Verizon Communications is keeping pace with a new, faster gateways being rolled out by cable competitors with the launch of the FiOS Quantum Gateway, a device equipped with 802.11ac WiFi and a speedy coax-based home networking platform.

Verizon said the new device, also known as the FiOS-G1 100, supports dual-band 2.4 GHz/5 GHz 802.11ac with beamforming, and bakes in the 2.0 version of the Multimedia over Coax Alliance (MoCA) platform, which supports in-home wireline throughputs of 400 Mbps in basic mode and up to 800 Mbps in the enhanced, turbo mode.

Targeting customers who have multiple devices hanging off their home networks and like to stream video, Verizon said the wireless end of the device can handle speeds up to 800 Mbps and an unobstructed range up to 325 feet, though both numbers are based on lab tests.

Verizon FiOS subs can buy new gateway outright for $149 (over three monthly payments, except in New York Connecticut, New Jersey and Florida), or lease it for $6.99 per month. Verizon said customers can install the device themselves.

A spokesman noted that the gateway, offered now in all FiOS markets, was developed in partnership with Greenwave Systems, with the telco having access to Greenwave’s software and services, as well as its product development and mechanical design processes. Greenwave bills itself as an provider of managed Internet of Things services and products.

FierceCable reported in March that test documents tied to the FiOS Quantum Gateway under development would also be capable of supporting both Z-Wave and Zigbee, wireless protocols that could be used for home automation services and “smart” thermostats and light bulbs. It was not immediately clear how the new gateway might factor into a future connected home offering from Verizon. However, the spec sheet posted by Verizon on the currently available FiOS Quantum Gateway make no mention of Zigbee or Z-Wave being present. Updated: Greenwave told Light Reading that Zigbee connectivity will be offered through a home area network (HAN) expansion module.

Verizon, meanwhile, noted in a blog post that it will be adding new features to the FiOS Quantum Gateway over time, including security access controls such as “guest” passwords, and device-specific access that will enable customers to pick and choose which devices are allowed to tap into their home network.

Verizon ended the third quarter with 6.5 million FiOS Internet subs, and been touting  free upgrades that match the upstream and downstream speeds of its residential fiber-to-the-home service.

Verizon’s souped-up gateway is being launched as cable operators prepare their own next-gen broadband products. Of recent note, Comcast introduced the Xfinity Wireless Gateway, a Cisco Systems-made product that also supports 802.11ac, MoCA 2.0 and a DOCSIS 3.0 cable modem. In September, Comcast said the gateway would become available in “select markets” this fall, noting that third-party lab tests showed that it delivered 700 Mbps of actual throughput.

Ruckus Wireless, a supplier that sells gear and software to Time Warner Cable and Bright House Networks, has expanded its family of 802.11ac-powered indoor and outdoor access points.

The expanded lineup includes the Ruckus ZoneFlex R500 (2x2:2) and ZoneFlex R600 (3x3:3) indoor dual-band (2.4/5 GHz) mid-range models, and new Ruckus ZoneFlex T300 Series outdoor 802.11ac access points – the ZoneFlex T300e omnidirectional model (pictured), which includes support for optional external 5 GHz antennas, and the ZoneFlex T301s 120 degree sectorized beam model with a sector adaptive antenna.

Ruckus’ new access points integrate the company’s patented BeamFlex technology, used to mitigate interference in “challenging RF environments,” and ChannelFly dynamic channel management technology, a predictive channel selection technique based on real-time capacity analysis of all RF channels.

Ruckus said the ZoneFlex R500 AP is tailored for medium density wireless networks in sites such as mid-size enterprises, hotels, and warehouses, as well as in retail stores. The Ruckus ZoneFlex R600 is designed for medium-to-high client density deployments such as enterprises, branch offices, retail locations,  classrooms and college campus networks, the company said.

The new ZoneFlex T300e and T301s APs for outdoor use, with the T300e well-suited for high-density deployments. Both models can be mounted on poles, street corners and rooftops.

The new Ruckus ZoneFlex R500 indoor 802.11ac AP has an MSRP of $645, while the Ruckus ZoneFlex R600 indoor 802.11ac AP carries and MSRP of $795.  The Ruckus ZoneFlex T300e outdoor 802.11ac AP fetches $1,395, and the new Ruckus ZoneFlex T301s outdoor AP carries a suggested price of $1,495.

Celeno Communications said it has won a deal to supply its 802.11ac chipset to a DOCSIS 3.0-powered gateway from Compal Broadband Networks (CBN) that can bond 24 downstream channels and eight upstream channels.

The new device is outfitted with Celeno’s CL2330 3x3 and CL2340 4x4 802.11ac products and its OptimizAIR 2.0 airtime management technology, which can be used by cable operators to support multiple “virtual” SSIDs.  In the U.S., operators such as Comcast and Cablevision Systems, for example, have been expanding their wireless footprints with “homespots” that allow credentialed customers to tap in when they are roaming.  

