The reason that I though to ask here on eham was based on some reading I have done regarding signal propagation inside buildings. Apparently 800 - 900 mhz signals propgate well inside steel framed buildings, but once you go higher in frequency - say 2.4 ghz where most common wireless routers operate, the signal is diminished and lacks range.
I is not the frequency as much as it is the spectrum itself which is very limited in width/size and is shared with micro wave ovens, cordless phones and blue tooth. When spectrum was laid out many years ago it was to support 11 narrow "B"channels. Then "G" was born which gained speed by spanning several channels and modern day "N" even more. The result the spectrum fills quickly. Consumer devices are then limited in power output to minimize interference in densely populated areas but there is still problems. I you are savy you can scan spectrum for traffic and manually limit the speed of your access points to 18Mbit or less as this allows more to co-exist and extends range too as same power is spread over a narrower spectrum.
As far as needing a networking expert- the company has a resident PC / network person, but he does not himself have the specific wireless experience beyond the common 2.4 ghz router /gateway/access points. I was hoping someone here had experience with 800 mhz transmitters and could confirm that 800 mhz devices are worth testing.
Thank you for your efforts.
You answer may lay in 802.11a/5ghz. It came out when b/g did but was largely ignored because technology for it was not mature yet. Today they are starting to use it more and there is no real shared use with it and the spectrum is much much wider too with well over 100 channels availble. Most modern laptops, tablet and even smart phones are now supporting it too. You can also use dual band access points that allow access on A, (5ghz) B or G(2.4ghz). N is merely a mode used on 2.4 ghz or 5ghz for greater speed so it unique to 2.4 or 5ghz. I have used "A" in home networking for over 9 years now and equipment for it is much better today. I support B/G and A here but use A mostly because it is interference free.
