Broadband Guide

What is the difference between wired broadband and wi-fi?

Thursday 5 May, 2011

By Garnet Roach - garnet@consumerchoices.co.uk

Tired of trailing wires around the house to go online? Perhaps it’s time you set your internet free with a wireless broadband connection.

The number of people taking advantage of the benefits of a wireless connection almost doubled between 2007 and 2010, according to regulator Ofcom, which found that 66% of consumers were using wi-fi at the start of last year.

Wi-fi offers a number of advantages over a fixed, wired connection. But one of the main reasons that wi-fi use has grown so much in recent years is the fact that so many providers now offer a free wireless router to new customers.

Wi-fi broadband benefits

Sales of laptops and netbooks now outstrips desktop computers (Epitiro, 2011) indicating just how important it is for people to be mobile.

Being able to move from one room to the next, while staying connected is one of the biggest benefits to using wi-fi. Whether you want to surf the net during the ad breaks, work from the garden or catch up on EastEnders with the BBC iPlayer before bed, you'll have access to the internet no matter where you are in your home.

A second benefit that has become more important in recent years is the ability to share your connection between multiple devices.

Increasingly, homes have more than one computer, as well as internet-connected consoles like the Xbox 360, PlayStation and Wii, wi-fi smartphones and tablet devices. A wi-fi connection means you can get all of these gadgets online at the same time - without having to run wires around the house.

The disadvantages of wireless

There are some things you need to take into consideration before choosing to go wireless though.

• Getting technical - wi-fi routers are a little more technical than a standard modem, so if you're a bit of a technophobe it might pay to find a provider with free, UK-based technical support.
• Security essentials - if you are going wireless, then it’s vital that you set up a password to make sure no one can piggyback on your connection.
• Remember your password - once you've set up your password you need to make sure you can remember it. While you should avoid easy-to-hack “wireless keys” that use family names or birthdays, you still need something memorable so that you can connect new devices to your network in the future. Use our free Wireless Key Generator to create a unique, hard-to-crack password.
• Speed loss - switching to a wi-fi connection can cause you to lose around 30% of your download speed, according to broadband analysts Epitiro. However, the firm says that this won’t affect everyday surfing. If you do have a very slow connection or are having problems, you should try going back to your normal wired ethernet cable.
• Interference - Epitiro also adds that some other wireless devices, like baby monitors, cordless phones and even fluorescent lights can occasionally interfere with your wi-fi if they use the same radio signal. If this is a problem, try moving your router away from the offending devices.

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