Web users relying on Wi-Fi networks rather than fixed broadband connections to access the web experience slower speeds, says Epitiro.

The research firm conducted more than a million tests of some 14,000 Wi-fi connections in the UK, as well as Spain, Italy and the US. On average, Wi-Fi connections were 30 percent slower than fixed connections.

The firm said it was "surprised" at how significant the reduction in speed was, but that many consumers wouldn't notice the difference, while others were happy to accept slower speeds because of the convenience offered by Wi-Fi.

"People are voting with their feet and trading speed for the benefits of mobility," said Iain Wood from Epitirio.

"Most of us do emailing and web surfing, and for these things there is precious little difference between the 50Mbps services and an 8Mbps service."

However, Wood said those using VoIP service such as Skype and using the web to watch TV would notice the difference.

"There seems to be a disconnect between the ISPs striving to deliver faster speeds and consumers who are happy to accept slower Wi-Fi speeds," he concluded.

Wood advised those unhappy with the speed they're achieving to change the channel on their router, as many users rely on the same channel, as well as removing devices such as baby monitors and TV remotes, which can cause interference.

http://www.pcadvisor.co.uk/news/index.c ... ID=3264417

I find it's the ISP themselves who are usually more of a problem...

Well Wifi is convenient and it can be very congested. I doubt that it is just the network providers as this was consistent across Europe. Though for email and browsing speed is not essential, reliability is more important. Then add in interference from a multitude of devices and you are lucky it is only 30% slower.

Only 30%.
In my daily experience it's much worse than that.

Yes even locally my own network can drop substantially. My neighbours networks are down in single figures even though they are next door.