In the early days I had a single internet connection in one room with a desktop computer tethered to it using a single cable providing all the internet nourishment I could want (as long as I didn’t want it quickly).

Things progressed and I started to want access from more devices. This complicated things slightly but fortunately WiFi arrived and touted as the answer to my connectivity prayers.

This was fine in the early days with one or two devices using the connection but nowadays everything is internet-enabled, smart TVs, Blu-Ray players, games consoles, phones, tablets; everything is always-on and fighting for a little bit of my internet connection.

The other problem with WiFi is more fundamental. I live in an older house with thick walls so there are areas where the connection is patchy or even non-existent. I struggled with this for a while until I discovered a wonderful technology called Powerline Networking. This really is true plug-and-play technology and one that I have had very few problems with – it just works!

The fundamental premise is that you put one of the plugs in a power socket in the room where your internet connection comes in and connect the two together. The signal is then sent around the whole house via your wiring to any number of plugs in other rooms (even across different wiring circuits). There are various manufacturers of these miraculous devices but I recommend that you stick to the same manufacturer for all plugs. Although there is a widely adopted standard for these devices and, in theory, you should be able to mix-and-match it’s not something I’d recommend doing.

There are a number of different products out there depending on the type of connection you need. There are plugs with multiple network sockets and there are even plugs that can act as WiFi hotspots so extending the range of any existing WiFi network. Personally, I have a number of single Powerline plugs in various rooms that connect to simple network switches and enable me to have multiple devices connected to the single Powerline plug.

This technology is incredibly easy to set-up, flexible and reliable and highly recommended if you’re finding WiFi just isn’t delivering what you need.

Poppa G