Got a Critical Wi-Fi Mistake? | Storm Internet
Birket Foster of Storm Internet breaks down the Wi-Fi planning mistakes hurting rural businesses; and what to do before things break. K4B Episode 178.
Host: Bernie Franzgrote
Storm Internet's Birket Foster joins Knack 4 Business to break down Wi-Fi planning mistakes and rural connectivity solutions for SMB owners. Episode 178.
GROWTH CATEGORY: Cybersecurity & IT
Most small businesses have never actually planned their network. They bought a router, plugged it in, and moved on. That works fine — until it doesn't. Dropped calls. Frozen point-of-sale. A team of ten people who can't all connect at once. Birket Foster of Storm Internet has spent thirty years on the other end of those problems. In Episode 178 of Knack 4 Business, he explains what to do before things break.
Watch the full conversation here:
WHO THIS IS FOR
SMB owners / Solopreneurs / Home office operators / Rural business owners / Leaders building systems
Key Lessons
1. Your router's spec sheet is not the whole story.
Most routers advertise support for 256 connections. The fine print often reveals they handle only 16 simultaneously. For a team of twenty people, each carrying four devices, that gap is a real problem. Birket's team does capacity planning before any installation — counting devices, estimating simultaneous usage, and designing a network that handles the real load. The number on the box is a starting point, not a guarantee.
2. Reliability matters more than raw speed.
Fiber-powered wireless is not just about fast downloads. Birket describes it as being in the same class as fiber in terms of ping time, transfer rates, and consistency. When Storm surveyed one network's users, thirty-four percent had a medical device depending on that connection. Speed is easy to sell. Reliability is what people actually need — especially in rural areas where there is no quick fallback.
3. Plan for the network you will have, not just the one you have today.
Every TV running on Wi-Fi competes with every device in your building — and your neighbours'. Auto-updates from cloud software consume bandwidth without warning. Six gigahertz is coming and will change what is possible in manufacturing and dense office environments. Birket's advice is consistent: when a wall is open, wire it. Plan two years out. The cost of doing it right during a renovation is a fraction of the cost of doing it over.
Practical Steps
- Count every connected device before you buy anything. Phones, laptops, tablets, smartwatches, smart appliances — assume four devices per person minimum and plan your network around that number.
- Schedule auto-updates for off-hours. Microsoft, Apple, and most cloud platforms update automatically. Configure them to run after business hours so they don't consume bandwidth mid-meeting.
- Ask your ISP for a real SLA, not just a speed tier. Residential plans typically carry a multi-day response window. If your business cannot send everyone home because the internet is down, ask about commercial four-hour response and proactive monitoring.
About the Guest
Birket Foster is the founder of Storm Internet, a rural ISP serving Lanark County and surrounding communities in Ontario since 1996. Storm operates nine towers in the Perth area, 48 kilometres of fiber through Clayton, and a fiber-powered wireless network now connecting over 230 users. Birket recently led the full connectivity upgrade at Ottawa Titans Stadium — a 10-gig installation now being broadcast on Sportsnet. He started his technology career at Carleton University in the late 1970s and went on to build MBFoster.com, a software company that sold to 48 American states and 38 countries with Hewlett Packard as a partner. Connect with Birket on LinkedIn or visit storm.ca.
Listen on Audio
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FAQ
What is fiber-powered wireless and how is it different from regular wireless internet? Fiber-powered wireless delivers speeds and reliability in the same class as a fiber connection — but without needing a physical cable to every home. Storm uses it to serve rural areas where running fiber all the way to the building is not practical. It combines the speed of fiber infrastructure with the flexibility of wireless access.
How do I know if my business network can handle my team? Start by counting every connected device — not just computers, but phones, tablets, smartwatches, and any smart equipment. Assume four devices per person and check whether your router can handle that many simultaneous connections, not just the total listed on the box. If you are unsure, call your ISP and ask for a capacity review.
What should I ask an ISP before signing up for business internet? Ask about the SLA; specifically the response time if your connection goes down. Ask whether they monitor proactively and handle firmware updates remotely. Ask what speeds are provisioned for your plan, not just advertised, and whether those speeds are shared or dedicated. A local ISP like Storm will often give you a direct answer. Larger carriers may not.
K4B Acknowledgements
Carl Richards | Fred Crouch | Jovan Strika — @Hive | Melanie Webber
