Reliable Wi-Fi in care homes is essential for electronic care records, staff handhelds, VoIP/DECT phones, nurse-call integrations, CCTV, smart TVs and residents’ devices. We design FTTP (Full Fibre), SOGEA or Leased Line connectivity with a Wi-Fi site survey, heatmaps, correct AP placement, and VLAN separation for residents, guests and staff. The result: fast, safe, and consistent coverage across bedrooms, lounges, corridors and gardens.
Key takeaways
- FTTP or Leased Line for resilient bandwidth; SOGEA where FTTP isn’t live yet.
- Professional Wi-Fi survey & heatmaps to model coverage, roaming and channel reuse.
- VLANs/SSIDs for residents, guests and staff devices; content filtering on guest Wi-Fi.
- WPA3 security, band-steering, and 2.4/5/6 GHz planning for mixed devices.
- QoS for VoIP/DECT/Teams/3CX so care calls stay crystal-clear during busy periods.
1) Choose the right access: FTTP, SOGEA or Leased Line
FTTP offers gigabit downstream and low latency for streaming, telemedicine and cloud apps. Leased Lines add symmetrical speeds and tight SLAs for sites where uptime is critical. SOGEA is a modern, cost-effective option where FTTP isn’t yet available.
2) Wi-Fi site survey, heatmaps & AP placement
We survey multi-storey layouts, thick walls and reflective surfaces, then produce heatmaps showing signal strength and roaming. APs are positioned for bedrooms and communal areas, minimising dead zones and co-channel interference. We tune Tx power and channel planning on 2.4/5/6 GHz to avoid overlap from neighbouring SSIDs or devices (e.g. microwaves).
3) Segmentation: residents, guests, staff & clinical systems
Separate VLANs/SSIDs isolate sensitive systems (care records, staff laptops, VoIP) from guest and resident traffic. Guest Wi-Fi gets a simple captive portal, bandwidth shaping and safe DNS. CCTV and IoT can sit on a dedicated VLAN with firewall rules. See our firewalls & security.
4) Security: WPA3, policies & compliance
We enable WPA3 where supported, rotate keys, and apply least-privilege firewall policies. Staff access uses strong authentication; guest networks block peer-to-peer traffic. Logging and content filtering keep browsing appropriate.
5) Voice quality: DECT, Teams & 3CX without dropouts
Care homes rely on DECT/VoIP for internal and external calls. We prioritise RTP media with QoS, separate voice onto its own VLAN where appropriate, and validate roaming to cordless devices. Integrations with 3CX or Microsoft Teams Calling include call queues, time-of-day routing and voicemail-to-email for managers.
6) Monitoring, failover & reporting
We monitor APs, WAN links and QoS metrics to catch issues before they impact residents. Where resilience matters, we add 4G/5G failover and provide monthly uptime reports. Changes are documented for audits and safeguarding.
Related guides
FAQs
Will residents’ streaming affect staff systems?
No — residents/guests are rate-limited and isolated with VLANs/SSIDs. Staff and clinical networks stay protected.
Do we need new access points?
Not always. We reuse compatible APs where sensible, adding units only where heatmaps show weak coverage.
Can you support DECT and softphones together?
Yes. We tune roaming and QoS for DECT and prioritise RTP for softphones/Teams so both work reliably.