A simple wireless network? Not likely

September 1, 2010, 9:20am

When one of the first instructions a popular wireless Internet router from Netgear gives its owner is a choice between the security protocols known as WPA-PSK (TKIP) and WPA-PSK (TKIP) + WPA2-PSK (AES), you know the home networking industry has problems.

The technology industry would like us all to believe that vast numbers of Americans are happily streaming feature films, Twitter feeds, photos and home movies from the Internet to every TV in the house.

The reality is that setting up a home network to make all that happen is still a more daunting task than most home improvement projects. And it may be even harder getting one to work reliably when every family member is on his or her own computer or smartphone, simultaneously streaming, posting and surfing.

While the idea of accessing content while roaming untethered from room to room is appealing, there is only so much bandwidth in the house available to handle all that traffic simultaneously.

Popping popcorn in the kitchen microwave for the Netflix movie you were expecting to stream from your Wii can disable the network. Or your spouse’s desire to watch YouTube videos of babies on in-line skates could slow down your ability to download that spreadsheet your boss is waiting for you to revise from home.

Everyone loves the idea of wireless — and that’s the problem. Most wireless traffic travels on the 2.4 gigahertz band, including cordless phones. A microwave oven operates at the same frequency. Put a wireless router too close to either and you can easily knock the router off line or slow the response rate to a crawl.

Your neighbor’s network can do the same thing. “The 2.4 gigahertz band is unlicensed, so all the neighbors using that frequency interfere with your bandwidth, and it’s happening more and more,” said Chris Geiser, a product line manager for Netgear, a maker of networking products.

The newest routers use the 802.11N standard, which allows a wireless signal to travel farther than the older 802.11G standard, which is good for getting the signal to your upstairs bedroom — but it can also send it to your neighbor’s upstairs bedroom.

Where you put your router can drastically alter the distance the signal can travel. A wireless router’s signal strength can be cut short when it hits walls at an oblique angle or tries to travel through a kitchen’s ceramic tile or a bedroom full of mirrors.

You can extend the signal range of a wireless router with a device called a wireless bridge or range extender. (NYT)