2200BG wireless speed goes up and down - hangs every few minutes

I have been having issues with my new Compaq laptop with an Intel
Pro/Wireless 2200BG network connection (laptop running Windows XP) - as
can seen in My Computer/view system information/hardware/device
manager. A right click and an update driver shows that the net is
searched and there is no better/newer driver. So not the driver at
fault then..?

This had me stuck for a while trying to work out what was happening - I
tried stopping programs, changing the wireless channel, moving between
rooms, moving my access point to different positions etc etc.

In the end I went to the Intel site and found that there was in fact a
much newer driver, downloaded and installed it - and now all is fine. I
can't believe that's all it was.

I have posted this in case anyone else has the same frustrations.