Wi-Fi Data Elements

Empowering providers to deliver quality home Wi-Fi®

Wi-Fi is the primary connectivity technology in the home, establishing an industry need for service providers to offer best-in-class Wi-Fi service. To ensure customer satisfaction, providers depend on key data indicators to recognize and resolve Wi-Fi network issues. Existing data models establishing network health are frequently proprietary and do not easily expand to support environments utilizing multiple access points (APs), putting service providers in the role of responding to issues reactively after customer support calls.

Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Data Elements™ establishes a standardized set of the most important key performance indicators for Wi-Fi network health, such as how many devices are on the network, use of bandwidth, signal strength measurements, and free airtime. This information is gathered and communicated to network administrators who can proactively and more effectively identify and resolve Wi-Fi network issues—often before a customer notices a problem.

Home networks operating Wi-Fi 6, Wi-Fi 6E, Wi-Fi 5, or Wi-Fi 4 may be equipped with Wi-Fi Data Elements™ to assist administrators in network health management. Service providers deploying Wi-Fi Data Elements can more efficiently gather metrics to manage the complexity of multi-generation networks and provide the best user experience to their customers.

Better Wi-Fi service through network visibility

Wi-Fi Data Elements periodically collects network status information and can send it to the service provider upon request. This enables support staff and network operators to have a greater understanding of Wi-Fi network performance. The acquired data is used by network monitoring and diagnostic tools to identify if or when a Wi-Fi network issue appears, giving support staff ability to identify the issue and suggest solutions at a much faster pace.

Implementing Wi-Fi Data Elements benefits the full managed network ecosystem. Network operators gain timely visibility into Wi-Fi performance within a customer’s network and diagnostic/analytics tool vendors benefit through use of standardized key performance indicators—specific to Wi-Fi networks—to create more effective tools. This capability is key to self-organizing networks.

Wi-Fi Data Elements APs facilitate more proactive network management, enabled through:

  • Standardized set of key performance indicators that determine Wi-Fi network health
  • Rapid data collection into a standard data model
  • Efficient communication of data model to service provider for analysis and diagnostics
  • Support for single access point (AP) and multiple AP networks
  • Optimized for Wi-Fi CERTIFIED EasyMesh® self-organizing multi-AP networks

Wi-Fi Data Elements also supports the QuickTrack testing and certification process, providing equipment vendors with a simplified, lower cost option to obtain Wi-Fi CERTIFIED Data Elements designation for devices.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is Wi-Fi Data Elements just for service providers and operators?

While Wi-Fi Data Elements can benefit any network administrator, including an individual managing his or her own home network, its main purpose is to help service providers and operators provide high quality Wi-Fi service. Periodic delivery of a standardized data model helps those responsible for ensuring good service to more quickly and proactively address upcoming issues and provide solutions.

Tools vendors also benefit from Wi-Fi Data Elements because they can develop to an accepted standard and reduce the number and complexity of proprietary implementations.

Is my privacy protected? Does the data model take my personal information?

The information collected and sent in this program is high-level and does not interfere with privacy concerns. How many devices are on the network, use of bandwidth, signal strength measurements, and free airtime are examples of the types of data collected.

Is there a standard protocol or transport method to get the Wi-Fi Data Elements models from a device?

There is a JSON/HTTP standard method of obtaining the Wi-Fi Data Elements model from a device.

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