We have talked about this before, but the situation is getting worse; we need to do something to fix it.
The problem is the proliferation of wireless networks. Wireless networking has been around for a few years now. It was, as we say in the business, a solution looking for a problem. The original designers didn't know what uses it would be put to, or how it popular or ubiquitous it would become. I suspect that the original purpose was to provide mobile support for notebook computers in an office environment. I believe that it was never intended as a replacement for wired networks, just to augment them.
Wireless stayed in the background until one factor brought it to everybody's attention. Router manufacturers in their ever unfolding effort to make their products different from others (product differentiation) saw wireless as a way to provide more function and enhance the usability of their products. This was probably aided by chipset manufacturers who included wireless functions in their standard router chipsets. The result was that in a very short space of time you could buy a router with wireless at almost the same price as wired-only routers. I am not sure if the local electronics vendors even stock wired-only routers any more as you can just buy a wireless router and just shut off the wireless function.
The result is that wireless was now available to all - including the neighbors all around you, the real estate office down the street, the local doctor's office, and so-on.
The problem is that wireless uses radio waves. They all interfere with each other to some degree, and perhaps to a large degree. If the wireless router is using frequency (channel) X and the one next door is also using X, they will definitely interfere with each other causing loss of signal problems. Even if you do change the channel you use, there can still be interference if a router near you is close.
In my travels to clients that are having wireless problems, I turn on my wireless network sniffer to see what is around and often see a half-dozen or more simultaneous wireless networks active. This includes the business areas of Southport and in a certain gated community in our area.
We can't solve this problem overnight, but there are steps we can take:
1) If you don't need wireless, don't use it. Get a wired-only router, or configure your router (more on that later) to shut off its wireless function.
2) If you are constructing a new building, home, or office, put in wired networking - you will be glad you did. Use wireless only if you have notebook PCs that need to move around - if they stay in the same spot use a wired connection - modern notebook PCs support both.
3) Change the SSID (effectively the name of the wireless network) to something other than what it is shipped with. I see so many networks named "Netgear" or "Linksys" or "Default" because these are some of the default network names that the router is shipped with - and they are all on channel 6.
4) Change the channel in use. But there are only eleven channels, and some advanced routers use more than one. The problem here is that you may find a clear channel, but your neighbor may later move to that channel also without you knowing.
Changing some of these things is unfortunately more difficult than it should be. If your router came with a setup CD, run that, and you should be able to change those parameters. If not, almost all routers allow you to connect via your web browser to their IP address. You will have to get the IP address in use from the manufacturer's documentation, and also the router user logon name and password.
We can't stop the spread of wireless interference; we can only try to manage it.
(Bob Seidel is a local computer consultant in the Southport - Oak Island area. You can visit his Website at www.bobseidel.com or e-mail questions or column ideas to him at bsc@bobseidel.com. For specific inquiries, please call Bob Seidel Consulting, LLC at 278-1007.)