Users of wireless LAN equipment over distance are increasingly being effected by rising levels of interference due to the ubiquitous nature of wireless usage in the home and office, further fueled by the low costs, easy setup and the potential benefits that the technology offers.
Also access to the radio bands used by this equipment is relatively unconstrained, called the ‘public park’ concept the planning objective of regulative authorities is for all users to be able to access a small portion of the total resource and to share that resource in a way that requires minimal regulatory intervention provided the power is kept well down.
The use of a ‘public park’ approach is administratively efficient and gives great freedom to users, but the price of this freedom is increased risk of interference. What is often miss-understood by many users of wireless LAN equipment is that this framework equally applies to all users regardless if you are a telecommunications carrier or an individual.
Clearly the very thing that has created an environment where communities can establish wide area networks like Air-Stream is the same environment which has created the interference problem.
Consequently, minimising the impact of interference through public awareness, and providing an open platform for users to share information to maximise the effectiveness of their equipment and minimising interference is important to all.