First 802.11ac routers emerge promising faster WiFi at greater range

Speeds of up to 1,300 Mbps on the 5 GHz band and 450 Mbps on 2.4 GHz

With wireless home networks becoming increasingly crowded as more and more mobile devices appear under our roofs jostling for bandwidth, many will be pleased to see the upcoming 802.11ac WiFi standard stepping out from the planning meetings and laboratories and into the real world. Both Netgear and Belkin have announced plans to release dual-band routers supporting the new 5G WiFi standard that will boast speeds of up to 1,300 Mbps on the 5 GHz band and 450 Mbps on 2.4 GHz.

While Netgear has announced its R6300 Dual-Band Gigabit WiFi Router, Belkin is yet to make any specific product announcements. However, Netgear’s R6300 and Belkin’s upcoming line of wireless dual-band routers will feature Broadcom’s fifth generation (5G WiFi) 802.11ac chip. First unveiled at CES 2012, Broadcom says the first family of 802.11ac chips are three times faster and up to six times more power efficient than their 802.11n predecessors.

With the range of the average dual band 802.11n router also decreasing sharply as distance from the router increases, the 802.11ac WiFi standard promises a boost in range capabilities and reduction in “dead spots” through advances such as Beamforming technology that directs content in the direction of the intended receiver.