More and more devices are linked to the internet nowadays. This phenomenon is called the Internet-Of-Things. Most of these devices are using a wireless connection at a frequency band to connect to the internet. In an investigation by Dialogic a Dutch company they found out that when too much devices are using an unlicensed network an interference can occur. An interference happens when too much devices are using the same frequency band and the Wi-Fi performance drops or it is not even working anymore.
In 2024 there will be between 8,6 and 52,1 million LPWA Internet Of Things devices. (LWPA stand for Low-Power Wide area). These devices are using licensed and unlicensed frequencies and can be used in ‘smart buildings’ for land and livestock monitoring, gas and water measurement, smoke alerters etc. Licensed frequencies do not have the problem related to interference because the wireless spectrum can be expanded. But many unlicensed network devices are using the 863-870 MHz band and this cannot be expanded. This problem can eventually be solved by using different frequency bands more efficient.
For me it is very important that my wireless connection to my computer is working perfectly without slowdowns when I’m playing an online game. Or when I am watching Netflix I do not want that the stream constantly is buffering. To solve interference, I once used the application Wifi Analyzer on my smartphone and switched to a different wireless channel when too much neighbors used the same channel. But If more of my devices are linked to the internet this problem is more likely to happen in the future. So for me it is very important that there is enough frequency spectrum!
Did you ever experienced Wi-Fi interference and did it annoy you? Do you think this will happen more in the future because of the Internet-Of-Things?
Tell me in the comments!
sources:
https://tweakers.net/nieuws/116349/groei-internet-of-things-kan-ongelicenseerde-netwerken-in-problemen-brengen.html
http://www.agentschaptelecom.nl/actueel/nieuws/2016/voldoende-spectrum-beschikbaar-voor-internet-things-toepassingen
First of all, a very interesting article and topic John. The subject that you broach, the Internet of Things, interests me a lot and I am in favour of this development. I agree with you that a Wi-Fi interface is annoying. Personally, I am convinced that this pretty simple bottleneck will be solved by the industry itself so this digital revolution can be further implemented in our daily life. However, there is another issue that attracts my attention when I think of the Internet of Things. Namely, the ethical part of this topic is underexposed. For example, how we may use personal information of citizens to calculate a personalized care premium based on the life habit? In order to get personal care premium, data should be extracted from “smart “devices. But should this be possible and is this legal? I am curious about your opinion on the Internet of Things and the associated ethical issue.