Networking

If you’re in the market for a VPN — and you should be, if you don’t have that box ticked already — Surfshark is one of your top options. For some reason, Surfshark seems to have made a name for itself for being cheap.  Well, it is cheap — if you get the 24 month deal for $59.76. But Surfshark is better than cheap: it’s value for money.  

Surfshark

Locations: 108Countries: 65Simultaneous connections: UnlimitedKill switch: yesLogging: noPrice: $12.95/month, or 24 months for $59.76Trial: 30-day refund guaranteeSupported platforms: iOS, Android, macOS, Windows, Linux, game consoles, smart TVs, routers

View Now at Surfshark

Curious how many servers Surfshark has and how many countries it supports? Surfshark currently has over 3200 servers in 65+ countries, as per its own account, and the number is continuously growing. There are 195 countries in the world today, so 65 may seem small in comparison. But Surfshark has good population coverage — chances are the countries you are interested in are the list of supported ones.  Surfshark has multiple servers on each of the locations, which means better service quality. Plus, a neat feature Surfshark offers is that you can also select a specific city in many of those locations. You can find a complete list of locations here. How many devices can Surfshark support? If there’s one feature that sets Surfshark apart, this is probably it: unlimited device support. You can use Surfshark on as many devices as you please with just one account. This may be worth a bit of analysis, so here it goes. Surfshark has wide-ranging support for devices and operating systems, including game consoles and routers. This, coupled with unrestricted use on any number of devices, means that you can buy once, use it anywhere. 

