Other existing WiFi systems are dual band AC1200 systems. They have the same limitations that AC1200 range extenders have. Namely that they provide coverage, but not the speeds required for fast internet connections. Since they use the same radios to talk to clients and other nodes in their system, there’s a large system-wide loss in bandwidth to transmit data between the nodes. This is why when you add several devices to their network, the combined throughput of the entire network drops significantly.
Orbi uses tri-band mesh, with a combined speed of AC3000. This gives us a gigantic speed advantage over the other Wifi systems. We use one of the bands for a dedicated connection between the nodes in the system. (the kit we announced yesterday is two nodes, but we also allow for expansion if you need more coverage). This means that we don’t have to share time when listening for clients and other nodes in the system. Due to this, our own internal testing shows that we’re anywhere from two to ten times faster than the other wifi systems throughout a customer’s house.
Additionally, due to the strong connection between the units, device placement is not critical like other wifi systems and others. I believe other wifi systems recommends line of sight placement within 40 feet of each other. We recommend customers place one Orbi next to their modem or cable gateway, and the other somewhere centrally in their house. We don’t depend on line of sight. While we may be a bit larger than other wifi systems, this added flexibility means you don’t have to place networking devices awkwardly at the top and bottom of the stairs at your house, or in the middle of your hallway. We think this is much more realistic in modern houses than measuring out the feet between the nodes.
Thanks Darren. Perhaps this will fix some of the DNS issues with AT&T. I find my Mac stalls on a regular basis waiting for a return signal, I'm thinking!! Looking at the setup, it looks like the Orbi becomes the main router in front of the AT&T router and modem. This would be a good thing. Looking forward to getting more data.
