Does our "need for speed" make our Wi-Fi suck? Yes.
7 hours ago
- #Speed Testing
- #Wi-Fi Performance
- #Network Reliability
- Using narrower channel widths (20 MHz or 40 MHz) in 5 GHz networks provides better enterprise Wi-Fi experience due to more available channels and reduced interference.
- Consumer Wi-Fi devices default to wider channels (80 MHz or 40 MHz in 2.4 GHz) to prioritize raw speed, negatively impacting reliability and responsiveness.
- Speed tests can degrade Wi-Fi performance by causing airtime contention, increasing latency, jitter, and packet loss.
- ISPs and manufacturers focus on speed metrics over reliability, leading to poor consumer Wi-Fi experiences.
- Wi-Fi 8 (IEEE 802.11bn) aims to improve reliability, latency, and robustness instead of chasing higher peak speeds.
- 6 GHz bands offer better balance but adoption is slow, and wider channels still pose airtime contention issues.
- Consumers need better tools to measure and prioritize Wi-Fi responsiveness and reliability over raw speed.