When connecting to a Wi-Fi network, your Internet connection speed can be affected by a variety of factors, including where your computer is located, whether other wireless devices are in the same area, and even what the slowest connection is beyond the wireless router. Wireless networks operate on frequencies that are similar to those used by other devices, such as microwave ovens or cordless phones. Operating a 2.4 gigahertz (GHz) cordless phone next to your 2.4GHz wireless laptop can cause interference or completely block the wireless network connection. If you want to make phone calls while surfing the Web, either use a wired telephone or a cordless phone that operates at a different frequency than your wireless network.
One point that many people don’t realize is that even if you have a highspeed wireless network connection (the 802.11g protocol, for example, supports up to 54Mbit network connections), you can still be limited by the speed of the connection from that router to the Internet. So if your favorite coffee shop has 54Mbit wireless connection, but uses a 1.5Mbit DSL router to connect out to the Internet, your network connection (and that of everyone else in the coffee shop sharing that connection with you) will be limited to the 1.5Mbit DSL connection.
How close you are to the wireless access point or router, as well as physical obstructions, can affect the quality of your Internet connection. To improve your connection speed, move closer to the access point and make sure that there are no physical obstructions between the access point and your computer.
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Worth noting is that a “physical obstruction” can be many things. One wireless access point we use in downtown San Jose, for example, has a tree between where we work and the actual antenna. During dry weather, the tree isn’t much of an obstacle. When it rains, however, the water collecting on the leaves of the tree is enough of a physical obstacle to the radio waves that it causes substantial problems.
