[LINK] Christmas Wi-Fi warning

[Ivan Trundle]

Just as I thought. Though I'm sure that for every Christmas  
decoration that reduces Wi-Fi - there must be one that enhances it.  
I'm off to experiment right away...

iT

Holiday Decorations Can Create Major Wi-Fi Disturbances

SUNNYVALE, Calif., Dec 05, 2006 — AirMagnet Inc. announced the  
results of a recently conducted survey measuring wireless signal  
strength in a standard office setting both before and after  
introducing a change in the office environment — holiday decorations.  
While decorations are relatively commonplace at this time of year and  
might seem innocuous, as with any change introduced to a wireless  
environment, it's difficult to predict how new elements might affect  
wireless performance - but proper planning can help reduce the  
negative effect on wireless networks.

AirMagnet's survey showed the decorations had a significant impact on  
the Wi-Fi network, with:

Signal strength decreased by 25 percent
Signal deterioration increased over distance by one-third
Signal distribution uneven in some locations, deteriorating signal  
strength by an additional 10 percent
"When new elements are introduced into an enterprise environment they  
have the potential to seriously affect the performance of the Wi-Fi  
network, by deflecting, absorbing or otherwise interfering with the  
wireless signal. During the holidays, it could be the decorations in  
an office, at other times it could just as easily be a new microwave  
oven or a metal shelving unit," said Chia-Chee Kuan, CTO and vice  
president of engineering for AirMagnet.

Signal deterioration leaves users experiencing sluggish and dropped  
connections, decreasing their productivity and creating major  
headaches for IT administrators. AirMagnet advises network  
administrators to regularly utilize wireless analysis tools both  
during the holidays and year round to evaluate the effects of any  
changes to their corporate environment and determine how best to  
mitigate interference issues and optimize the performance of their  
network.

http://www.airmagnet.com/news/press/news.20061205.htm