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Wireless & Mobility · Intermediate

Wall Attenuation

The signal loss in dB attributed to specific building materials in a WLAN design.

Definition

Survey tools assign attenuation values to walls such as drywall (about 3 dB), glass (2 to 4 dB, more for low-E coatings), brick (6 to 10 dB), and concrete (10 to 20 dB). Accurate wall values are critical for predictive designs. Values differ between 2.4, 5, and 6 GHz.

Example

An elevator shaft is modeled at 30 dB attenuation.

Exam tip

Low-E (metallic-coated) glass can attenuate far more than ordinary glass.

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