Australia recently approved Wi-Fi 6E in the lower 6GHz band with an initial 500Mhz of spectrum and Netgear was clearly waiting for this as they’ve just released the Nighthawk RAXE500, Australia’s first WiFi 6E router.
TLDR the main difference between a Wi-Fi 6 router and a Wi-Fi 6E router is an extra 6ghz band that older Wi-Fi devices cannot use.
Only Wi-Fi 6E devices can communicate on this new 6ghz band so if you don’t own any of these already and don’t plan on buying any for a year or two then there’s no point in rushing out to buy a Wi-Fi 6E router right now.
On the other hand if you live in an apartment block and do own a Wi-Fi 6E capable phone plus laptop then Wi-Fi 6E will be of immediate benefit to you as your devices will get to use uncongested 6Ghz spectrum that probably none of your neighbours is using.
Phil Solis, research director at IDC commented that:
“The proliferation of WiFi over the last few decades first stressed the 2.4 GHz band and then eventually the 5 GHz band with Wi-Fi 4, 5, and 6”.
“As regulatory bodies around the world open up the 6 GHz band, WiFi 6E networks will provide enabled devices with the breathing room to use large channels even in dense and congested areas with higher average data rates and lower latency”.
David Henry, President and GM of Connected Home Products for NETGEAR said:
“Our mission at NETGEAR is to provide products with cutting edge technologies to enable people to work, learn, stream and game more effectively in a connected world”.
“The Nighthawk RAXE500 Tri-band router is a game changing example of this and the first of many innovations for NETGEAR in the WiFI 6E space. We’re excited to see how it’s received in the Australian market and look forward to sharing our strong pipeline of WiFi 6E innovations in the future.”
A Netgear spokesperson at yesterday’s Australian media briefing said that they could confirm other Wi-Fi 6E products such as Orbi mesh are planned for Australian release later this year.
Nighthawk RAXE50
- New 6GHz Band–– with up to 200% more available spectrum than dual-band (5GHz and 2.4GHz) WiFi alone.
- Ultra-Low Latency—Very few devices on new 6GHz band means lower latency for gaming and real-time traffic.
- More High-Bandwidth WiFi Channels—Blazing-fast speed and less interference with 3X more high-bandwidth 160MHz WiFi channels.
- 12-Streams Tri-Band WiFi— Four streams of 6GHz, four streams of 5GHz, and four streams of 2.4GHz equates to more available bandwidth and less congestion for all devices on WiFi.
- WiFi 6E Optimised Powerful Processor— Ideal for Gigabit Internet speeds, a 64-bit 1.8GHz quad-core processor ensures smooth 4K/8K UHD streaming and gaming.
- Multi-Gig Ethernet Port 2.5G––2.5X the wired speed of a typical Gigabit port, to be used for LAN or Internet connectivity.
- Five (5) Gigabit Ethernet Ports—Connect more wired devices for faster file transfer and uninterrupted connections. Aggregate two Gigabit LAN ports and two Gigabit WAN ports (configurable) concurrently.
- Pre-optimised Antennas––Unfold and set antennas on the router; no further adjustment required. The Nighthawk RAXE500 antennas come pre-optimised for the best WiFi performance.
- NETGEAR Armor™ Security for your Home––Advanced security for your home network and an unlimited number of connected devices. Learn more at netgear.com.au/armor.
- Automatic firmware updates—Latest security patches delivered to the router without the need for user intervention.
The NETGEAR Nighthawk RAXE50
