The purpose of this post was only to share the Intel Paper.
I see now I misread part of your original post- I had read
I learned about this from another source and had never read the full report from Intel.
as
I learned about this from another source who had never read the full report from Intel.
which felt a bit inflammatory.
Just to be clear on the whole thing- I'm sure at high enough levels, Radio interference could interfere with the operation of the USB protocol. I'm not saying it is wholly impossible (though I may have accidentally implied that, in which case I concede the point) Just in the case where this originally cropped up regarding side panel removal, I just don't see how removing the side of a case could increase any interference to that level.
Of course, it can definitely cause problems for analog data, such as audio devices- I've had cases where I can "hear" a wireless card working, for example, and my old PowerMac G4 clearly emits very quiet tones that seem related to the CPU usage.
And wireless data is in many ways analog; or at least more susceptible to radio interference because it is literally working via a radio. it's just that for USB I'd expect that interference from consumer sources to have little effect due to how USB works via a digital differential signalling protocol. I can see RF interfering directly with end devices, of course, which could travel through the cord and affect other aspects of the system (again, analog signalling stuff for example- or as mentioned, wireless)
Or- perhaps I misunderstood what was being said in that case? A USB3 root hub in a PC could interfere more readily with analog sources outside the PC with the side panel off, for example. I was interpreting it the other way around.
On the topic of the wireless interference consideration, I actually dealt with this myself. Or rather, didn't deal with it but worked around it. I found that if I had a USB3 device plugged into my computer, my wireless game controller needed me to hold it less than a foot away from the receiver dongle. But if the USB drive wasn't plugged in or it was an older USB2 drive, it worked as normal.