Technology: RF Spectrum Analysis

Wi-Fi® operates in the 2.4GHz spectrum as well as the 5GHz spectrum.  Both of these spectrums are used by other radio based devices such as microwave ovens, cordless phones, baby monitors, other Wi-Fi devices, etc.  Many of these devices operate at much higher transmit powers than Wi-Fi devices.  The interference caused by both Wi-Fi devices and non-Wi-Fi devices can seriously hamper network performance and reliability.

Some Access Point solutions, including the Bandspeed AirMaestro solution provide visibility into the WLAN network and provide some mechanism to change the channel to avoid other Wi-Fi traffic. However, the Bandspeed AirMaestro solution also includes a built-in RF dual-band spectrum analyzer that shows the true RF environment around any AirMaeestro Access Point and can detect and display the interference caused by devices operating in the RF spectrums.   The spectrum analyzer will even classify interference caused by microwave ovens and cordless phones. 

This powerful tool allows the network admin to see in real-time the RF environment around any AirMaestro Access Point and make educated decisions regarding channel selection.

In this screenshot, the spectrum analyzer has detected microwave oven interference just below Channel 11.  It also shows other RF interference in both bands.

In this screenshot, the spectrum analyzer has detected cordless phone interference just around Channel 1.  It also shows other RF interference in both bands.