Nationwide Wi-Fi Rollout Across 175+ Car Retail Sites

Sector: Automotive retail

Service: Wi-Fi cabling and survey, structured cabling

Scale: 175+ sites nationwide

A national car retailer came to Viking with a problem most multi-site businesses recognise. Their Wi-Fi worked in the showroom and fell over everywhere else. Forecourts, workshops, valeting bays and customer waiting areas all had dead zones, and staff were losing signal the moment they walked away from the building.

The brief was a full Wi-Fi infrastructure upgrade across more than 175 sites, with full coverage indoors and out. That meant a minimum of four external access points at every single site, all running back to new Cat6 cabling, with the existing access points swapped for new equipment. And it had to happen without taking any site offline.

Here is how we tackled the project...

Survey first, every site

You cannot roll out 175 sites by guessing. The whole project started with a cabling survey at each location, because no two car dealerships are laid out the same way. Showroom sizes vary, forecourt footprints vary, and the existing cabling was a mix of standards and ages.

We built the survey process into a work management app that our engineers ran from tablets on site. Each survey was completed digitally and sent straight back to the office, no paperwork, no lost forms, no waiting for someone to type up handwritten notes. We captured exactly what each site needed: how many new access point locations, where they sat, what cable runs were required, and whether the existing points met standard.

The surveys also flagged the practical problems early. Some sites needed access equipment or vehicles moving before we could install at height. Because we picked that up on the pre-install survey rather than on the day, we arranged it in advance and turned up ready to work. Four engineers completed the full survey phase in 8 to 10 weeks.

This is exactly why we offer free site surveys as standard. A quote based on square footage tells you nothing about where the signal will actually drop.

Installation without downtime

Once a site was surveyed and the equipment confirmed as delivered, we attended to install. New Cat6 was run to each new access point location, and existing locations were tested to confirm they met the required standard before anything was connected to them.

The part that mattered most to the client was the cutover. A dealership cannot lose its network mid-day with customers in the showroom and the workshop relying on connected systems. So our engineers worked alongside an engineer from the retailer at each site, migrating onto the new network access point by access point. The old network stayed live until the new one was proven. No downtime, no disruption to trading.

Every site finished with a completion document, again captured digitally through the same app, so the client had a clear record of what was installed and tested at each location.

Where the project stands

The survey phase is complete across all 175+ sites. Installation is ongoing, with more than 100 sites already finished and handed over. The remaining sites are being worked through on the same proven process: survey data confirmed, equipment delivery checked, install booked, network migrated live without downtime.

Take a look and see the project for yourself...

A rollout this size lives or dies on consistency. Run it ad hoc and you get 175 different jobs done 175 different ways. We treated it as one project with one repeatable method, which is the only way a nationwide business Wi-Fi installation at this scale stays on track.

Stop guessing where the dead zones are...

If your Wi-Fi works at the desk but dies on the forecourt, in the warehouse or out in the yard, the fix starts with a proper survey. Not a quote based on floor area. An actual survey, on site, that tells you where the access points need to go and what cabling has to back them.

Viking Communications delivers multi-site Wi-Fi and structured cabling rollouts across the UK, backed by a 25-year manufacturer warranty on the structured cabling and a fully accredited team. Out-of-hours working keeps your sites trading while we install. Site surveys are free, with no hidden charges in the quote.

📞 0161 660 3002

🌐 viking-comms.co.uk