Wireless router versus wireless phone?

Infopackets Reader Chris W. writes:

" Dear Dennis,

I'm having a little problem running my wireless laptop PC. It seems every time someone in my home picks up one of the cordless phone, the Internet service from the Linksys is interrupted. The Linksys router is attached to my sons desktop computer. Do you any solution to this problem? "

My response:

Unfortunately, I'm still using old technology which requires me to use wires to connect more than one computer to my router. I did, however, forward this question to Jake Ludington and he was able to shed some insight.

Jake comments:

" Unfortunately, the solution to this problem will be to get rid of the phone or get rid of the wireless router. This is a very common problem in households with 2.4 GHz wireless phones and 802.11b or 802.11g wireless routers, which also broadcast on the 2.4 GHz frequency. In a nutshell, the phone and the router are in competition for the same airwaves. In most cases, the phone wins, which results in the loss of the wireless network connection.

The problem stems from 2.4 GHz phones continually scanning for the best available signal channel. The scan disrupts the wireless network. Actually, there is a potential solution: if you can lock the phone on a specific channel (these are generally numbered 1-12), and then configure the Linksys router to use a different channel (using the same numbering system), it may be possible for the devices to coexist. Unfortunately, most phones don't allow you to lock in the signal as they frequently scan channels for the clearest communication path (signal).

I encountered this issue when I first purchased a wireless router several years ago. I had a 2.4 GHz cordless phone which offered much better reception than my previous 900 MHz phone. I introduced a wireless router to the mix and my laptop routinely lost its Internet connection anytime I received a phone call. You can guess which device is now in a box in my bedroom closet. "