A solution to the problem of router wi-fi signals fading out around the home has been launched by One Communications.

The company is offering its customers the opportunity to install OneHome Wi-fi, which creates a “seamless mesh” wi-fi signal that can cover an entire home.

Bermudian properties are particularly susceptible to wi-fi “dead zones” due to typical home construction methods, such as thick walls and floors made from stone or concrete.

Remedies such as placing range extenders around a home to expand a router’s wireless network have limited success. The resulting signal is often weaker because range extenders rely on a single wireless radio to both receive and broadcast data.

Additionally, there can be difficulties if the range extenders broadcast on a separate network from the router — leading to mobile devices switching between them and potentially disconnecting from the network in the process.

Brian Lonergan, chief commercial officer at One, said the company’s research showed that about 47 per cent of internet users have purchased wi-fi extenders in the past as they attempted to fix the problem of patchy coverage around their home. The results proved to be variable and often created further problems.

One’s solution is its new service called OneHome Wi-fi. It uses Eero, a wi-fi system that comes with beacon units that plug into wall sockets around the house to create a single wi-fi “mesh”. The devices have multiple radios to simultaneously send and receive information.

The system also connects to the cloud to receive instructions and updates. Using a mobile app, a customer can control the Eero system in their home, do speed tests and use parental control settings to limit internet access at certain times for their children.

Technicians from One can remotely troubleshoot any wi-fi problems a customer encounters.

“This is going to solve a big problem in Bermuda,” said Mr Lonergan. He said One was taking responsibility to deliver internet not only to customers’ homes, but all the way to the devices they are using in their home.

A Royal Gazette staff member tried out OneHome Wi-fi in a two-bedroom condo where he had previously been unable to get a signal upstairs from his router.

After installing the Eero devices, with one beacon upstairs, he was able to get a strong signal all over the house, with identical download and upload speeds upstairs and downstairs.

The service is available to One’s FibreWire customers and costs $20 a month — that also includes an internet speed boost. A soft launch has been under way for the past few weeks, and One said it has been getting a lot of interest from customers.

• Pricing options for OneHome Wi-fi can be found at https://onecomm.bm/shop/internet/internet_plans/fibrewire-internet