Wi-Fi & Ethernet

Networking

Wired Ethernet connections are faster, more reliable, and have lower latency than wireless connections. You should use a wired connection whenever it is practical if performance is a priority, although newer Wi-Fi standards like Wi-Fi 6 have narrowed the performance gap significantly.

Wi-Fi is extremely convenient for small, portable devices, but when performance is required, you cannot beat an Ethernet connection. Ethernet connections are several times faster than most Wi-Fi networks, and typically have a fraction of the latency.

Is Ethernet Faster Than Wi-Fi?

Ethernet is typically faster than Wi-Fi. The better type of Ethernet cable commonly used is Cat6A, rated for data transfer speeds of up to 10 Gbps (gigabits per second). Wi-Fi 6E, which is currently the fastest Wi-Fi officially available, can only reach speeds of a few gigabits per second. Ethernet connections are also less prone to interference and have lower latency than even the best Wi-Fi networks. If reliability and speed are the priority, Ethernet cables cannot be beat.

How Much Faster Is Ethernet?

Ethernet is just plain faster than Wi-Fi --- there's no getting around that fact. But the real-world differences are smaller than you might think. Wi-Fi has gotten significantly faster over the last few years, thanks to new standards like Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax), which offers a maximum speed of about 9.6 gigabits per second. Even though this is a maximum speed for all your wireless devices to share (and you likely won't get those speeds in the real world), Wi-Fi has become good enough to handle most of our daily tasks.

We have installed many different types and size networks over the years, ranging from simple Small Office's to large Education/School solutions. However, the questions we typically get are:

• How Fast will it be?

• Can I use Wi-Fi?

• What type of cable do we need?

A good Network is a well planned Network, using quality products.