Expert Advice
Internet Access and Your Network
Leonard Pascual A Sound Look 502 Cerrillos Rd. 505.983.5509 ASoundLook.com
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o you have Netflix, Apple TV or do you watch YouTube? Do you have a smartphone, tablet or computer? Do you have a Smart TV or listen to Pandora? Are you comfortable setting up all these items and services in your home? Most likely you have a combination of all of the above. In Santa Fe, the decision of where to buy your internet service may have already been decided for you. Hardly any locations in Santa Fe have fiber service, so hope for the best speed available is limited. If your home has cable, this offers the second best choice for internet service. Now, how do distribute service throughout the house? What about going hard-wired? This is the better solution, but is it available? There are solutions which can take advantage of any wire, and this tends to be the better solution.
What about wireless? There are different letters that you may or may not be familiar with: a, b, g, n, Ac, Ad, Ah, Aj, Ax and Ay. These are protocols past, present and future. How old is your router and wireless access point? It might be time to upgrade. Don’t forgot the other wireless technologies: Sonos, ZigBee and Zwave. These and other frequencies are floating in the air. A Sound Look already has wireless collisions—too many signals floating in the air. Most people say they do not have too many devices to suffice worrying about a good network. Do you have a smartphone? Tablet? Computer? Netflix? Pandora? YouTube? How many people are in your home? How many are being used at the same time? I think we can assume it’s more than you anticipated. Ask yourself: “Is my internet provider giving me the service I am paying for?”
You can perform a speed test, but it only gives you a snapshot in time. If you call your provider with a problem, they will often just ask you to reboot the modem. What is required is a long-term view of the service to get the answers you need. A Sound Look can help you with all the above and more. The insert photo is a sample of poor internet and the change of service after we provided the homeowner with the data to complain to the provider. The chart on the left side shows a very poor signal (the blue line is the internet speed). The green line is the delay from button press to actual retrieval of a webpage. The right side, after complaining to the provider, shows a huge jump in consistent internet speed and no delays. A Sound Look provides help and assistance with home networks. We also can provide additional assistance with our outstanding partners.