Cisco Says 50% Of WiFi Problems Caused By Interference

Cisco, which sells 55% of Wi-Fi Access Points in the market, now says that 50% of the problems in a Wi-Fi network are caused by interference, but more importantly, interference from outside the network itself. The fact that interference comes from the noise floor, microwaves, other WiFi networks, baby monitors, phones, and other devices is important, because network planners and administers have a diminished ability to plan around or 'fix' outside interference in the unregulated 2.4Ghz spectrum. The linked report from ABI Research notes that Cisco made the claim in conjunction with their announcement to re-sell a partner solution to the problem of interference, but the bias may be limited since it is not their solution, but a re-sold one - indicating a real need that Cisco could not meet itself. If 55% is the case for the average Wi-Fi network (office, warehouse, etc.) then what are the implications for outdoor networks that are more exposed to interference...and cause more of it, too?
Hide this

Thank you for reading this Techdirt post. With so many things competing for everyone’s attention these days, we really appreciate you giving us your time. We work hard every day to put quality content out there for our community.

Techdirt is one of the few remaining truly independent media outlets. We do not have a giant corporation behind us, and we rely heavily on our community to support us, in an age when advertisers are increasingly uninterested in sponsoring small, independent sites — especially a site like ours that is unwilling to pull punches in its reporting and analysis.

While other websites have resorted to paywalls, registration requirements, and increasingly annoying/intrusive advertising, we have always kept Techdirt open and available to anyone. But in order to continue doing so, we need your support. We offer a variety of ways for our readers to support us, from direct donations to special subscriptions and cool merchandise — and every little bit helps. Thank you.

–The Techdirt Team

Filed Under: wifi, wi-fi


Reader Comments

Subscribe: RSS

View by: Time | Thread


  • identicon
    Peter, 27 Oct 2006 @ 1:03am

    Cisco Wifi Interference

    MIMO pratically eliminates the interference factor - Cisco is dealing with the last generation of Wifi technology and now wants to sell to their client base tools to maintain this antiquated infrastructure - get real!

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Joe, 27 Oct 2006 @ 1:03am

    Cisco Interference / MIMO

    I think you are a bit misguided if you thin that MIMO 'solves' the interference problem. I think it is an element of the solution, but not the solution unto itself. Remember that MIMO steers packets. In some/many situations you can't steer around interference. MIMO, like legacy WIFI, is regulated by FCC rules regarding output power. As a big Cisco customer, I can't forklift every client I have for some pre-standard .n stuff. My CFO won't have it. If your CFO is willing to write that check let me know if you are hiring.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Neil Diener, CTO, Cognio, Inc., 27 Oct 2006 @ 1:03am

    MIMO and Interference

    Although MIMO technology can somewhat reduce the range of impact of interfering devices, it by no means solves all interference problems. In fact, the new 802.11n "standard", which is how most people will implement MIMO, actually uses channels that are twice as wide, meaning that there's a 2x greater chance that they'll encounter interference problems. Interference, MIMO or not, means packet retransmissions, and retransmissions mean garbled voice and video. The only way to really solve interference is to understand it and intelligently manage around it.

    link to this | view in chronology ]

  • identicon
    Shel Leader, 27 Oct 2006 @ 1:03am

    Wi-Fi Interference

    This could be the death knell for municipal Wi-Fi networks. What will the Mayor of Philadelphia do when he starts to receive complaints from constituents that their home networks are getting interference from the City's system? What's Earthlink's responsibility for this? The FCC says that there's no legal recourse, but angry voters could cost them a lot of money!!!

    link to this | view in chronology ]


Follow Techdirt
Essential Reading
Techdirt Deals
Report this ad  |  Hide Techdirt ads
Techdirt Insider Discord

The latest chatter on the Techdirt Insider Discord channel...

Loading...
Recent Stories

This site, like most other sites on the web, uses cookies. For more information, see our privacy policy. Got it
Close

Email This

This feature is only available to registered users. Register or sign in to use it.