What is the purpose of channel planning in a Wi‑Fi network?

• A. To increase transmit power beyond regulatory limits
• B. To assign non-overlapping channels to minimize interference
• C. To encrypt wireless traffic
• D. To enable roaming between APs

Answer: (B)

Channel planning focuses on assigning AP channels to minimize interference and maximize throughput. When multiple access points in the same area operate on overlapping frequencies, they contend for airtime, leading to collisions and slower connections. By giving neighboring APs non-overlapping channels, you reduce co-channel and adjacent-channel interference, which lets devices share the spectrum more efficiently and improves overall performance. In the 2.4 GHz band, that typically means using channels that don’t overlap with each other (like 1, 6, and 11 in many regions). The 5 GHz band offers more channels, and planning still matters to avoid overlap, meet regulatory rules, and consider radar-detection (DFS) requirements. Channel width also plays a role: wider channels can boost speed but increase overlap, so planning weighs the trade-off between capacity and interference. Separate concerns like increasing transmit power, encrypting traffic, or enabling roaming aren’t the focus of channel planning; this practice is about arranging channel usage to keep the network quiet and fast.