AT&T claims it's applying the latest Tech in its quest for better home Wi-Fi

By Nate Edwards, Vice-President Field and Service Transformation

As the next step in applying technology to home Wi-Fi management and complementing our existing customer tools, at AT&T we’ve equipped our technicians with a Wi-Fi performance survey app to use during in-home installation or repair visits. Launched in 2018, this latest tool is designed to ensure we take extra time on the front end to ensure the best possible Wi-Fi experience for our customers.     

Here’s how it works and why it makes a difference in performance: When we install or repair internet service, our technicians, with customer permission, take signal readings around the home to make sure the service is performing in a way that meets our customer’s expectations. The information from the testing provides a generic room name, Wi-Fi signal strength and date of the test.

Using this baseline performance measurement information, we can provide the best possible in-home connections and customer experience by optimally locating the base Wi-Fi equipment and determining if a Wi-Fi extender is needed to eliminate Wi-Fi dead spots.

Like many apps that smart phone customers use regularly, our tool captures geolocation information that we only use to confirm our technician’s location. The information available via the tool during testing measures Wi-Fi signal strength by assigned room name for easy reference, such as office or media room. It provides technical support during installation and allows the technician to help customers troubleshoot if signal strength issues occur. This Wi-Fi survey information is subject to our data privacy policy and is not sold or shared with third parties.

To help our customers better understand this tool and testing process, our employees are trained to discuss their work with our customers and to clearly communicate what they are doing while performing their work, including customer approval to proceed with in-home signal strength testing.

In the future, we anticipate enhancing our customer Smart Home Manager app so customers have a performance baseline to help troubleshoot any future signal issues that might occur. We look forward to further enhancements to our whole home Wi-Fi services that provide fast, uninterrupted, whole home Wi-Fi coverage for all our customer’s devices.