The brief

Istead Rise Community Centre is a busy hub for the village. Local groups, classes, kids' clubs, hire events, you name it. The trustees needed a network that could keep up with all that activity, both for visitors and for the centre's own admin. Their existing setup couldn't, so they got in touch.

What was broken

The existing kit was old and tired. WiFi worked in some rooms, not others. Anyone using the back end of the building couldn't get a signal worth using. The whole thing was put together piecemeal over years, and there was no easy way to manage or expand it.

  • Outdated networking hardware that couldn't handle modern demand
  • Big WiFi dead zones in parts of the building
  • No way to scale as more groups started using the centre
  • A tight non-profit budget that ruled out enterprise-priced gear

What we did

We started with a proper site survey. Walked the whole building, mapped where the WiFi was and wasn't reaching, looked for sources of interference, and worked out where access points actually needed to go. No guesswork.

From there we put together a TP-Link Omada setup. The Omada range hits the sweet spot for community spaces and small businesses: enterprise-class features at a price a non-profit can actually afford.

The kit list:

  • Omada access points placed for genuine whole-building coverage, no dead zones
  • Omada managed switch giving solid wired connections to the offices and meeting rooms
  • New LAN cabling tying the whole thing together properly
  • Omada gateway running two internet connections in a primary plus failover setup, so a dropped line doesn't take the centre offline
  • Omada Cloud Controller for central management we can access remotely

How we installed it

Site survey first, then the install was scheduled around the centre's bookings so we didn't get in anyone's way. Once the cabling was in and the kit was mounted, we configured the cloud controller: SSIDs for staff and public, security policies, access rules, and a captive portal on the public WiFi. We tested every corner of the building, then ran a quick training session with the centre's staff so they knew how to handle the day-to-day bits themselves.

The result

  • Reliable WiFi across the whole building, including the parts that used to be dead
  • Failover internet, so a dropped line doesn't take the centre offline mid-event
  • Cloud-managed centrally, so we can support it remotely without driving out
  • Easy to expand. New room, new AP, done
  • Captive portal on the public WiFi captures visitor email addresses, which the centre now uses for its own marketing

"We are delighted with the WiFi and LAN installation provided by HelpFully IT. Our community centre now offers reliable internet access to our visitors, and the network is easier to manage than ever before. Thank you for your expertise and support."

Istead Rise Community Centre

Need something similar?

If your office, community space or building has WiFi that doesn't reach where you need it, we can help. See our Gravesend, Dartford or Kent IT support pages for the wider service, or give us a call for a chat.