You shouldn't have to walk to the next room to take a call.
Most Singapore homes run on a single ISP router. Dead zones, dropped VPNs, kids' YouTube freezing your meeting. It's not your imagination. It's the design.
Networking.
It's the layer everything else stands on. Get this right, or nothing works.
Wi-Fi 6 throughout. Wired backbone for cameras, hubs, and access points. so the network powers the devices. Designed so the household never thinks about it.
Most Singapore homes have a router from their ISP and a hope.
The Singtel-or-Starhub-supplied router sits where the fibre point is, usually near the front door or in the kitchen. It pushes Wi-Fi as far as it can. The bedrooms in the back of the house get marginal signal. The kitchen camera lags. Video calls drop in the spare room. Smart devices sometimes go offline; the household learns to power-cycle them or live with the flakiness.
This isn't a network problem. It's the absence of a network *design*. A consumer-grade router serving a 4-Room HDB is doing too much from the wrong place, with no plan behind it.
A designed network is different. The fibre point relocates if needed (NetLink fees apply for resale homes; new BTOs typically don't need this). A small network rack houses the router, switch, and any local servers. Cat6 ethernet runs to specific points: cameras, access points, the TV, the office. Wi-Fi 6 access points are placed for coverage, not where the original router happened to be installed. The result is a home where every smart device is on a connection that works, every video call holds, every camera feeds reliably.
A smart switch on a bad network is just a switch.
What it could look like for your home.
- Example 1 · New BTO, fibre point at the entry
The original BTO setup has the fibre point and DB cabinet co-located near the front door. We mount a small network rack alongside the DB cabinet, terminate all ethernet runs there, and place two Wi-Fi 6 access points (one in the living/dining area, one in the bedroom corridor). Coverage is consistent across the whole flat, including the service yard. Cost: typical 4-Room HDB, mid-range gear, ~S$2,200–2,800 for the networking layer.
- Example 2 · Resale HDB, fibre point in awkward location
The original fibre point is in the kitchen behind a cabinet. We coordinate with NetLink to relocate it to a designated study/utility area near the centre of the flat. New ethernet runs go from there to all camera positions, the TV, and the home office. Two ceiling-mounted Wi-Fi 6 APs cover the whole flat with no dead zones. NetLink relocation: ~S$200–400. Networking gear: ~S$2,500–3,200.
- Example 3 · Condo with multiple bedrooms
Network rack in the storeroom (where the existing DB cabinet sits). Three Wi-Fi 6 APs for the larger floor plan. PoE switch to power cameras and APs without separate plugs. Guest network configured for visitors. ~S$3,000–4,500 depending on the gear tier.
Curious what this would look like in your home? Get a free estimate
Essentials or Professional: pick the depth that fits.
Networking can be implemented at two depths. Both work; the difference is how much coverage and segmentation you want.
for typical 3- or 4-Room HDBs, single-storey condos, and households who want solid Wi-Fi coverage without overbuilding.
- UniFi Cloud Gateway Ultra (handles routing + initial Wi-Fi)
- 1 U6+ Wi-Fi 6 access point for an additional zone
- Cat6 backbone to the TV console and study
- Single VLAN
for landed properties, larger condos, multi-generation households, or anyone planning heavy IoT (10+ smart devices, cameras at multiple angles, NAS in the home).
- UniFi Dream Router or UniFi Cloud Gateway Pro
- 2–3 U6+ Pro access points for multi-zone coverage
- 8-port PoE switch
- Cat6A backbone throughout
- Multi-VLAN with IoT segmentation (smart devices isolated from your computers and phones)
The Consult conversation surfaces which depth fits your household. Most HDB clients land at Essentials; most landed and large-condo clients at Professional.
Not sure which fits? Talk it through in a Consult
What we typically use.
Hardware is chosen for fit. The defaults below are what we'd specify for most Singapore households, but every Consult session results in a slightly different list.
Router/firewall
UniFi Dream Router or UniFi Cloud Gateway Ultra (depending on tier).
Switch
UniFi Lite 8/16/24 PoE for the wired backbone.
Wi-Fi 6 access points
UniFi U6+ or U6 Pro, ceiling-mounted for full coverage.
Cabling
Cat6 throughout (Cat6a for any runs longer than 50m).
Network rack
DeskPi RackMate T1 (10" 8U cabinet, fits most HDB DB cabinets).
UPS
Small UPS for the rack to protect against brief power blips (~S$60).
UniFi is the default because it's a documented, widely-supported, professional-grade ecosystem with a single management interface. There are alternatives (TP-Link Omada, Aruba Instant On); we'll discuss in the Consult if you have a preference.
Same network, both platforms.
Networking is platform-agnostic. The design we'd build for an household is the same as for a household. The only meaningful difference: Home Assistant requires the HA hub to live on the network rack with the rest of the infrastructure; Apple Home doesn't need a separate hub (the HomePod mini handles it).