Why Wi-Fi Has To Change Or Else
Arguably the most habit-changing and beloved networking innovation of our lifetime, Wi-Fi is a bubble threatening to burst under the weight of its own popularity. Originally developed to allow multiple computers to share access to the Internet, the Wi-Fi lure of “free spectrum, no strings attached,” is driving every imaginable type of handheld device to embed the technology as users demand Wi-Fi access at home, in the workplace and in public venues.
Yet as more and more content is poured into Wi-Fi networks, the technology is now struggling to keep pace. Next generation Wi-Fi technology, 802.11n, is widely viewed as a panacea to the current limitations. A tremendous boost to Wi-Fi, 802.11n increases the capacity of the technology to hundreds of megabits per second (Mbps) from 54 Mbps today. This is achieved by ganging multiple Wi-Fi radios together in a single Wi-Fi device.
At challenging locations where the higher data rates are not possible–for example, at the far ranges or in noisy environments–the extra Wi-Fi radios are used to strengthen the signal and extend its reach. These all sound appealing except for a nagging blind spot–interference caused by neighboring devices that operate in the same unlicensed spectrum. What’s the problem with 802.11n? Speed isn’t a common Wi-Fi complaint.
Reliability and consistent coverage are the real problems and interference is the culprit. For Wi-Fi to become the utility people expect at their fingertips, it must operate like a wire in the air. Wi-Fi interference comes from a myriad of things such as neighboring Wi-Fi networks, microwave ovens, Bluetooth devices, cordless phones, even treadmills.
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Tags: bluetooth_devices, culprit, free_spectrum, interference, microwave_ovens, panacea, treadmills, Wi-Fi, wi_fi_access
