Qualcomm-Equipped Netgear Router System Improves Wi-Fi Coverage, Firms Say

Netgear’s Orbi tri-band Wi-Fi router system ($399) is the first to incorporate Qualcomm’s tri-radio 802.11ac chipsets and Wi-Fi self-organizing network (SON) technologies, said the companies in a Wednesday news release. The combination of Orbi’s tri-band Wi-Fi and Qualcomm’s SON technology is said to deliver faster, simpler and improved Wi-Fi reliability for customers with large homes or challenging infrastructure, they said. Qualcomm’s tri-band Wi-Fi chipset uses three Wi-Fi radios to create a dedicated wireless backhaul connection between the Orbi router and Orbi satellites, and SON software simplifies the Wi-Fi set up process and optimizes the network to eliminate congestion and dead zones, they said. The result is said to be high-performance Wi-Fi in nearly every corner of the home.