In this episode, François and I dig into a question we put directly to our audience: would you recommend your current Wi-Fi vendor? The results were telling. About 42 percent said yes without hesitation, 52 percent said yes but with a caveat, and only 6 percent said no, they’re looking to switch. So most people are happy, even if that happiness comes with an asterisk. We spend the episode unpacking what those caveats really mean and why they matter.

We start with why organizations stay put, because switching a Wi-Fi vendor is a big undertaking. It’s not just the cost of getting people on ladders to swap out APs. It’s the sunk time in the tools, templates, and custom integrations your team has already built, plus the risk management sees in trading known limitations for a set of unknowns. Relationships carry a lot of weight here too, since moving to a new vendor means building a whole new relationship from scratch. From there we get into the reasons people actually make the leap: recurring bugs the vendor can’t seem to fix, licensing and pricing changes nobody budgeted for, painful lead times, weak support, and RFP processes that sometimes reward the lowest price over the best fit.

If you do decide to evaluate someone new, we walk through how to do it well. Start with your real business requirements and run a proper proof of concept, but plan it like a full install rather than a one for one replacement. Give it time, because a single week won’t show you much; you need to burn the gear in, test capacity, and see how it holds up under real load. And keep in mind the work isn’t done once you sign, since migration, supporting two vendors for a while, training, and day two operations are all part of the picture. If you weren’t part of our poll, let us know where you land and what your caveat is, because that’s the conversation we want to keep having.

The post CTS 394: Would You Recommend Your Wi-Fi Vendor? (Audience Poll) appeared first on Clear To Send.

Ever wonder what actually happens behind the scenes when a device gets Wi-Fi Certified? In this episode, we sit down with Daryl K., who brings years of hands-on experience working inside Authorized Test Labs (ATLs).

We dive deep into how Wi-Fi Alliance testing works, how test beds are constructed, why some standard features fail in the real world, and what it takes to get products certified.

The post CTS 393 What is happening when the Wi-Fi Alliance certifies devices? appeared first on Clear To Send.

In this special sponsored episode of the Clear To Send podcast, hosts Rowell Dionicio and Francois Verges sit down with Troy Martin and Matt from Ekahau to discuss a major, fundamental shift in the company’s product licensing structure.

Effective September 1, 2026, Ekahau is introducing a new software as a service (SaaS) licensing model designed to provide organizations with role-based flexibility across the wireless project life cycle.

This new strategy allows companies to assign specific tools to specific team members based on their day-to-day functions, such as field data collection or corporate office design, rather than forcing the purchase of an all-inclusive software package.

Matt and Troy break down the three primary SaaS options: Ekahau Plan for RF predictive designs, Ekahau Measure Pro for field surveying and live troubleshooting, and the comprehensive Ekahau Software Suite. Additionally, they highlight a baseline Ekahau Measure option for survey-only needs and reassure existing customers that perpetual licenses and connect subscriptions are not being sunsetted. Listeners can find the transparent MSRP pricing and a detailed feature breakdown by visiting ekahau.com.

Resources

The post CTS 392: Navigating Ekahau’s New Licensing Model (Sponsored) appeared first on Clear To Send.

An AP-on-a-Stick (APoS) survey is the most reliable way to know how a Wi-Fi design will behave in a difficult environment. You mount a real access point on a tripod, place it where you plan to install it, and measure. It is also the survey type where the most time gets wasted — and almost never on RF.

In this episode we go through how we prepare and run APoS surveys: the conversation with the client, the equipment decisions, the configuration work that belongs in the office, and the way we organise the survey files we bring back.

What we cover

APoS preparation checklist

Key takeaway

An APoS survey is won or lost before you get on site. Prepare off site, execute on site.

The post CTS 391 – How to Perform an AP-on-a-Stick Survey Effectively appeared first on Clear To Send.

In this episode, Rowell and François discuss the tools they have been using so far in 2026. From the hardware that’s used on a day-to-day or at a client site to the software they use to help them run their business, fix Wi-Fi issues, and conduct surveys, to AI and Automation.

At the end of 2026, they will record another episode discussing which tools made it through and will show long-term usage.

The post CTS 390: Which tools have we used this year? appeared first on Clear To Send.

In this episode of the Clear to Send podcast, the hosts revisit the classic Wi-Fi design question: “How many SSIDs is too many?” While the long-standing technical advice has always been to minimize SSIDs to conserve airtime, the discussion explores how modern standards—like 6 GHz, multiple BSSIDs, and changing client habits—impact this rule of thumb.

The episode provides technical discussion on management overhead, strategies for network consolidation, and advice on how to communicate these technical limitations to management.

Beacon airtime per SSID, per radio

Based on ~10 beacons/sec at a 100 TU beacon interval and a ~200-byte beacon frame.

Co-channel multiplication – 4 SSIDs on the channel

The headline stat for the episode: it is not the SSID count that kills you, it is the SSID count multiplied by co-channel APs and divided by your data rate.

“We need a new SSID” → the better answer

The post CTS 389: SSID Spaghetti – How Many SSIDs Is Too Many? appeared first on Clear To Send.

We’re trying out something new in this episode. We’re asking each other questions on “Would you rather” to get insight into how we would do Wi-Fi given we had two options.

What you’ll find is that we don’t always agree on the same things. And that’s okay.

More importantly, is diving into the reasons why. If you find that there’s a topic you’d like to learn more about, please let us know in the comments below.

The post CTS 388: Would You Rather, Wi-Fi Edition appeared first on Clear To Send.

In this episode, co-hosts Rowell Dionicio and François Vergès share their first-time experiences and impressions of HPE Discover. They dive into the pervasive role of AI in modern networking, discuss their individual presentations on automation and agentic AI, and explore how the acquisition of Juniper Networks is influencing the HPE Aruba product ecosystem.

The post CTS 387: Networking at the Crossroads: Our Impressions of HPE Discover appeared first on Clear To Send.

Thank you to our sponsor:

Meter: Visit meter.com/cleartosend to book a demo!

Let me walk through what a day in the life of a WLAN Engineer looks like in Higher Education and in a consulting role.

Both are different but they share similar characteristics.

In Higher Education, the day can start with tickets or with a new Wi-Fi design. We have the flexibility here to design our day. But there’s no doubt it can be filled with unnecessary meetings.

For a WLAN Engineer in a consulting role, those meetings can be absolutely necessary in order to have a positive outcome in an engagement.

I’ve been fortunate to hold hats in both roles and I enjoy doing both.

If you’d like to share what your day looks like as a WLAN Engineer, please leave a comment down below.

The post CTS 386: A Day in the Life of a WLAN Engineer appeared first on Clear To Send.

Thank you to our sponsor:

Meter: Visit meter.com/cleartosend to book a demo!

In this episode, we’re diving into some Python and APIs to visualize data within Grafana. This episode is part of Rowell’s automation journey. He has been learning Python with his daughter.

For Rowell, this is just the beginning as he starts integrating Grafana with InfluxDB and Telegraf. A lot more has to be learned in addition to Python and API.

Within the video, we look into the Mist API and see how Rowell was able to develop a script to pull specific information that could be part of a dashboard within Grafana.

Resources

The post CTS 385: Building Your Own Wi-Fi Dashboard Using APIs and Grafana appeared first on Clear To Send.