Ekahau is the survey and design toolset most enterprise Wi-Fi work is specified, designed and validated against. It is what we use on every survey: Ekahau Sidekick for calibrated measurement and Ekahau Site Survey Pro for design, analysis and reporting.
Partner Day brought UK Ekahau partners together at Poolhouse, near Liverpool Street, for a day run by Open Reality, Ekahau's value-added distributor in the UK. The sessions covered the Ekahau software suite, how partners use it across survey, design and validation work, and a preview of what is coming next. Thanks to Sam for presenting, and to Open Reality for hosting.
A first look at what is coming
Ekahau also previewed features it is working on. None of these is released yet, so timings are Ekahau's to announce, but three stood out for the work we do:
- Ekahau AI Pro 12 for desktop. The next version of the design and analysis software we build and review every survey project in, with the measured survey and the design side by side in one project.
- AI Pro 12 with MCP. A connection using MCP (Model Context Protocol, the open standard AI assistants use to work with other software), so an AI assistant can open an Ekahau project and answer questions about the survey data. In the demo, the assistant opened a sample office survey and asked what data was needed.
- A roaming tool. It simulates people walking through the floor plan with their devices, at a set walking speed and with a chosen device profile and Wi-Fi version, and draws which access point each device is connected to and how strong the signal is as they move. You can set roaming thresholds, change the number of devices and mark hotspots where people gather.
Roaming is where many real networks let people down: scanners dropping in a warehouse aisle, Wi-Fi calls breaking up as someone walks between floors. Being able to show a client how their devices will roam, before anything is installed, makes a design review far easier to follow. We wrote more about this in roaming for handheld scanners and AGVs.
Everything announced on the day
Ekahau rounded up its product news from #WiFiDay on one slide. Some of it is out now; the rest was previewed ahead of release, with dates for Ekahau to confirm.
- Out now: 3D Spectrum, AP Finder (Find AP in the new Analyzer app) and Active Pulse over Bluetooth Low Energy.
- Previewed: AI Pro 12 for desktop, Ekahau MCP, the roaming tool, airtime utilisation, 3D access point orientation, JustGo V2 and a Speedtest Pulse dashboard.
Airtime utilisation and 3D access point orientation matter more than they sound. Airtime is what actually runs out in a busy hotel, lecture hall or stadium, long before signal does, and the way an access point is angled decides where its signal goes, especially on high warehouse ceilings and outdoor masts.
The all-new Ekahau Analyzer
The Analyzer app has been rebuilt from the ground up, with the same features on iOS and Android. It is the tool an engineer reaches for on a call-out or a quick check, alongside a Sidekick 2:
- Validate at a glance. Pick a network and the home screen shows coverage (signal and how many access points are heard), channel, connectivity (latency) and interference, each marked green or red.
- Spectrum analysis across 2.4, 5 and 6 GHz. Record the spectrum, play it back and pinch to zoom into the moment something went wrong. Intermittent interference is the hardest fault to catch; being able to capture it once and study it afterwards changes that.
- Find AP. Pick the access point you are hunting, turn slowly in a full circle, then walk towards the strongest direction. Useful in hotels, schools and warehouses where nobody knows where the access points actually are, or which one is misbehaving.
- Unlimited packet capture and client analysis, for the faults that need evidence rather than opinion.
Speedtest Certified and Speedtest Pulse
The afternoon also covered Speedtest Certified, the programme from Ookla, the company behind Speedtest, that independently assesses a venue's Wi-Fi and certifies it if it meets the programme's standards. Training is live for two roles, Surveyor (SCS) and Assessor (SCA), partners can sign up now, and venues are already being certified.
The example shown was The Social Hub Rome, a hotel with a total score of 93.62 out of 100 and Wi-Fi availability, redundancy and quality all rated excellent, and the certificate on its wall to prove it. For hotels, serviced apartments, offices and venues that sell on their Wi-Fi, an independent badge says more than "free high-speed Wi-Fi" on a booking page.
Speedtest Pulse is the active, continuous side: small sensors left on site that keep testing the network the way a user would. Ekahau also previewed Pulse planning inside AI Pro, placing Pulse sensors in the design with assisted planning that suggests where they should go. Like the other previews, it is not released yet.
Why it matters if you are buying a survey
- Current tools, used properly. Survey software moves on quickly. Keeping close to Ekahau and its distributor means our method, settings and reports keep pace with the tools, rather than drifting into habits.
- A direct line when it counts. As a partner we have a route to Ekahau and Open Reality for licensing and technical support, so a question on site does not hold up your project.
- The same method on every site. On multi-site and national programmes, every surveyor works to the same calibrated method and the same thresholds, so results can be compared site by site.
- Proof after install. We survey again once the network is in and compare it with the design. That validation survey is what our coverage guarantee is measured against.
Ekahau partners, and electricians too
Most survey firms stop at the report. SEGwifi is part of the SEG group, so the same visit can cover the things that decide whether a design can actually be built: cable routes, containment, comms room space and power for every access point. Then our own teams can cable, install and validate it.
We survey from St Albans across Hertfordshire and London, and up and down the UK. Read more about how we use Ekahau, or send us your floor plans for a fixed survey price.
Let's find out what your Wi-Fi is actually doing.
Book a survey and you get measured data, a design you can build to, and a number you can budget against — not an opinion.
Our cabling, containment and power are installed under the group's accreditations — NICEIC, Constructionline Gold, CHAS and SafeContractor, held by The Specialist Electrical Group Ltd.
Talk to SEGwifi
Tell us about the building and what is going wrong. We will come back within one working day with the survey that answers it — or tell you that you do not need one.