There are a few essentials necessary for your work-from-home job. These include a computer, an Internet connection, your phone, and maybe a printer. When you worked at an office, most of those supplies were provided to you. Now that you’re in business at home, do you need a home office network?
Yes, you do need a home office network. Since one of these networks gives you the Internet connectivity necessary for doing your work-from-home job, we’d consider it mandatory.
You may have a lot of questions about a home office network. What’s included? How much will it cost? I’ll address all that and more in this article, so you don’t want to miss it!
What Is a Home Office Network?
I figured we’d start with a definition of a home office network. This network provides Internet connectivity to all your work devices. These may include laptops, desktop computers, tablets, smartphones, printers, and even video game systems.
Not only do these devices get Internet connectivity, but they can sync up with other devices in the network. For instance, if you want to print from your smartphone, theoretically, you could. It’s also possible to send data or documents from one computer to another or from your phone to your laptop and vice-versa.
You can choose from one of three home office networks: wireless, wired, or a mixed network. If you have a wired network, then you use cables to connect one device to another. Those with an an older scanner or printer in a home office use a wired network.
Another type of home office network is a wireless one. This is much more modern, as no cables are required. The devices use today’s modern tech like Bluetooth and other syncing to connect wirelessly and instantaneously.
If you can’t select between a wireless or wired network, you don’t necessarily have to. Your third option is a mixed home network. This includes some wired networking devices with cables and others that are wireless.
The Components of a Home Office Network
Once you choose whether you want a wireless or wired network or even both, you’ll need several other components. You may already have these at home, in which case, you can save time and money.
Here are the components of a home office network.
Internet Service
Obviously, you cannot go online with any of your devices without an Internet connection. This should be Internet from a service provider. Don’t use LTE, as you’ll chew up your data very quickly. Also, don’t use your neighbor’s Wi-Fi.
This subscription-based service has monthly charges. If you keep paying, you keep getting Internet.
Router
A router may come with your Internet package or you might have to buy it separately. Either way, this networking device allows you to use a modem (which I’ll explain shortly) to get an Internet connection. Not just that, but a router gives you the freedom to sync all your favorite devices to one another.
Alternately, you might use a gateway. This is hardware that does the job of your router and modem but is one convenient piece of tech.
Modem
Then there’s your modem, which works in tandem with your router to provide reliable Internet connectivity.
Devices
Finally, you need a home office full of devices to connect. I’ve mentioned several already, but these may include:
- Desktop computer
- Laptop
- Printer
- Scanner
- Faxer
- Smartphone
- Tablet
What Are the Benefits of a Home Office Network?
You may still be pondering whether a home office network is right for your work-from-home job. For efficiency’s sake, I’d say it is. If you’re still not totally convinced, here are some great benefits of having your own network.
Convenience
Working from home isn’t the easiest job. By not having all the tech and equipment you would in an office, you only make the job harder. Being able to connect one device to another, like your laptop to your printer or your phone to your computer, is extraordinarily convenient. You can easily sync and send files, documents, and anything else your job requires.
You can also print without having to finagle with the printer, which saves you headaches. The more time you can spend focusing on your job and the less wrestling with tech, the more efficient and productive your days are.
Easy Internet Access
If you need to connect your smartphone or laptop, you don’t have to use a coffee shop or coworking space’s Wi-Fi. It’s your own Internet connection that should hold steady.
Most work-from-home jobs are computer-based, whether partially or fully. When you have to fight with spotty Internet connectivity, this unnecessarily sucks up your time. That’s less you get done, which means you either have to work into the night or save it for another late day. Neither are a fun option.
Security
Finally, if you’re concerned with your Internet security, you’ll love a home office network. Once your devices are all connected, you can adjust the security settings. These settings will apply for all your devices without you having to go and change them one by one. How cool is that?
How Much Does a Network Cost to Install?
Are you thinking of getting your own home office network installed? According to 2019 data from Home Advisor, the national average price for installation is $375.
On the lower end, you might pay just $90 for setup. Others have reported being charged as much as $1,100. The average range tends to be between $188 and $601, which is more reasonable.
Why such a price discrepancy? It depends on several factors. Location is one. If you live in a state that’s generally more inexpensive, then you shouldn’t be charged huge installation fees.
Another factor is what kind of office setup you have. If it’s just a few devices, then installation shouldn’t be too hard. The bigger the office with the more tech, the higher the fees generally will be.
Do remember that this is just the cost for a home network installation. You still have to pay for your monthly Internet, which I’ll get into in the next section. If you don’t have devices like a smartphone or printer, you have to buy these as well. Those could cost several hundred to several thousand dollars depending on the model you select.
Then there’s your smartphone and tablet usage, which you pay for monthly on your phone bill. That’s yet more money you’ll put towards keeping your home office network up and running.
How Much Will I Pay Monthly for Internet and Phone Services?
According to Internet service provider review site High Speed Internet.com, most people pay $50 to $60 a month for their Internet service. A plan at that price should promise you speeds of 100 megabits or Mbps. That should be sufficient for your work-from-home job. However, you might want to limit how many devices you connect to the network, as speed can sometimes suffer. Should you find yourself needing more speed, you can get it, but you’ll have to pay for it.
Okay, so monthly Internet pricing isn’t horrible. What about your phone bill? That all depends on which service provider you have and which plan you pick. Here’s a brief pricing overview courtesy of NerdWallet:
- MetroPCS — $40 a month for a five-gigabyte plan
- Cricket Wireless — $25 a month for a Cricket Talk & Text plan, $40 a month for a five-gigabyte plan, and $110 for a four-line Cricket Basic with Group Save plan with five gigabytes
- Republic Wireless — $15 a month for a no-data plan
- AT&T — $165 a month for a four-line plan under AT&T Unlimited Choice
- Sprint — $65 a month for unlimited data under the Sprint Unlimited Freedom plan
- Boost Mobile — $50 a month for unlimited data
- Verizon Wireless — $60 a month for a five-gigabyte plan
- T-Mobile — $75 a month for unlimited text and talking under the T-Mobile One plan
- Project Fi — $20 a month for unlimited text and talking
- Straight Talk — $45 a month for an unlimited text and talk plan with 10 gigabytes of data
- Virgin Mobile — $35 a month for an unlimited text and talk plan with five gigabytes of data
Will My Employer Pay for a Home Office Network?
If you work from home as part of a company, you may be curious if your employer can help with the costs of getting your home office network set up. The only way to find out is to ask. Some employers might cover the cost of installation and even tech like printers, smartphones, and computers. If it’s a work device, they may pay the monthly bills, too. It depends on the employer and their policy.
Related Questions
What type of network is most commonly found in the home?
Most homes will use Ethernet networks. These systems let you sync several devices or computer systems at once. This creates your local area network. The protocols the Ethernet sets up will limit how much data and info can be transferred at once.
Should you hide your SSID?
Each home has its own Service Set Identifier or SSID. This is the name of your network. Maybe yours is just a combination of random numbers or letters. You could have even customized it.
By making your network hidden, the goal is to prevent people from using your Internet connection. That said, having a hidden network often creates more problems than it does solutions. If you’re worried about a nosy neighbor using your network, then set up a secure password instead.