Netgear’s AD7200 router takes out European honours

For the uninitiated Wi-Fi, AD adds another spectrum band in the 57-66GHz range (depending on what part of the world you live in) in addition to the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands that AC routers use now. But the catch is that to use this spectrum you need Wi-Fi AD equipped computing devices and these are very scarce at present. A smattering of USB AD adaptors are coming soon.

Still, the A$799 NETGEAR Nighthawk X10 AC7200 Smart Wi-Fi router (model R9000) can, under perfect conditions achieve 7200Mbps (7.2Gbps) throughput made up of 800Mbps@2.4GHz, 1733Mbps@5GHz and 4600Mbps@60GHz. Without AD functionality, it is equivalent to a dual-band AC2500 router.

David Henry, senior vice president of Connected Home for NETGEAR, said, “We are honoured to have a Nighthawk router selected as the Best Router in the European market two years in a row! Last year it was Nighthawk X6 and now Nighthawk X10. We design all NETGEAR products not only to meet but to surpass the highest performance standards, and we strive to deliver the newest technology innovations. We know Nighthawk X10 to be the industry’s best, so it’s extremely rewarding to have it confirmed by technology experts in continent-wide voting.”

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The smart router also acts as a Plex media server (storage device required) and will transcode media to higher bit-rates and support simultaneous streaming to 720/1080p devices.

AD has had a mixed response. AD was originally conceived to replace cables between set-top boxes, monitors and computing devices. Many router makers have decided to skip AD and wait for AX that uses 2.4GHz and 5GHz and adds official support for 1024QAM – scheduled for 2019. Yet others think Li-Fi (light based Wi-Fi may be the future) and then there are lower MHz bands like AH and AF – all years away.

While the lure of lag free 4600Mbps in the 60GHz band is great for 4K and game streaming the general rule is the higher the frequency the shorter the distance it can go – Wi-Fi AD signals can be stopped by something as simple as a vase of flowers – let alone penetrate concrete/brick/timber walls and floors. In fact, it only works line of sight in one room. That is why Wi-Fi G 2.4GHz and Wi-Fi AC 5GHz are still part of the backward compatible standard – these will pass through people, walls, doors etc.

Still, that is not to take away from the Award-Winning Nighthawk X10 – features include:

• AD7200 Quad Stream Wave2 WiFi supports wireless speeds up to 4600+1733+800Mbps
• Plex Media Server for all your media – anytime, anywhere
• Powerful 1.7GHz Quad Core Processor boosts performance for 4K streaming or VR gaming
• 4 high-performance Active Antennas for better Wi-Fi coverage and faster speeds
• 6 x Gigabit Ethernet LAN ports with dual ports that can be operated in link aggregation mode for faster file transfers (up to 2Gbps wired speeds)
• 2 x USB 3.0 ports for faster streaming, backup and easy access to stored media
• Automatic backup to the cloud with Amazon Drive
• NETGEAR ReadyCLOUD provides easy, private and secure remote access to USB-connected storage
• 10Gigabit fibre port for lightning-fast backup and media streaming to/from a NETGEAR ReadyNAS storage device or another NAS
• MU-MIMO capable for simultaneous streaming of data to multiple devices
• Dynamic QoS prioritises network traffic for uninterrupted video streaming for applications like YouTube, Netflix and more
• NETGEAR Up app has your router up, running and configured from the convenience of any Android or iOS mobile device
• NETGEAR genie app for a personal dashboard to monitor, control and repair your home network, even when you’re away from home