With the number of multi-computer households on the rise, cable-free WiFi networks are becoming an increasingly popular option. Laptops, desktop PCs printers and other devices can connect to each other and the internet simultaneously from anywhere within the house without the need for unsightly wires, but until recently that flexibility has come with a disadvantage: wireless connections have not been able to match the speed and reliability of cable networks.

Two competing technologies promise to change all that. One approach, called multiple input, multiple output (Mimo) wireless, creates a faster and more robust connection by sending several streams of data simultaneously, while another, called BeamFlex, achieves similar results by steering the wireless signal around obstacles and interference.

Speed and reliability are likely to become more important as internet-based TV becomes more popular and people want to transfer video between different devices within the home. While most users accept minor delays when web pages and other data are transferred, they are less tolerant of interruptions to streaming video and audio.

Airgo Networks says that its latest device can eliminate those interruptions, claiming that its Mimo WiFi can outstrip wired connections with speeds of up to 240 Mbps. The technology works by using three antennas to transmit and receive multiple sets of data at the same time. The data then undergoes a complex digital decoding process to separate the streams on arrival.

Greg Raleigh, Airgo’s chief executive, said that the latest Mimo device will boost WiFi’s claim to be the networking tool of the future. "We now have the medium for enabling applications such as IPTV [internet-based television]," he said. "We can stop thinking about compromise in performance for wireless."

PCs containing the new chips are expected to be on sale by the end of the year.

An alternative approach was launched this week by Ruckus Wireless. Unlike existing WiFi systems, Ruckus’s BeamFlex technology allows the antenna to divert data around areas of interference caused by household appliances such as microwaves, hairdryers and cordless phones.

"With standard WiFi, 10 to 15 percent of traffic has to be retransmitted because of interference," said Selina Lo, the company’s chief executive. "For television, you don’t need a lot of bandwidth – 6 Mbps is enough – but it has to be consistent."

The system also prioritises available bandwidth so that e-mails or text files may be held up momentarily to give video and audio files a clear run.

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