network), also known as Gigabit WiFi, it must be clear that this network has less coverage and, therefore, to really take advantage of the connection, you will have to be close to the router.
To reach 300 Mbps through WiFi, the equipment we will need at home will be a router with standard 802.11ac As minimum. On the other hand, with a team with standard 802.11ax (WiFi 6), we will have a better and more efficient connection. Of course, the ideal will be to connect to the 2.4 GHz network with a width of 40 MHz and if we use the 5 GHz network with a width of 80 or 160 MHz.
In these cases, it will be better to have a router with WiFi 6 standard. Even with a router with 4 streams and this standard, we will be able to reach 600 real Mbps with the 2.4 GHz network. On the other hand, with the 5 GHz network, the truth is that it will be easier, we will only need 1 only stream with width of 160 MHz or 2 streams if we can only use widths of 80 MHz.
As in the previous case, here it also comes into play that we have a device with WiFi 6. However, it must be taken into account that for have 1 Gbps over WiFi we will need to use the 5 GHz band or the 6 GHz band. It will be impossible to achieve those transfer speeds with the 2.4 GHz network, since there is not enough bandwidth to achieve it. And not only this, but it will be necessary to have a router that has 2 streams (antennas in MU-MIMO 2T2R configuration) or higher. Finally, it will be more than necessary to configure the equipment so that it has 160 MHz of channel width. Otherwise, we will stay above the real 900 Mbps.
Wired connection
Here are several points that we must also take into account. In this case, we start with 100 Mbps and 300 Mbps fiber, since the requirements we need are almost identical. To begin with, it is important that the cable complies with the standards for Giga Ethernet. This means that the ideal will be use Cat 6 or Cat 6a cables As minimum.
Now if we go to the fiber of the 600 Mbps wired speed, the thing is somewhat more complicated, but not impossible. Here it comes into play that the device in which we want to enjoy this speed will need to have a gigabit ethernet network card. And it is that not only the cabling or router matters, but the hardware of the devices in which we want to make the most of this connection.
But if in your case you want to have 1 Gbps connection, things get even more difficult. With a Gigabit Ethernet link we will not be able to overcome the real 940 Mbps barrier. To do this, we will have to have a multi-gigabit router, whether they are the ones with a 2.5G Ethernet port or even those with 10 Gbps. In addition, it will be more than mandatory to use at least one Cat 6 cable.