In order to collect data to support an update of international standards on interference, we are inviting our membership to respond to a survey: What is the average distance between common sources of intereference and wireless media devices, in your environment?
Interference can ruin a perfectly good wireless signal. That's something most people have experienced, whether they knew it or not. We want to make sure that media services are, and continue to be, available with as little disturbance as possible, especially as 'wireless everything' increasingly becomes the norm and the number of electronic devices in homes continues to increase. A clean spectrum also means the transmission power of wireless services can be kept at lower levels – a virtuous circle.
But we believe that the standards designed to measure and reduce interference need to be updated, because common sources of interference are now crowding our personal and public spaces to such a degree that they're generally in very close proximity to the wireless devices they affect.
For example, poorly designed LED lights, wireless power chargers and devices using switch mode power supplies are all potential sources of avoidable electromagnetic pollution. Interference from such sources can compromise the reception quality for Radio, TV and other radiocommunication services. This may lead to increased transmission power from other devices trying to overcome noise and therefore causing further electromagnetic pollution.
One of the solutions is to ensure that devices are designed with minimized EM radiation in mind. But guidelines and regulation need to be based on an accurate picture of real-world scenarios. That's what we aim to address in relevant standardization bodies.
Please fill in our survey, and join our Electromagnetic Interference and Compatibility group.