With the rapid growth of IoT across enterprise and industrial spaces, now is a good time to check in on the wireless training and certification landscape beyond Wi-Fi. Today, Tom Carpenter, the Director of Education for the Certified Wireless Network Professionals joins us to give a lay of the land. He explains how the protocols... Read more »

In 2016, a handful of wireless engineers got together and decided to create the portable tool they all wish existed. Thus the WLAN Pi was born. Jerry Olla, Nick Turner, and Jiri Brejcha join the show today to talk about the evolution of the open source WLAN Pi and its current capabilities. The latest generation... Read more »

Today we talk to Sam Clements, founder of Wi-Fi Pros Slack. This online community has 1,600 members who share information and technical tips, talk shop, and connect with peers. Sam tells us how he developed the community over time, how he structures topics and channels, the ongoing fight against bots and spam, and where it... Read more »

The Wireless LAN Professionals organization just had its 10th annual conference and who better to break it down than WLPC founder (and Heavy Wireless host) Keith Parsons and friend of the show Ferney Munoz. They review their favorite presentations as well as heartwarming moments. Episode Guest Ferney Munoz | Ekahau and CWNP Certified Wireless Network... Read more »

Thinking about a career in Sales Engineering (SE)? In this episode, you’ll hear straight from an experienced SE, Stewart Goumans. Stewart talks about what kind of background you need to be an SE, what the day-to-day looks like, and what it’s like to see a customer’s eyes light up when they realize you have a... Read more »

Wi-Fi increases the GDP of entire countries, yet its tech community still has a grassroots feel. The COVID-19 work-from-home trend grew residential Wi-Fi like never before, yet it is still competing with 5G inside homes. Guest Claus Hetting, CEO of Wi-Fi NOW, joins host Keith Parsons to talk about the paradoxes, successes, and challenges in... Read more »

To understand the newest standard, Wi-Fi 7, it helps to look back at Wi-Fi 5 and 6, and even forward to Wi-Fi 8. What’s the reasoning behind the updates? How have they been experienced at the ground level? Who should make the change and when? Host Keith Parsons and Wi-Fi expert Srikanth Subramanian touch on... Read more »

Host Keith Parsons and guest Kelly Burroughs from iBwave discuss the crucial need for collaboration between Wi-Fi engineers and architects to ensure optimal wireless connectivity in building designs. They explore the use of BIM file formats for better integration and the importance of considering wireless as a utility in the architectural process. The conversation addresses... Read more »

Wi-Fi consultant Rowell Dionicio shares his experiences and insights on building a successful consulting practice. He discusses the importance of niche specialization, creating educational content, and using his podcast and blog as marketing tools. Rowell highlights the need for continuous learning, effective communication, and networking. He also addresses the business side of consulting, including handling... Read more »

Studying for a certification exam is also about grasping real-world concepts. And that’s exactly the approach David Coleman and David Westcott took when writing their CWNA study guide, now in its sixth edition. “The Davids” talk about the process of writing their book, the research involved, and the importance of making complex topics understandable for... Read more »

If you’re not paying attention to mDNS traffic, it might be hurting your Wi-Fi performance. Bryan Ward shares his research looking at the mDNS protocol on a higher ed network and its dramatic impact on Wi-Fi airtime. Bryan shares his experience of identifying and resolving network issues related to mDNS traffic and client isolation. He... Read more »

Private LTE and Wi-Fi use a lot of overlapping skills but there are also some key differences that Wi-Fi pros need to be aware of. Dr. Avril Salter joins host Keith Parsons to highlight important distinctions between Wi-Fi and private LTE or 5G networks, including spectrum use and application suitability. They also discuss the complexity of deploying private LTE networks in different countries and the training available for understanding this technology. . . . . . Heavy Wireless is part...

Thinking about automating some of your wireless workflows? Wi-Fi engineers Nick Turner and François Vergès share their experiences, including how they got started with automation, and the role of Python and tools like Postman in their processes. They suggest projects and best practices for beginners, such as how to use ChatGPT to build a rough starting script. The conversation includes a discussion on APIs and the potential risks of automation, emphasizing the importance of testing scripts in...

