Home wi-fi '30% slower' than fixed broadband
People relying on home wi-fi are getting significantly slower speeds than from their fixed broadband connection, research suggests.
The study ran one million tests over 14,000 wi-fi connections in the UK, US, Spain and Italy.
On average, the results showed a 30% drop-off compared to the speed coming into the home.
However, the research also suggests that users tolerate slower speeds in exchange for the freedom wi-fi offers.
"People are voting with their feet and trading speed for the benefits of mobility," said Iain Wood, from network measurement firm Epitiro, which carried-out the study.
He said that researchers were "surprised" by the amount of drop-off in speed but that for the majority of consumers the slower connection would not be noticed.
"Most of us do e-mailing and web surfing and for these things there is precious little difference between the 50Mb/s services and an 8Mb/s service," he said.
This is because web surfing uses up relatively small amounts of data.
But for other services, such as downloading video or watching IPTV, the degradation of speed will become more noticeable.
Telephony services such as Skype could also be particularly affected, thinks Professor Andy Nix, a wireless expert at Bristol University.
"If you have a poor quality router and you are using wi-fi at some distance away from it, you could struggle to have a decent Skype conversation," he said.
But, he added, for those who invest in good quality wi-fi equipment and position it sensibly, the effects of the speed degradation would hardly be noticed.
Baby monitorsThe study raises interesting questions for an industry obsessed with speed.
"There seems to be a disconnect between the ISPs striving to deliver faster speeds and consumers who are happy to accept slower wi-fi speeds," said Mr Wood.
For those unhappy with their home wi-fi, there are some simple measures that can be taken to improve their connections.
"Firstly people can change channels on their wi-fi router to reduce interference. If they live in flats or urban locations there are likely to be other routers operating on the same channel," said Mr Wood.
Other devices in the home, such as baby monitors, TV remotes and cordless phones can also cause interference.
And for those wanting to download video, the speed issue is resolved simply by plugging the laptop or other wireless device into the router, said Mr Wood.
Features & Analysis
-
Facing the Taliban
Will these young Afghan recruits be ready in time?
-
Sting in the tail
The manifold reasons why bees are in trouble
-
Day in pictures
Striking images from around the world
-
Harding on Africa
Ivory Coast D-day could be the difference between war and peace
Elsewhere on BBC News
-
The sky's the limit
Demand for housing in China shrugs off a new property tax and continues to soar
Programmes
-
HARDtalk
An adviser to Libya's rebel forces warns of 'catastrophe' if the international community does not intervene
bbc.co.uk navigation
BBC links
BBC © MMXI The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read more.
This page is best viewed in an up-to-date web browser with style sheets (CSS) enabled. While you will be able to view the content of this page in your current browser, you will not be able to get the full visual experience. Please consider upgrading your browser software or enabling style sheets (CSS) if you are able to do so.
Feed: BBC News - Home
Posted on: Thursday, March 10, 2011 1:46 PM
Author: BBC News - Home
Subject: Wi-fi 'slows down' home broadband
People relying on home wi-fi get significantly slower speeds than from fixed broadband connections, research suggests. |
No comments:
Post a Comment