Unhealthy Wi-Fi? Poppycock!
We arrived in London last week to announce our revolutionary, new, unprecedented, innovative, first-of-its-kind, next generation, whiz-bang Wi-Fi system the day that THIS news was breaking.
You can imagine the first question everyone asked - and they did.
That night, the BBC's Panorama program aired a story regarding a Wi-Fi study that Sir Walter Stewart, the Chairman of the U.K.'s Health Protection Agency, issued. You can see the entire segment here. It's worth watching - if only for a good chuckle.
The BBC reporter characterized Wi-Fi hotspots and the radio frequency radiation from them as "a virtual and invisible smog." It even featured so-called experts to pontificate (I know it's a big word for a company named Ruckus).
They speculated that long-term exposure to Wi-Fi radiation could potentially cause everything from DNA damage to increased cancer rates and even changes on cognitive functions.
The reporter then conducted a series of ad hoc field tests with an engineer to measure the radiation difference between the mobile "mast" (a proper British term for a pole with radio nodes on it) and a classroom with a Wi-Fi access point.
According to the BBC, the radiation from the school's WiFi proved to be three times higher than that from the cellphone mast, although that was still 600 times below the government's safety limits.
They even went so far as to cart out "electrohypersensitives." These are people that can actually feel such radiation. One woman had her bedroom lined with tin foil creating a veritable faraday cage. So here's the real deal:
Radio signal strength drops dramatically the farther you get away from a transmitter. Mathematically, signal strength falls off in proportion to the square of the distance from the transmitter. The study compared Wi-Fi to cellular at different distances which results in meaningless results.
In practice, only transmitters very near to you result in significant signal levels. The cellular handset you hold next to you head is dumping much more energy into your body than any Wi-Fi system ever could. Also note that a Wi-Fi handset transmits at much lower power than a cellular handset since Wi-Fi operates in an unlicensed band subject to strict 100mW EIRP limits in Europe.
Ruckus Wi-Fi systems are quite unique and don't radiate a Wi-Fi signal in all directions. Rather, using a smart directional antenna system, they focus the RF energy much like a spotlight in a dark room - only pointing the Wi-Fi signal where it's being requested. Consequently our smart Wi-Fi systems are "good neighbors" minimizing inteference to adjacent Wi-Fi systems but maximizing performance (marketing-ese for really cool Wi-Fi).
The BBC has since admitted 'there is no hard evidence' on the long-term effects of Wi-Fi equipment, following its controversial Panorama investigation. The admission comes in a letter sent from the BBC in reaction to viewers' complaints.
Wi-Fi is great because it's simple and easy to use....if you're at home. Ironically, if you're a small business, Wi-Fi can be a complete pain in the arse.