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Boosting your Wireless Broadband Internet Signal with a Wi-Fi Antenna

Maybe you’re wondering why your Wi-Fi signal won't go very far. The problem could be technical, but your house might also be to blame.

Wi-Fi uses a microwave radio signal to send information through the air and building materials just like your cordless or cellular telephone. The normal range of most Wi-Fi products is up to 150 feet inside and 300 feet outside. However, Wi-Fi's signal and signal strength are limited not only by power but also by anything that comes between your laptop and your wireless access point.

Cheap and Effective Wi-Fi Antenna and Repeater Solutions

In the meantime, Wi-Fi companies haven’t been sitting still, but instead have developed newer and better versions of the technology. D-Link sells an 802.11g product that it refers to as "ExtremeG" with impressive signal strength. However, the single most important thing you can do to extend the range of your 802.11 system is to install an external antenna with some good gain and directional or omni-directional qualities. External antenna solutions are available for wireless routers that promise to boost your range significantly over the tiny rubber antenna that came with your router.

If you need still more range, you might need a repeater for your Wi-Fi network. You plug it in and place it wherever you want to boost your signal. When you connect with your laptop, it hits the repeater, which in turn, makes the connection to your wireless access point, allowing you to extend your wireless network's coverage by up to 50%.

Building Your Own Wireless Cantennas

There are other cheaper solutions. Tech hobbyists are using the containers from Pringles and from other items such as soup and coffee to create "cantennas" – antennas made out of cans.

The homemade devices sometimes are used to secure, share and strengthen wireless Internet signals. Sometimes they are used to borrow Internet access from a neighbor who operates an unsecured Wi-Fi network. Cantennas can extend the range of a network by increasing the strength of the signal being sent and received. Initially, the homemade devices cost hundreds of dollars less than commercial alternatives. With today's more affordable commercial antennas, there is less economic incentive, but still the homemade hardware remains popular.

Ethical and Legal Issues with Boosting Your Wireless Broadband Internet Signal

Like many new technologies, cantennas raise new ethical and legal issues.

The Federal Communications Commission requires that all antennas be approved. The FCC is concerned that placing a more powerful antenna on a transmitter could boost the signal to the point that it interferes with other wireless devices. At a minimum, the homemade devices are technically out of compliance.

Piggybacking on a neighbor's broadband Wi-Fi signal creates another set of issues. The FCC has no regulations against using an unsecured wireless signal that is transmitted into the public domain. The person taking free broadband Wi-Fi may not be breaking any law, but the cable subscriber running an unsecured wireless network is technically committing theft of services. Cox, for example, requires that all their Internet subscribers secure any wireless networks.

So build one or buy one, but check the rules.