In practice, for most people, that won’t mean more than 5-10 devices. But the peace of mind and ease of use this provides is a key selling point, in our opinion. Why don’t other VPN providers do it, too, then? Good question. Perhaps it’s because they fear this could hurt their sales if people start sharing their accounts or their servers if people start connecting from all of their devices at once. These are legitimate fears, but they probably don’t play out very often in practice — otherwise, Surfshark would not be in business.
Surfshark
By definition, getting a VPN means you are at least partially concerned about privacy and anonymity. So sharing your account does not make much sense in that case, and we don’t imagine many VPN users do this. As about connecting from all of your devices at once, using your VPN..well, you don’t always need to have your VPN on, do you? And even if you do, it’s probably not very common to switch from one device to the other and also use the same server across devices. An exception to the above may be scenarios in which an account is shared among family members, which Surfshark actually promotes. Who knows, perhaps Surfshark is counting on complicated family relationships. If you feel like sharing your VPN with your family, however, Surfshark lets you do that. Where can you use Surfshark? Surfshark boasts wide coverage of operating systems and devices. It works on Windows PC, Mac, Android, Android TV, iOS, and Linux. We’ll be honest — we have not tried Surfshark it on every single one of those operating systems and devices. Where we did try it, however, what we got was more or less in line with our expectations. Things are pretty much straightforward when using Surfshark on Windows 10 and Android. However, if your main operating system is Linux, as is the case for us, using Surfshark is a bit trickier. But it’s still workable — we promise. Even though Linux distributions such as Mint have introduced a software manager which streamlines application installation, Surfshark won’t play nice with it. We don’t mind having to use the command prompt to install Surfshark, but having to run it via the command prompt too is a deal-breaker.
Surfshark
Fret not, however — browser extensions to the rescue. The inconvenience of having to fire up Surfshark via the command line on Linux actually forced us to work our way through Surfshark’s support for browser extensions.  In addition to desktop and mobile applications, Surfshark also comes in the form of browser plugins for the popular Chrome and Firefox browsers. As of March 2021, Google Chrome accounted for about 67% of the global desktop internet browser market share, while Firefox had about 8%. Whether that’s healthy is a different discussion. What this means for our purposes, however, is that installing Surfshark on Chrome as a plugin may be the most convenient way to use your VPN when browsing. Keep in mind, though; you may be trading some options for convenience. Installing and using Surfshark on Chrome Installing the Surfshark extension for Chrome is really no different than installing any other Chrome extension. the first thing you need to do is to find the Surfshark extension at the Chrome web store. You will find it here. Then Click Add to Chrome. A pop-up window will ask you to confirm the installation. Press Add extension, and that’s it. The Surfshark logo will now appear on your toolbar at the top right-hand corner of your browser. Installing Surfshark on Chrome is really easy, and using it is just as easy.  Start by clicking on the Surfshark icon at the top right of your browser. When you do that, a popup appears, prompting for your credentials. To be able to use Surfshark, you need to have signed up for an account first.
Surfshark
Surfshark’s Chrome extension has a clean and easy to use interface, and streaming is a breeze. We imagine most people will hit the Connect button right away, and it will work, but let’s take some time to go through the options first.  Before we do that, however, a word of caution, some features, most prominently the Whitelister and the KillSwitch, do not appear to be supported in the Chrome extension. The Whitelister lets you manually choose what apps and websites your VPN are active on. The KillSwitch automatically disconnects you from the internet if your VPN connection abruptly drops. If those are important to you, you should use the Surfshark application on your platform of choice instead of the browser extension. Surfshark settings and features: What works and what doesn’t Clicking the cog icon at the left opens up the Settings menu. General Settings lets users choose their language and appearance settings. In addition, you can choose whether you want Surfshark to connect on browser launch to prevent sites using WebRTC from being able to discover your IP and location and to block ads, trackers, and malware via the CleanWeb function.  There are also options for configuring your Account setting, which is pretty straightforward, and for getting Help — more on that later. But first, a word on some Surfshark features and settings that work, and some that don’t. WebRTC, short for Web Real Time Communications, is an open-source W3C standard API that enables browsers to do things such as voice and video calling without the use of plugins, and geo-location, apparently. It was introduced about 10 years ago and became a standard recently.  We are not sure how much adoption WebRTC has, how well its geo-location capabilities work, or how well Surfshark’s ability to prevent its work, either. If we extrapolate based on how well Connect on browser launch and CleanWeb work, we would not be too optimistic.
Surfshark
Connect on browser launch, and CleanWeb has simply never worked for us. CleanWeb does not seem to block any ads for us, really. As for connecting on browser launch — nope, you still have to do it manually. Does that really matter though? We can live without CleanWeb, to be honest. There is ample choice for ad blockers these days — even though one should always exercise caution — and we’ve already been using one. So for us, the fact that CleanWeb does not work is not a big deal. But it makes Surfshark look bad for no good reason really.  We figure the reason to include CleanWeb was to make Surfshark a one-stop shop for secure and ad-free browsing. That would be nice for people who have never heard of ad blockers. Perhaps this is a Chrome extension-specific or Linux-specific thing. But is it better to offer a built-in ad blocker that does not work or not to have one at all? Streaming on Surfshark Connect on browser launch not working is not a big deal either. Why do you ask? Because connecting is super easy. Did we mention — all you need to do is open the extension by clicking on its icon and then click the Connect button? That’s it.  Surfshark will connect to the fastest location available, and you can continue browsing. Your connection will now go through Surfshark’s server, and your location will appear like the one you have connected to. Surfshark shows both your assigned location and your assigned IP address. Now, for the million-dollar question: how does streaming work on Surfshark?  Most people interested in using a VPN service for streaming want to do this in order to bypass regional restrictions. An example of this would be Netflix only making certain shows available in certain parts of the world. 
