A new study by broadband research firm Epitiro has found that the use of Wi-Fi could slow down Internet access speed by about 30 percent. As reported by CNET, the study tracked the download speeds of more than 14,000 broadband users in the United States, United Kingdom, Italy and Spain and found that users experienced both slower download speeds and up to a 20 percent increase in their network latency. 

This news is not surprising to me, since Wi-Fi uses unregulated radio bands that could be simultaneously utilized by wireless devices such as cordless phones or baby monitors, making it especially susceptible to interference. Moreover, home users tend to leave the configuration of their wireless LAN (WLAN) equipment to defaults, which could result in multiple wireless access points broadcasting on the same channel.

Still, the report conceded that the Wi-Fi slowdowns are imperceptible for the average user. Indeed, the revenue from sales of WLAN equipment actually increased by 28 percent to $769 million quarter-on-quarter in 4Q 2010, according to data from the Dell'Oro Group. This represents tremendous gains compared to the almost flat revenue from the sales of Ethernet switches, observed PCWorld.

Roger Hockaday, a director of marketing for Aruba attributed the popularity of the iPad as the catalyst for the improved sales of WLAN equipment. This is because the iPad and tablet devices rely on Wi-Fi as their primary means of achieving Internet connectivity. Ultimately, the result is that more areas need to be adequately covered by WLAN equipment, bolstering sales.

For more on this story:
- check out this article at CNET News
- check out this article at PC World
- check out this article at Telegraph.co.uk

Related Articles:
Cisco rolls out tools to manage WLAN interference 
The transition between Ethernet to Wireless LAN 
802.11n WLAN getting more affordable