Published in Mobiles

Christmas slows down your Wi-fi

by on01 December 2015


Bah-humbug


Living proof that Christmas is bad for you – an Ofcom report is blaming Christmas lights as cause for poor wi-fi reception.

Ofcom, which is the British telecom regulator conducted research on Wi-Fi speeds in homes and offices in the UK.

Christmas lights, baby monitors, microwaves and other electronic devices can cause interference to your Wi-Fi signals, it warned. Obviously getting rid of babys, Christmas and microwaves  would solve all these problems overnight – in theory I should have a damn fine wi-fi connection as I don't allow any in the house.

Ofcom's report also says that people using super-fast broadband are consuming more data by using services like video calls, online movie rentals, music streaming and others.

However, there's still work to be done as more than 2 million homes across the country still do not have access to data speeds of 10 Mbps or more. Over 50 per cent of all small and medium enterprises also do not have access to speeds in excess of 10 Mbps.

We just guess they are not doing it with their mobiles under the Christmas tree.
Ofcom has now launched a new Wi-Fi app which can sample signals emanating from your home Wi-Fi and determine if signals are flowing smoothly between routers and your mobile phone or tablet.

Named the Ofcom Wi-Fi Checker, the app will also offer practical steps to users on how to use Wi-Fi signals most appropriately. Among other suggestions, the app will ask you to either keep your router away from other electronic devices, keep it at a location where it is not surrounded by walls or connect your computer to the router through an ethernet cable to avoid loss of signal.

Last modified on 01 December 2015
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