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What is the maximum distance of a WiFi connection?

Huub Schuurmans's picture
Practice shows that distances of several kilometers are quite feasible.

The maximum distance depends on a lot of variables: the antennas used, the height of the antennas, the area in between, the nature of the surroundings (e.g. presence of metal). In wooded areas the transmittance is effectively reduced. As a rule of thumb you need a free line-of-sight between the two antennas, which means that you should be able to actually see the antenne of the access point that you want to connect to. Note that also the user has to stick to the legal maximum power of 100 mW, power amplifiers are illegal and a nuisance for your neighbourhood!

Wireless Leiden aims at a distance between nodes of about 800 meter. The distance of the average user to an accesspoint will therefore be about 400 meter. The bandwith at that distance will be close to the nominal bandwidth (i.e. 11 Mpbs and effectively 4 - 5 Mbps nett data velocity); provided there is a line-of-sigtht of course and no interference from neighbouring ap's.