Monday, December 22, 2003
Increasing WiFi Interference
Posted by Janak Parekh in "HARDWARE" @ 07:00 AM
As WiFi becomes more prevalent, so does a variety of problems. This article from the Register identifies incompatibilities with various extensions of the 802.11g protocol.
"Broadcom's allegation that 802.11g Wi-Fi products based on chips developed by its rival, Atheros, will degrade the performance of nearby wireless networks appears to have been verified by independent tests. Tim Higgins of web site Small Net Builder carried out a comprehensive series of tests to see if Atheros' Super G technology, which promises to double the range of WLANs built out of Atheros kit, interferes with adjacent networks not based upon the technology. And that's what he found: 'A Super G wireless LAN running at full speed will interfere with an 11g WLAN also running at full speed. Severe throughput loss in the 11g WLAN can occur up to 30 feet away and significant throughput loss may still be seen around 50 feet.'"
Ironically, to me this is the least of the problems with 802.11b/g. I have a site where 802.11b is deployed, where I can see something like 6 other access points, and by definition some of them are overlapping my AP's frequency. I'm thinking of deploying 802.11a at the site, because of the relatively uncluttered 5GHz band. Are you suffering from WiFi interference?
"Broadcom's allegation that 802.11g Wi-Fi products based on chips developed by its rival, Atheros, will degrade the performance of nearby wireless networks appears to have been verified by independent tests. Tim Higgins of web site Small Net Builder carried out a comprehensive series of tests to see if Atheros' Super G technology, which promises to double the range of WLANs built out of Atheros kit, interferes with adjacent networks not based upon the technology. And that's what he found: 'A Super G wireless LAN running at full speed will interfere with an 11g WLAN also running at full speed. Severe throughput loss in the 11g WLAN can occur up to 30 feet away and significant throughput loss may still be seen around 50 feet.'"
Ironically, to me this is the least of the problems with 802.11b/g. I have a site where 802.11b is deployed, where I can see something like 6 other access points, and by definition some of them are overlapping my AP's frequency. I'm thinking of deploying 802.11a at the site, because of the relatively uncluttered 5GHz band. Are you suffering from WiFi interference?
