Layer 02 · Network · Subscription
Wireless-as-a-Service (WNaaS)
Wireless-as-a-Service (WNaaS) is a subscription in which STP surveys your building, designs the Wi-Fi coverage, and supplies, owns, monitors, supports and refreshes the access points and controllers, so wireless is delivered as a working service for a monthly fee rather than as equipment bought once.
Overview
Most Wi-Fi complaints are design problems, not equipment problems: access points placed where the ceiling was convenient rather than where the people are, channels that interfere with each other and with the neighbours, and coverage that nobody measured after installation. Buying better access points fixes none of them.
Wireless-as-a-Service starts with a site survey and heat mapping, so placement is decided by measurement. STP then supplies and owns the access points and controllers, installs them, validates the coverage against the design, and keeps it running: monitoring, fault resolution, firmware updates and refresh are all inside the subscription.
Guest and corporate traffic are separated by design, and corporate access can be tied to identity with 802.1X instead of a shared password every former employee still knows. We build on HPE Aruba, Cisco and Sophos wireless equipment, and because we also install cabling, the access points are cabled and powered by the same team.
What is included
- Wireless site survey and heat mapping before design
- Access point placement and channel planning
- Access points and controllers supplied and owned by STP: HPE Aruba, Cisco, Sophos
- Cabling and power to every access point, by the same team
- Validation survey after installation, against the design
- Separate guest and corporate networks
- 802.1X identity-based access for corporate devices
- Continuous monitoring, fault resolution and firmware updates
- Planned access point refresh within the subscription
What you get out of it
- Coverage that was measured, not assumed
- No shared Wi-Fi password to change every time someone leaves
- Wireless as a monthly cost, with the refresh already included
Technologies we deliver it with
Named to describe what we work in. Not a claim of partnership, endorsement or certification.
Questions
- Why is our office Wi-Fi slow even with new access points?
- Usually because of placement and channel planning rather than the hardware. Too many access points on overlapping channels interfere with each other, and too few leave people at the edge of coverage on a slow connection. A survey measures both before anything is mounted, and a validation survey proves the result afterwards.
- Can guests use the same Wi-Fi as staff?
- They can use the same access points, but not the same network. Guest traffic is placed on its own segment with internet access only, so a visitor's laptop never sits on the network that carries your systems.
- Who owns the access points?
- STP does, for the life of the subscription. That is what lets us monitor, replace and refresh them without a purchase on your side. In most cases the access points return to STP at the end of the contract.
- How is Wireless-as-a-Service priced?
- As a monthly subscription. The fee depends on the setup and architecture of the wireless network and the functionality you need, which is why it follows a survey of the building rather than a price list.
- What service levels do you commit to?
- They are agreed per client rather than fixed in a catalogue. Response times, coverage hours and reporting are tuned to what your systems and obligations require, and written into the subscription.
Standards and references
Talk to an engineer about Wireless-as-a-Service (WNaaS)
A live engineer calls you back within 1 hour.