The spare-room office

Britain converted spare rooms into livelihoods without converting the wiring. The hub stayed in the hallway because that is where the engineer could stand. The worker then sat twelve metres and two plaster walls away and developed a theory about the ISP. Sometimes the theory is right. Often the spare room was never given a cable, and the career is sitting on a landing hop.

A fit-out, not a vibe

One ethernet to the desk, or one AP in the room fed by ethernet, or — last — a measured radio from a nearby AP. That is the whole fit-out as far as packets go.

Do it once. Temporary is how people live for four years on a compromise they meant to fix after probation.

The downstairs hub is allowed

You do not need the ONT in the spare room. You need a path. Houses have skirting and cupboards. Use them.

If you cannot, put the AP as close to the office as the cable will let you, not as close to the ONT as habit would.

What the company owes, what physics owes

Some employers will contribute. That is a money article. Physics still wants the cable even if they do not pay.

A company laptop on 2.4 GHz next to a metal filing cabinet is not a ‘broadband issue’ they can escalate to Ofcom.

A spare room becomes an office when a cable arrives, not when a job title does.

The spare-room office is a small civil engineering project. Do the small project. The ISP cannot run a cable up your stairs for you.