Surfshark
By using a VPN service to connect, your connection appears as coming from the part of the world you are interested in, and you can bypass those restrictions. Let’s see how this works on Surfshark. It all comes down to making a choice of a location to connect from. At Surfshark’s main screen, all locations are listed alphabetically, so you can browse through them. In addition, a search box lets you type the location you are looking for, and auto-complete makes sure you get what you’re looking for quickly and easily. That really is all there is to it. After your connection has been established, you can browse the streaming content you are interested in and watch it without any issues. You can access all Netflix libraries with Surfshark, as well as every other streaming service we tried. Surfshark server capabilities Surfshark gives a couple of handy options to use when choosing a location to connect to. If you don’t particularly mind where you’re connecting from, you can let Surfshark choose for you the location that is the fastest or the one that is the closest to you. To do that, you just push the respective buttons. If you have a location that you use a lot, you can star it to mark it as favorite, and it will be pinned on top of the list. Typically the performance of each location fluctuates, depending on its workload at each point in time. Surfshark lets you get an idea about the workload each server has at a certain point in time by visualizing it. This is what the circles next to each location represent: an empty one means no workload, a full one means that the server at that location is running at its capacity.
Surfshark
Surfshark also offers a Static IP location and MultiHop location. Static IP means the location will always have the same IP address and won’t change even if you reconnect. MultiHop locations will connect via two countries, adding an extra layer of privacy and security. What Surfshark does not offer in its Chrome extension is the ability to choose an encryption standard. Surfshark supports IKEv2, OpenVPN, Shadowsocks, and WireGuard®. Those are touted as the best, fastest choice for mobile, a reliable open-source classic, a top choice in restrictive countries, and a sleek, modern, and secure option, respectively. If you have a preference on which standard to use, you will have to use Surfshark’s application to be able to choose. Customer support at Surfshark Another important aspect of every service is what happens if you need help and support. What do you do if you run into an issue with Surfshark? Honestly, in all the time we’ve been using Surfshark, we never had any issues. But we thought we’d come up with something, just to see whether Surfshark’s support would be able to deal with it. Here’s how it went. We came up with the question, “How do I watch Greek Netflix shows using Surfshark”? It’s a burning question you are dying to know the answer to; we know.  We navigated Surfshark’s Chrome extension, choosing the Help tab in Settings. From there, users can choose to Browse Surfshark’s Guides, or Get help now, which means being directed to chat with someone from Surfshark’s support team.
Surfshark
In fact, even the latter option prompts users to first search Surfshark’s guides in the hope that they may find their answer there. That’s a good policy. Surfshark’s search functionality is good but not perfect. It offers auto-complete, which helps a lot.  When searching for “Netflix Greece”, for example, we got some results. Some were relevant, some less so, and we had to search further to find a guide that includes a reference to Surfshark’s server in Greece. We headed to the chatbox either way, curious to see how our support request would be handled.
Surfshark
It was a great experience. The chatbox itself was easy to use, and there was zero waiting time. The support member who served our request was friendly, fast, concise, polite, and concise. We got our reply, thanked them, and left. That’s a top rating for support from us. If you ever need it, that is. Privacy There was one more thing worth highlighting while exploring Surfshark’s Help tab: its Privacy policy and Terms of service are both listed. We understand perfectly well these are not the types of documents most people read, but there’s a reason we make a point of that. First off, Surfshark makes it easier for you actually to read those documents. Each section in Surfshark’s Privacy policy and Terms of service starts with a neat summary of what the section is about. Even though a VPN service is among those whose Privacy policy and Terms of service are better read in full, we wish more services did what Surfshark does.
Surfshark
Why, do you ask, should you bother about Privacy policy and Terms of service? Well, if privacy and anonymity are your main motivation for using a VPN, these are kind of important. This is the part we like most about Surfshark’s Privacy policy: “We’re based in the British Virgin Islands, which allows us to keep our VPN logs-free. We don’t collect any information that could lead us to know who you are or what you’re up to online”. That works for us. And we find it more important than which encryption standard is used, for example. We also checked whether Surfshark could potentially reveal its connection as being untrustworthy to be on the safe side. We tried both DNSLeak.com and dnsleaktest.com, and Surfshark passed with flying colors. Speed Another thing that works for us is Surfshark’s speed. To be honest, we never did any detailed benchmarking on that because we did not have to. We liked the overall package and signed up for the 30-day free trial. It went fine, and we never observed any noticeable lag, so we went for it. Others did, however, and it turns out Surfshark is pretty fast compared to the competition. Connecting to any location is fast. And for all intents and purposes, browsing and streaming using Surfshark VPN works as well as it does without it. The one scenario we are not sure about is gaming, as this is not something we do. If you care about ping speeds, we suggest you test how well this works for you. Ping speed is an indication of how quickly a response gets back after a network request is sent from your computer. The lag limitations here are due to actual physics. If you’re sending a packet across the planet, it will take longer to hear back than if you’re sending a packet across town.

