Christmas tree lights affect broadband speeds

The lights on a Christmas tree or elsewhere in the home could have a detrimental effect on wireless broadband speed warned Talktalk.

In a message posted on the company’s blog, Sylvain Thevenot, the internet service provider’s (ISP) senior director of products and alliances, believed from its experiences last year thousands of people, no matter who their ISP is, may be affected.

He said the company received a number of calls from customers who were having problems with the speed at which they were able to connect to the internet.

He said the majority of people think their broadband access speed is only affected by their distance from the telephone exchange. But he said many other factors can have an impact on their connection speed.

This includes in-home lighting and wiring, which he claimed can interfere with wireless signals and reduce broadband speeds – regardless of ISP provider – by up to 25 per cent.

"Although it might sound silly, interference from domestic lighting and wiring is a major problem across the industry and - at this time of year - Christmas lights tend to aggravate it," Mr Thevenot said.

Sebastien Lahtinen, co-founder of broadband advice site Thinkbroadband, said Christmas tree lights can cause interference with ADSL; wireless or not. But he didn’t believe that ISPs should not use this as an excuse for a slow connection.

“The problem is that ISPs often blame things like that so they can get the customer off the phone. It's not all Christmas tree lights," he said.

Mr Thevenot advised people to keep festive lights as far away from a broadband router as possible. He also suggested people should only buy decorations from a reputable company that has the quality and safety CE mark and don't keep lights flashing on and off as this can have an impact on connectivity.