Thread: Public Access Wifi Setup

So, I've been thinking/looking into this a bit, but thought maybe someone here had some experience in his. I want to get my church setup with some public access wifi throughout the building (or at least the auditorium). I want separate access for designated church devices (one or two computers, and a couple ipads). Also, the public wifi can be password protected if needed, as that can be shared and limit complete outsiders from accessing.

For this what should I look into/will need. I know that all networking equipment will be new purchases so any direction /suggestions/experiences are appreciated.

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Almost all access points have a guest network separate from the primary and is pretty easy to set up.

What Kanati said +1

You left out important details. What is the square footage and what is the budget and how many users?

You can do enterprise grade WAP that overlap the building but those require lines to be run. They have repeaters etc that will extend a single WAP. The biggest limitation is for consumer or even enterprise WAP is the number of users that can use it simultaneously. For Enterprise we have found the sweet spot to be about 60 per WAP ( based on student density). If you are using consumer model WAP it will be less.

Not sure square footage unfortunately (though can probably get that info as I get deeper into this). Initial thought was just auditorium which may be 2000 square feet (probably less) of open room, and regular attendance of 200 - 250 people (maybe 100 to 150 users if that). Budget is kind of open, I'm going to be giving specifically for this, so want to get it right first and foremost.

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Sounds like people are in the church like sardines. o.O

Originally Posted by ab1tar

Not sure square footage unfortunately (though can probably get that info as I get deeper into this). Initial thought was just auditorium which may be 2000 square feet (probably less) of open room, and regular attendance of 200 - 250 people (maybe 100 to 150 users if that). Budget is kind of open, I'm going to be giving specifically for this, so want to get it right first and foremost.

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With that many people are you going to want to go enterprise and overlap signals so it hands off users.

Amazon.com: enterprise wireless access points

Enterprise class WAP from amazon for examples. I have succesfully deployed these in a business environment and the management console allows you to name all the WAPs the same and setup restricted and guest channels and then space them in the auditorium mounted from the ceiling. You will need a decent POE switch to power them and line drops in the ceiling to each WAP. They come with mounting hardware.


Your device will automatically detect which WAP has the strongest signal and seemlessly switch between them. No need to select another SSID, its all 1 SSID.

These are certainly not the only nor the be all choice. Just saying they have worked for me. I am sure others will chime in with ideas.

I usually do 30 per WAP when I use the Ubiquiti line, they aren't as robust as other enterprise WAPs but they are MUCH cheaper. So you will need 5 of these WAPS to cover 150 users assuming you have enough bandwidth coming into the church. You could get 2 3-packs and have a little extra...maybe put one in the offices?


This is a decent POE switch 8 POE lines is plenty for 6 WAPs

By using a POE switch you won't need dedicated power at each WAP assuming you are within max range for the power to be included with the ethernet. If you are beyond it you will need a booster or local plug in.

Cat 5e or Cat 6 cabling from wherever you mount the switch to each WAP a is another discussion and is determined by the square footage.

Please avoid the irony when you set this up, don't make the restricted wifi password "god"

Gotta look at it like we used to do ISDN/DSL lines though. Even though you have 200 people eating on your bandwidth, not everyone is going to be doing so, so you can "oversell" as much as 7 to 1 and not see slowdown. I would hazard a guess that this is going to be the same. There might be 200-250 people, but I'm betting it's going to be a LOT less than even 100 that will be actively using it. I'd put money on 50 max and that's probably pushing it. Not to mention that without a reasonably large pipe, even 30-50 people are going to tax the HELL out of any bandwidth to the building.

Originally Posted by ab1tar

Not sure square footage unfortunately (though can probably get that info as I get deeper into this). Initial thought was just auditorium which may be 2000 square feet (probably less) of open room, and regular attendance of 200 - 250 people (maybe 100 to 150 users if that). Budget is kind of open, I'm going to be giving specifically for this, so want to get it right first and foremost.

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If you want to get it right the first time look into Meraki. It does want you want as well as roaming if you need to install multiple waps. Found it very easy to setup. I have a site that does over 400 connects a day no issues. I have worked with multiple devices in many scenarios and Meraki has saved me lots of frustration.