Wi-Fi signals disrupted by microwave ovens

Baby monitors too.

By Matt Hamblen, Computerworld (US) | Computerworld US
Published: 11:19 GMT, 12 May 09

A report from a regulatory authority in the UK has found that baby monitors, security cameras and microwave ovens are causing interference for Wi-Fi users.

The findings mainly relate to crowded urban areas in Britain, but could also pertain to the US, especially in apartment buildings where radio waves pass through neighbours' walls, one US analyst said.

The report, issued by independent authority Ofcan and prepared by Mass Consulting, calls for more regulation of devices in the 2.4GHz band to avoid interference.

Craig Mathias, an analyst at Farpoint Group, said such interference in the US was "not a big problem," except possibly in high-density residential buildings.

Mathias has urged apartment developers to install Wi-Fi for use by all residents on a leased basis to avoid overlapping Wi-Fi networks between apartments and condominiums.

But he also said he has seen situations where baby monitors and wireless security cameras have caused Wi-Fi interference. Also, microwave ovens can cause interference.

Within business settings, Mathias said he urges IT managers to operate 802.11n wireless LANs in the 5GHz band, instead of the 2.4GHz band where most of the interference is experienced.

If that's not possible, Mathias said that an IT manager needs to "keep an eye on the problem" by frequently checking network management logs and using a Wi-Fi oriented spectrum analyser to make spot-checks.

Baby monitors can be made to operate in 2.4GHz or 900MHz, so there is a possibility of interference in the 2.4GHz band, Mathias said.

Interference can result in a number of problems, including slow performance over a Wi-Fi channel.

An AT&T spokesman said the wireless carrier operates 20,000 hotspots and has engineered them to avoid overlapping and interference. He said interference was not significant.

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John | Published: 15:49 GMT, 13 May 2009

Is this news? Microwaves affect Wifi? When I was installing pre-802 networks everyone knew this. What's next, rain makes things wet?

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