Wireless technology has officially turned the corner: the first 5GWiFi products are now on the shelves.
Today, Netgear is announcing the availability of the R6300 WiFi Router, the first dual-band gigabit WiFi router powered by Broadcom’s fifth-generation WiFi, or IEEE 802.11ac, chips. Unveiled in January at the Consumer Electronics Show, Broadcom’s 5GWiFi chips are delivering faster throughput, higher capacity, broader coverage and longer battery life.
For today’s consumer, that translates to a more robust wireless home network, one that not only streams content and powers advanced voice and video services but also allows a greater number of devices – from PCs and mobile devices to set-top boxes and gaming consoles – to access it. WiFi networks are common in today’s homes but increasingly, the online tasks surrounding video – whether streaming a movie or conducting a video chat with a friend – are demanding something more robust.
Netgear’s 5GWiFi router, for example, has speeds of up to 1300 Mbps on 5GHz and 450 Mbps on 2.4GHz, enabling consumers to download web content from any device in the home in a fraction of the time it would take on a similar 802.11n device. And while that’s important, consumers are bound to be  intrigued by the power of  Netgear’s Genie app, which unleashes networked photos, videos and music for playback on any connected devices, provides separate guest access and networks USB-connected printers so that any device can access them, even mobile devices.
It’s also DLNA ready and can stream to any DLNA compatible device in the house, including the latest Smart TVs, Blu-ray players, media players, game consoles, handheld devices and tablets. More importantly, the technology will allow the mobile device marketplace to continue to grow and flourish. According to a Cisco report, video currently constitutes 40-50 percent of all Internet traffic but is expected to reach 91 percent by 2015. And the demands by mobile devices is only expected to grow. Currently, 45 percent of network traffic goes to a personal computer, compared to the 55 percent that goes to set-top boxes, game consoles, tablet PCs, smartphones and advanced TVs.
When Broadcom unveiled its 5GWiFi chips at CES, the industry was already ready for it, eager for a strong wireless experience to handle advanced web services – such as video chat and conferencing – that are starting to hit the scene. Today, it seems that everyone is talking up the power of 5GWiFi, including some competitors who have announced 5GWiFi products in the works but have yet to deliver them. Only Broadcom has delivered the technology so that  companies such as Netgear can develop products that will continue to change wireless networking experiences.
Learn more about Netgear’s R6300 5GWiFi router and Broadcom’s 5GWiFi efforts by following the links.
Previous 5GWiFi coverage:
- 5G WiFi Unveiled at CES, Industry Already On-Board
- 5G WiFi: The Next Big Thing
- 5G WiFi Gets Vote of Confidence – See You at Mobile World Congress
- Broadcom CEO: Talking Mobile and More at Ignition West Conference
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