Netgear Debuts Pricey WiFi 6E Router

By Daniel Frankel
( Broadcasting & Cable )
published

Biggest upgrade to WiFi technology comes at $599 price tag

The biggest upgrade to WiFi technology in decades doesn’t come cheap.

Netgear Nighthawk RAXE500

(Image credit: Netgear)

Tied to the virtual CES 2021, Netgear introduced one of the first routers built around the new WiFi 6E standard, the tri-band enabled Nighthawk RAXE500.

Price: $599.

Introduced in 2019, WiFi 6 represented a major evolution in the way routers communicated with devices, making signal exchanges much more efficient. The just-introduced WiFi 6E standard (the “E” standing for “extended”) uses an additional 1,200 MHz of unlicensed spectrum recently freed up by the FCC.

As more people communicate with more devices than ever in densely crowded areas, the additional spectrum is crucial for keeping signals from bumping into one another. 

Also Read: WiFi Gets Its Biggest Upgrade in Decades | TCL: Google TV-Powered Smart TVs on the Way

As the “tri-band” capability suggests, the RAXE500 supports the traditional 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz bands, in addition to 6 GHz. 

It has five gigabit ports and two USB 3.0 ports, and contains a quad-core 1.8 GHz processor.

Daniel Frankel
Daniel Frankel

Daniel Frankel is the managing editor of Next TV, an internet publishing vertical focused on the business of video streaming. A Los Angeles-based writer and editor who has covered the media and technology industries for more than two decades, Daniel has worked on staff for publications including E! Online, Electronic Media, Mediaweek, Variety, paidContent and GigaOm. You can start living a healthier life with greater wealth and prosperity by following Daniel on Twitter today!