why is wireless network slower than wired network?

Question

I've noticed that browsing the web wirelessly on my ibook is always slower than browsing on a wired PC. Why is that the case? Any idea? How can I make it faster?

Answer 1

Wireless typically is 54mbps, while wired typically 100 mbps. There are signal quality variables as well with wireless, which often degrade speeds.

Answer 2

It's not because ethernet is faster than 802.11a,b,g — since the Internet connection will be 2 Mbps or less and will be the bottleneck (unless wireless signal is really poor and drops to 1 Mbps).

WEP and WPA / 802.1x would create some processing overhead; but I have seen the slowness/time-out effect on Open auth. networks also.
942's suggestion of retransmits seems plausible, but I'm a bit dubious in light of the above observation. The TCP is fairly resilient to moderate latencies: my ping time to the USA is around 300-400 ms, of which <10ms is local. Possibly retransmits because of interference/packet loss, rather than because of latency?

One thing I have noticed is more problems when running off battery (Windows on Dell laptop) compared to AC. I wonder if the laptop tries to operate the radio in a lower-power mode or something? The software still says "signal strength good" but the difference is marked. Try both and see if plugging in the charger makes a difference on the iBook.

Answer 3

Well the question is not if the wired network faster as both types of networks are generally limited to the speed of the ISP connection. This is usually slower than either the wired or wireless network. You need to see if the ibook itself runs faster on a wired network, I bet it is about the same unless you use a wireless network with heavy traffic load.

Answer 4

The use of wireless adds some overhead to each 'packet' of information exchanged. The TCP/IP control protocol requires many small packets to be exchanged (to establish a link) and even after the link is established data is transferred in packets. The overhead added by wireless may cause problems with 'latency' that could lead to other equipment in the network assuming a packet has been 'dropped' and thus requesting a retransmit. This can result in a much slower connection than expected as bandwidth becomes overloaded by retransmissions.

Answer 5

As mentioned, wireless transmission can only transfer at a maximum speed of 54mbps, while a wired transmission constantly transmits at 100mbps. How far away the router is from the PC with wireless can effect data transmission times.

Answer 6

802.11g works on both.4Ghz variety. in case you want maximum p.c. from it, be particular there are not the different 2.4Ghz gadgets interior 100m of the router; cordless telephones, microwave ovens, bluetooth gadgets etc. all intrude with on the spot information superhighway connections. in case you stay next door or above a medical doctors surgical treatment the MRI gadget will screw your connection besides. a lot of large glass living house windows will make the signal bounce and hurricane which will make it slower. If p.c. is extra significant than means or variety, (and also you're saying you've a good signal, so i wager it really is), change to 802.11b. it really is genuinely extra well matched and could not strive against with different gadgets for interfering. on the top of the day, on the spot isn't as quickly as stressed out. that's not extremely bi-directional and mostly is meant to be a supplementary technologies.

Answer 7

Yes you can make it faster by waiting for 802.11n with a data rate of 200-540Mbit/s (ethernet is only 100Mbit/s)
It comes out mid-2007

Answer 8

I......I.....I don't even know where to begin.