Need internet in the shop, the barn, the warehouse across the lot, or a second office building? A point-to-point wireless bridge carries your main network to a detached building through the air — no trench, no conduit, no second internet bill. Harold Ragan Communications designs, mounts, aims and tests bridges across Northwest Arkansas, and wires the far end so it works like it is part of the main building.
Yes — and when it is designed properly, a bridge behaves like a long Ethernet cable.
A wireless bridge is a matched pair of directional radios. One mounts on the building that already has internet, the other on the building that needs it, and they are aimed at each other. Traffic crosses between them on a dedicated link, and on the far side a switch and an access point hand that connection to computers, cameras, phones and Wi-Fi devices as if they were plugged in at the main building.
This is not the same as a mesh Wi-Fi extender. An extender repeats a weak signal and loses speed with every hop; a bridge is a focused, purpose-built link between two fixed points. It is the usual answer when trenching fiber or copper across a parking lot, a driveway, a field or a creek would cost more than the job is worth.
We do. Harold Ragan Communications is the networking and telecommunications division of Harold Ragan CodeWorks, based in Springdale and serving the NWA metro. Bridges are one of the projects we are asked about most often on larger properties — especially around Bella Vista, Pea Ridge, Prairie Grove and the rural edges of Benton and Washington counties, where buildings are spread out and terrain and trees get in the way.
Bring real internet and Wi-Fi to a workshop or detached garage so tools, cameras and a work computer are on the same network as the house or office.
Cover a barn, equipment shed or stable with cameras and Wi-Fi without running a cable across the pasture.
Link a second warehouse, a yard office or a scale house back to the main building’s network and phones.
Put a detached office, guest house or studio on the main network — one internet connection, one firewall, one set of rules.
Churches, schools, camps and multi-building businesses can link buildings in a chain or from a central point.
Carry camera feeds from an outbuilding back to the recorder in the main building over the same link.
We will tell you honestly if a bridge is the wrong tool for your property.
Bridges need a clear path between the two radios. Trees, rooflines, hills and metal buildings are the usual problems. We walk the property, look at mounting heights and, where needed, raise a radio on a mast or pole to clear obstacles. Northwest Arkansas hardwoods leaf out in spring, so a path that looks clear in January may not be in June — we plan for the summer canopy, not the winter one.
Real-world speed depends on distance, the radios chosen, the frequency band, interference and the quality of the line of sight. Short links between buildings on the same property commonly carry the full speed of a typical small-business internet connection with room to spare, and the right equipment can reach much farther. We do not promise a specific speed or range before we have looked at the site; we size the radios to the actual path and test the finished link.
Radios are powered over Ethernet (PoE) from the building side, mounted solidly so wind does not knock them out of alignment, and the cable entering each building is weatherproofed and dripped. On the far side we install a small switch and, usually, a UniFi access point so the building gets Wi-Fi as well as wired ports.
If there is no possible line of sight, or the building needs guaranteed multi-gigabit capacity, buried fiber may be the better long-term answer. We will say so.
We look at both buildings, the path between them, mounting points, power and what the far building needs to do.
You get a fixed quote naming the radios, mounting, far-end switch and Wi-Fi, and any cabling needed.
We mount, cable and aim the radios, then configure the link and the far-end network.
We test real throughput and stability across the link and leave you a record of the setup and logins.
Spread-out properties around Bella Vista, Pea Ridge, Prairie Grove and Siloam Springs are where bridges are most common, but we install them anywhere in the NWA metro.
It depends on the radios, the frequency band and how clear the line of sight is. Links between buildings on the same property are routine, and purpose-built point-to-point radios can reach much farther with a clean path. We do not quote a distance or speed until we have seen the site, and we test the finished link before we leave.
A well-designed bridge between two buildings on the same property is usually faster than the internet connection it is carrying, so day-to-day it feels like a wired connection. Buried fiber still wins for guaranteed multi-gigabit capacity; we will tell you if your situation calls for it.
Dense foliage can degrade or block a link, and trees here leaf out heavily in summer. We plan the path for the full canopy and use masts or higher mounting points when needed.
No. The point of a bridge is to share the main building’s internet, firewall and network with the second building.
Yes. We commonly use Ubiquiti point-to-point radios because they pair well with the UniFi networks we install, and we choose other equipment when a link calls for it. We are an independent installer, not affiliated with Ubiquiti.
Usually yes. We put a small switch at the far end and typically add an access point, so the building gets both wired ports and Wi-Fi on the same network as the main building.
Tell us which buildings need to be connected and roughly how far apart they are. We will tell you whether a bridge will work and give you a fixed quote after a site visit. Harold Ragan Communications — the networking division of Harold Ragan CodeWorks.
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(479) 510-2633