The University of Massachusetts, Amherst was one of the first universities in the United States to go all-wireless in its residence halls. On today’s Heavy Wireless episode, Keith Parsons speaks with UMass Amherst CTO Jim Mileski on the history of Wi-Fi at the school. They discuss initial challenges of rolling out wireless, strategic placements of access points, ensuring a good student experience across myriad devices, and the challenges of supporting Eduroam. They also discuss how Jim and...

LoRaWAN is a wireless protocol that’s well suited for use cases that require long-range, low-power operations such as sensors, metering, asset and livestock tracking, municipal “smart city” initiatives, and more. On today’s Heavy Wireless, Keith Parsons welcomes Raymond Hendrix and Troy Martin to discuss this protocol. They explain the architecture of a LoRaWAN solution, its applications, and its pros and cons. They discuss the integration of different components into a Raspberry Pi and the...

The Wi-Fi Awards is an industry effort to recognize excellence and achievements in the wireless community. Today’s Heavy Wireless explores the origins of the Wi-Fi Awards, discusses different award categories and the importance of recognizing individuals. We also discuss the nomination and selection process, emphasizing transparency and community involvement. Listeners can participate in the nomination process, which is open from September 15th to October 31st, 2023. Community voting takes...

Survey work is an essential step in a wireless LAN deployment. For outdoor deployments, especially point-to-point links, drones can be a useful tool in an engineer’s toolkit. Drones can help an engineer figure out the best place to mount a radio, get line of sight between points, confirm antenna orientation, and save a lot of climbing up and down ladders. On today’s Heavy Wireless, Keith Parsons speaks with Mike Wade, a wireless design engineer who uses drones in his survey work. They...

In this podcast episode, Keith Parsons, Glenn Kate, and Lee Badman discuss the intersection of ham radio and Wi-Fi. Glenn and Lee share their personal experiences and involvement in both fields. They talk about how they got started in ham radio and Wi-Fi, the importance of joining amateur radio clubs, and the various activities and modes available in ham radio. They also discuss software-defined radio (SDR) and its capabilities. The speakers compare the frequencies used in ham radio and Wi-Fi...

3D printing is a popular activity among wireless network engineers. Given that they deal with invisible, intangible radio waves all day, maybe it’s no surprise they’d enjoy making things they can touch and feel. On today’s Heavy Wireless we talk about why the wireless community enjoys 3D printing, and how engineers can make and use printed objects on the job–and at home. My guests are Joel Crane, Technical Director at Hamina Wireless; and Robert Boardman, a Senior Systems Engineer for...

On today’s sponsored Heavy Wireless podcast, host Keith Parsons speaks with Fortinet’s Ben Wilson about the convergence of networking and security in the wireless industry. They highlight the importance of wireless professionals learning about security and how Fortinet integrates wireless and switches into their FortiGate firewalls for unified management and policy application. They also discuss how features such as device identification and traffic analysis provide visibility into and...

Today’s Heavy Wireless episode explores building sustainable and efficient backhaul networks with sponsor Ceragon Networks. We discuss the challenges of backhaul, the complementarity of wireless and fiber solutions, the frequencies and protocols used in wireless backhaul, and the concept of disaggregated routing. Our guests from Ceragon are Dani Kiryati, VP Product Marketing; and Erez Aviv, VP Products. We examine the challenges of building backhaul networks, use cases, Ceragon Networks’...

Have you ever wanted to build a community of professionals in your field, but didn’t know where to start? In this episode of the Heavy Wireless podcast, Keith Parsons interviews Ferney Munoz, founder of the Tes@s en Wi-Fi community in Latin America, to learn how he built a successful community of Wi-Fi professionals. The most valuable lesson from this podcast is that building a community requires breaking down professional barriers and building trust among like-minded individuals. Ferney...

Host Keith Parsons speaks with Peter MacKenzie, a trainer and course developer in the wireless industry, about the importance of vendor-neutral training. What We Discuss * How courses are developed, comparing vendor-neutral classes and vendor-focused classes. * The importance of not just teaching button clicks, but also the context behind them. * The difference between professional trainers and practitioners who develop courseware. * The pushback from vendors who want their products to...

Eduroam is a technology specification for higher education that provides secure user access to any participating network. Based on 802.1x and RADIUS, participating institutions can federate their RADIUS servers such that any Eduroam user can connect to an Eduroam hotspot on a network, whether at their home institution or an institution they are visiting, and get secure, authenticated Internet access. On today’s Heavy Wireless, Keith Parsons talks with guest is Mark Houtz about designing...