Service providers have found that simply looking at Signal Strength measurements and using a single instrument is not a true measure of the Wi-Fi user experience in the home. Current workflows results in un-characterized Wi-Fi environment causing high amount of customer service calls and truck rolls.

AirScout provides an automated solution that surveys the residence from Layer 1 all the way through to the application layer. Providing technicians with a tool that distills complex measurements into easy to understand metrics; enabling technicians to convey to consumers whether their applications are supported where they need it.
 

Applications

• Enables the Telco, Cable/MSO and their installation and maintenance contractors to provision highly effective Wi-Fi to their consumers
• Household Wi-Fi provision
• SME Wi-Fi provision
• Community Wi-Fi service provision
• Confirms satisfactory Wi-Fi performance before job closure
• Provides Wi-Fi “birth certificate” for the installation

Benefits

• Optimize access point location and settings
• Opportunities to offer additional hardware (e.g. second AP or repeaters)
• Improving the quality of experience of Wi-Fi in homes and small businesses
• Reducing fault reports related to wireless LAN (Wi-Fi)
• Less frustration for end users
• Higher customer approval ratings
• Reduction of customer "churn"
• Allows retention of installation records in the “cloud” for future reference by customer services

Master Controller

The AirScout master controller (ASM300) is a dual-band MIMO wireless access point which when combined with three or more remote client units will evaluate the likely performance of the entire installation. The ASM300 should be placed approximately where the client gateway device will eventually be installed. However, note that one aspect of the AirScout system is that recommendations may later be made to re-locate this for optimum coverage throughout the premises.

 

The remote AirScout client (ASC300) devices are also dual band MIMO and are also placed in approximately the same places real end-user devices would be used around the home.

 

AirScout is operated by an App running on a commonly available tablet computer. Once the App is started and communication is established to the AirScout master controller. An outline floor plan of the site is developed in the “App”. Most commonly by dragging a standard shape “house plan” onto the working screen and the "access point" placed on this in its relative position. Absolute scale is not important. Each of the ASC300 clients is then placed onto the floor-plan in roughly the proportional positions they are in the real-world; at this point the technician can re-assign names to the client devices if necessary making test reports easier to understand for the client.