Mesh Wi-Fi Explained: Banish Dead Zones
How mesh systems work and why they are perfect for full fibre homes.
The Physics of Dead Zones
It is the most common frustration in modern homes: you have ultra-fast fibre broadband coming into the house, but in the back bedroom or the kitchen extension, the Wi-Fi is dead. You hold your phone up to the ceiling, praying for a signal bar.
This happens because Wi-Fi signals (radio waves) are blocked by physical obstacles. Brick walls, foil-lined insulation, water tanks, and even fish tanks absorb the signal. A single router, no matter how powerful, cannot bend the laws of physics to punch through three solid brick walls.
The Old Solution: Extenders
Historically, people bought “Wi-Fi Extenders” or “Boosters.” These cheap plug-in devices simply listen for a weak signal and shout it out again. They are flawed. They usually cut your speed in half (because they can’t listen and talk at the same time), and they create a separate network name (SSID). You have to manually switch your phone from “HomeWiFi” to “HomeWiFi_EXT” as you walk around.
The New Solution: Mesh Wi-Fi
Mesh Wi-Fi is a smarter approach. Instead of one loud router, you have a team of units (nodes) working together.
1. Single Network: All nodes broadcast the same network name. Your phone sees one big cloud of Wi-Fi.
2. Seamless Roaming: The system intelligently hands your device from one node to another as you move. It happens instantly; your FaceTime call won’t even stutter.
3. Intelligent Backhaul: The nodes talk to each other on a dedicated radio channel (tri-band systems), ensuring that the speed isn’t halved at each jump.
Mesh and Full Fibre
If you are paying for 500Mbps or 900Mbps, a single router will likely only deliver that speed to the room it sits in. To get Gigabit speeds in every room, Mesh is essential. Many CityFibre ISPs now bundle Mesh systems (like the Amazon eero or Technicolor extenders) with their premium “Pro” packages.
Pro Tip: Wired Backhaul. The absolute gold standard is to connect your Mesh nodes together using Ethernet cables hidden in the walls or running along skirting boards. This “wired backhaul” means the wireless spectrum is 100% free for your devices, guaranteeing maximum speed and stability everywhere.