Additional virtual networks could be allocated for wireless video STBs, Internet of Things and smart home applications, Celeno said.

The CL2330 and CL2340 are single chip PCIe Wi-Fi solutions, support 80MHz bandwidth for higher throughput and support “beamforming” for extended range.

Celeno's dual band CLR260 3x3 802.11n chip and OptimizAIR are also being used in Arris D3 gateways that are powered by Intel’s Puma 6 platform.

Looking to match up speeds entering the home with the capacities supported by customers’ home networks, Comcast has introduced a souped up wireless gateway from Cisco Systems that bakes in 802.11ac WiFi and the 2.0 version of Multimedia over Coax Alliance (MoCA), which utilizes the home’s coax network.

The product, which carries the consumer-facing brand of the “Xfinity Wireless Gateway,” is the Cisco-made DPC3941T. According to this blog post from Jill Formichella, Comcast Cable’s director, home network product development, the WiFi piece is outfitted with a 3x3 MIMO design that delivers three spatial streams and 1.3 Gbps of raw throughput via an 80MHz-wide wireless channel. She said third-party lab tests by Allion Engineering Services showed the gateway delivering 700 Mbps of actual throughput.

The 700 Mbps mark is more than two times faster than Comcast’s current router and seven times faster and provided better overall in-home coverage than similar devices from competitors, including Verizon Communications and AT&T, claimed Eric Schaefer, Comcast Cable’s SVP and GM, communications, data and mobility, in this separate post.

The new gateway integrates a DOCSIS 3.0 modem, though the channel bonding configuration was not immediately available. Top-of-the-line D3 modems can bond 24 downstream channels and 8 upstream channels, putting the downstream within shouting distance of 1 Gbps bursts. Broadcom is working on a D3 chipset that can bond 32 downstream channels.

Comcast also did not announce pricing and packaging options for the new product, but Schaefer wrote that will become available “later this fall in select markets,” and will eventually be introduced to Comcast’s entire footprint.

A spokesman said that new customers who qualify for a device will automatically receive one when they sign up for service, subject to availability. Customers who want to receive info on the new gateway and when it becomes available in their market are directed to send an email to: AC_WirelessGateway@cable.comcast.com.  

Comcast, which ended the second quarter with 21.27 million broadband subs, is introducing the gateway as it bumps its Blast Tier to 105 Mbps down (from 50 Mbps) and its Extreme Tier to 150 Mbps (from 105 Mbps) at no additional cost in markets in its Northeast and West regions. Comcast offers a fiber-based residential service in select markets that delivers 505 Mbps down and 100 Mbps upstream.

Last April, Comcast launched a Cisco-made 802.11n DOCSIS 3.0 gateway with a 16x4 channel-bonding configuration that also supports MoCA 2.0, a technology that delivers in-home wireline throughputs of 400 Mbps in basic mode and up to 800 Mbps in the enhanced, turbo mode.

Comcast is also using its new gateways to deliver a separate "Xfinity WiFi" SSIDs and community hotspots that are accessible to credentialed broadband subs. Comcast is on pace to deploy 8 million hotspots by the end of the year, a number that includes its residential hotspots and those deployed in outdoor and business locations.

ASUS has launched the RT-AC87, claiming it’s the first Wave 2 802.11ac consumer router that uses dual-band spectrum and can pump out speeds up to 1.73 Gbps.

The device, which targets in-home wireless streaming of HD and even higher bit-rate 4K video, is powered by Quantenna’s QSR1000 4x4 Multi-User Multiple Input Multiple Output chipset, matched with Universal Beamforming technology that aims to maximize the router’s wireless range or boost the performance of older 802.11a/b/g/n clients, the companies said.

“As the number of wireless devices in the home increases, so does the importance of Wi-Fi quality,” said Margaret Chen, president of ASUS Computer International’s Open Platform Business (OPBG) Group for ASUS Computer International.

ASUS said it will begin to sell the product in North America “shortly” for an estimated MSRP of $269.99.

Outside of the retail sphere, Cable operators are looking to 802.11ac technology to feed high-quality video to IP clients from a primary gateway, setting it up as a wireless complement to wire-based high-speed technologies such as MoCA (Multimedia over Coax Alliance). Service providers that use gear outfitted with Quantenna silicon include AT&T, DirecTV, Swisscom, Telefonica and Belgacom.

Quantenna shed light its 802.11ac chip for gateways and other home networking devices in May, claiming then that it would support usable throughputs of up to 1.3 Gbps – not far off from the chip’s PHY layer throughputs of 1.7 Gbps -- with beamforming techniques can keep the speed relatively consistent even as it blasts through walls and other obstructions.

In April, Quantenna talked up plans for more advanced WiFi technology that could pump out up to 10 Gbps using an 8x8 MU-MIMO architecture. Those chips aren’t expected out until sometime next year.