Many people set up their own wireless networks without being aware of other networks in the area. There are basically 3 non-overlapping channels available. You can use any one but how do you really know which one to choose or which is the least congested and at what times. The most obvious symptom of interference is not seeing the network at all or intermittent dropping. These can also mean a defective access point (AP) or wifi card but I am assuming they are working properly.
You also need to minimise and be aware of interference from other electrical devices as outlined here.
Wifi has intelligent features to be able to work in an area with multiple networks but with more congestion you lose bandwidth and throughput. Your AP will transmit at a slower rate when other AP's are in the area and using similar frequencies. Multiple AP's using the same frequencies is as if each AP is a person talking to someone next to them in a small room. If both talk at the same time(transmit) they will not always be understood by a listener (your computer).
If you stream data via wireless in a congested area you will be bottle necked and might have regular breaks in the video or music as it buffers. If you are just browsing the internet of opening work files via wireless you will probably not notice the bottleneck as these are not as bandwidth intensive as streaming videos or music. The default on most access points is channel 6 so it will probably the most common as most people will not change it.
inSSIDer is a tool that lets you check for other wifi networks using the wifi card on your own computer. It does not matter who the owner is, your neighbour, work, apartment building, etc. It gives a visual representation of other wifi networks in the area and what channels they use. I am not sure if it detects 'a' and 'n' networks but I am sure it sees 'b' and 'g' networks. Choose a channel that is empty or that has the least activity. If you do not stream from one computer to another via wifi you should at least get your full internet throughput on your wireless device. Check your throughput on www.speedtest.net on a wired computer and then check it on your wireless computer, they should be very similar.
Check out this article to boost your signal strength: http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/cover-home-find-remove-wireless-blind-spots/
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