Have you ever looked at your phone’s connection settings and seen that the same business has several different Wi-Fi networks? For example, you may be familiar with a scenario where a business has a password-protected Private network and an open Guest network.

Having multiple networks gives you complete control over who has access to which resources. You can give your guests the privilege to get online via an unsecured network, but only after they agree to a Terms of Service. Guests may be restricted to slower speeds or for more limited web access than your employees enjoy. In addition, you can wind up multiple networks to support different operations, like POS and other employees.

There are a few different types of networks available on Ooma Wi-Fi:

Data Networks

Data networks are probably what comes to mind when you think of Wi-Fi access. Typically used by employees who need Internet access on their laptops, data networks are authenticated Internet connections. Data networks support the following basic functionality:

  • Username and password authentication

Data networks can be further customized with the following options:

  • Rate limits for the whole network or limits on individual devices/users (network throttling)
  • Site blacklisting to prevent users from browsing inappropriate or unsafe content

Ooma Wi-Fi can support multiple data networks, so you can support different subsets of your users with different settings. For example, you may want to have different data networks for your POS, your employees, and your security cameras.

Voice Network

A voice network will route traffic to ensure that Ooma Office voice calls that are made on the Wi-Fi network are always as clear as possible. Voice traffic will be prioritized right out of the box, so if your network ever experiences low bandwidth your telephone calls will be the last thing to be affected.

If a customer opts to have a voice network, it won’t be visible in the list of Wi-Fi networks on your devices.

Guest Network

If you would like to give guests Internet access without giving them access to your private network, a guest network is a great option. A guest network can require your guests to agree to terms and conditions and can support the following functionality:

  • A customizable user portal with policy acceptance page to block access until the guest has agreed to the terms of service
  • Scheduling to turn access to the network on and off at specified times
  • Rate limits for the whole network or limits on devices/users (network throttling)
  • Site blacklisting to keep users from browsing inappropriate or unsafe content