Widensity Index

Widensity Index is a meaningful measurement for the user capacity of a Wireless Access Point (AP) in a real-life environment. The index is defined as the number of simultaneous video streams of a minimum bit-rate of 2Mbps from different devices that an AP can support through its Wi-Fi interface for a period of 2 hours without any frame loss. For example, if 20 tablets and 20 laptop computers are connecting to an AP, and all of them can play different videos of a minimum bit-rate of 2Mbps through its Wi-Fi interface for 2 hours at the same time without any frame loss, then the Widensity Index of the AP is 40.
In laymen terms, Widensity Index allows the consumers to select an AP based on a new attribute -- the number of people that can watch a full-length (2 hours) high-quality video (2Mbps or above) without any frame loss through the Wi-Fi interface of one AP.
Wi-Fi bandwidth vs. Wi-Fi user density
Nowadays, we are often confused between Wi-Fi bandwidth and Wi-Fi user density. The Wi-Fi bandwidth is a measurement of bit-rate in the Wi-Fi network, which is usually the best possible bit-rate supported by a Wi-Fi network when one user is occupying the entire Wi-Fi network (or when there is no electromagnetic interference inside the network). This is normally not achievable in a real-life environment because there usually are more than one person connecting to an AP at the same time. The Wi-Fi user density, on the other hand, is a measurement to indicate the number of simultaneous accesses supported by an AP. In the Wi-Fi environment, the number of simultaneous accesses is mainly limited by the Wi-Fi interference introduced by the user devices themselves rather than limited by the Wi-Fi bandwidth. As a result, the Wi-Fi user density is a more practical measurement of the Wi-Fi performance of an AP in a real-life environment because the users of the Wi-Fi network will inevitably generate interferences to each other inside the Wi-Fi network.

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