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The smart TV and the radio

A television is a hungry radio at the worst end of the house. Cable it, or stop blaming the drop.

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OneTouchSwitch editorialIssue 01 · Autumn 2026 · Double3 min read620 wordsReviewed 10 September 2026

The smart TV is the most entitled device in the house: it sits through a wall, it prefers the slow band, it updates at the football, and it has a UI that says ‘network error’ for twelve different sins. Households then upgrade the drop. The drop was 400 Mbit and bored. The television was on 2.4 GHz through a kitchen. This is the cheapest article in the issue, if you own a cable.

Bitrate, not brag

4K streams are tens of megabits, not hundreds, most of the time. HDR and extra streams add up; they do not add up to a data-centre.

If ethernet to the TV is smooth at 7pm, the plant is not your critic. If ethernet also buffers, then we talk about WAN.

The band

Force 5 GHz, hide 2.4 if you must, or cable. TVs will pick the worse band and then sulk with confidence.

A dual-band SSID with a clever name is still one name. Split names if you need to bully the telly.

7pm

Updates, other streams, a cupboard hub, a neighbour’s mesh. Measure. Then either cable the TV or admit the WAN is a cabinet at the lane end.

Do not buy 2.2 Gbit because Match of the Day pixelated. That sentence has funded a lot of vanity.

TV sulk, decoded
Ethernet at 7pmWi‑Fi at 7pmDo
FineBuffersCable or nearer AP / 5 GHz
BuffersBuffersWAN — cabinet, contention, the plant
FineFineThe show, not the ISP
A television is not a speed test. It is a bad wireless client with a large glass face.

The smart TV will take as much network as you give it, badly. Give it a cable. Keep the drop for something that needs one.

Questions

How much speed does 4K need?
A few tens of megabits per stream, not 900. Two 4Ks and a console still sit on a 150 FTTP if the path is clean.
The TV has no ethernet.
A USB-to-ethernet dongle sometimes. An AP closer to the TV. A mesh node with ethernet out. Still better than a new drop.
Buffering only at 7pm.
Could be WAN busy hour — then measure ethernet at 7. If ethernet is fine, it is the radio getting busier, or the TV updating.
Should I buy Wi‑Fi 7 for the telly?
If the telly does not have it, you bought an AP the telly cannot speak. Cable.
Is the ISP throttling iPlayer?
Almost never on FTTP. Prove ethernet first. Then you may have a ticket. Not before.

Sources

  • Typical 4K stream bitrates (Netflix and similar public figures)
  • Ofcom in-home connectivity
  • Smart-TV Wi‑Fi band behaviour (common)

Figures move. Prices, coverage and eligibility must be confirmed with the provider. OneTouchSwitch is not Ofcom, TOTSCo or a broadband network. Last fact-checked 10 September 2026.

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