What are the pros and cons Surfshark? Pros: Ease of useSupports unlimited devicesSpeedSupportPriceCons: Browser extensions do not offer a full range of options.Some features like CleanWeb and KillSwitch do not work at all on browser extensions.Requires 24-month subscription to unlock low price. The bottom line Although Surfshark is not the first VPN service we use, it’s the first one we actually paid for. Prior to Surfshark, we were using the VPN service provided by the Opera browser. Most of the time, that worked, but eventually, we wanted something with better and more consistent quality of service — and more options. We looked around a bit, tried some options, and decided to go with Surfshark. We have not regretted that, as it serves our needs well and offers good value for money. Its main drawback is that the browser extensions do not offer the full range of options that full-blown apps do, with the pinnacle of this being some features like CleanWeb and KillSwitch not working at all. Plus, if you don’t want to commit, then Surfshark is not so cheap anymore, as its super low price applies only to the 24-month subscription. If this is something you can live with, and you want a VPN service that is easy to use, works on all platforms, is cheap and has good support, then we can recommend Surfshark.

ZDNet Recommends More

Credit: Microsoft
AT&T has been working with Microsoft for several years to test its 5G workloads on Azure. Today, June 30 — the last day of Microsoft’s fiscal 2021 — the pair announced the renewal of their partnership, with Microsoft acquiring AT&T’s carrier-grade Network Cloud platform technology. Does this mean Microsoft is becoming a mobile operator? No. Nor is AT&T getting out of the telco business. The Network Cloud Platform is what AT&T has used to run its 5G technology since 2018. Microsoft plans to take this Network Cloud platform, specifically the intellectual property and technical expertise around it — and bring it to its Azure for Operators telco offering, the pair said. “This move brings real-world production 5G workloads to Azure for Operators,” said Microsoft via a press release. Microsoft will make offers to the AT&T Network Cloud platform engineering team to move to work for Microsoft. Announced last year, Azure for Operators is about making Azure more appealing to telecommunication companies. Microsoft officials said at the time that it had no intentions to become a telco provider in its own right. Microsoft also bought a couple of 5G-centric companies in recent months — Metaswitch Networks and Affirmed Networks — to further bolster its ability to sell Azure to telcos. Telecommunications is one of Microsoft’s key vertical markets. The company already counts NTT, Vodafone, T-Mobile, Verizon Business, Deutsche Telekom, Telefonica, and Telstra, along with AT&T, as partners and/or customers in this space.Today, AT&T officials said they are moving their 5G mobile network to Microsoft’s cloud, which provides a path for all of its mobile network traffic to be managed using Azure technologies. The first piece to be moved will be AT&T’s 5G core, which connects mobile users and IoT devices with Internet and other services. In 2019, Microsoft and AT&T announced Azure technology would be woven into AT&T’s 5G and edge networks, so that AT&T’s virtualized 5G core Network Cloud will be able to deliver Azure services to customers. Today’s announcement advances the original 2019 deal between the two companies. More

Demand for fast and reliable Wi-Fi is probably at an all-time high, as millions of people continue to work from home, relying on Zoom and other video conferencing apps to keep in touch with colleagues and clients. Many organizations are also finding that video calls reduce the need for business travel and client visits. That increased reliance on Wi-Fi can reveal problems, though — especially in larger offices or homes, where the Wi-Fi signal may struggle to reach more distant rooms on other floors. Instead of relying on a conventional Wi-Fi router and access points or range extenders, an alternative solution is to opt for a “mesh” networking system. Depending on the size of the building, mesh systems typically use a main router with a wired connection to a broadband modem, plus two or more wireless nodes that can be placed in different rooms or locations. The main router and the satellite nodes form their own “mesh” Wi-Fi network, covering a wider area and delivering greater speed and reliability than a conventional Wi-Fi router, even with extra access points or range extenders. Most mesh systems are aimed at home users and marketed as easily-configured solutions for “whole home Wi-Fi,” but some are particularly suitable for business users. These can include features such as multiple Ethernet ports, or the ability to create several networks with different passwords. The latest mesh systems are now adopting the new Wi-Fi 6 standard (aka IEEE 802.11ax), which is certainly worth considering for businesses wanting to maximize the performance and flexibility of their Wi-Fi setups.

Two-piece tri-band Wi-Fi 6

Images: Asus

Asus claims that the AX6100 Wi-Fi System is the “world’s first Wi-Fi 6 mesh system” — a claim that will doubtless be questioned by a few of its rivals. Nonetheless, the AiMesh AX6100 is an impressive mesh system that will be suitable for larger office buildings or public venues such as hotels or warehouses.You can buy a single RT-AX92U router for $229.99, which offers tri-band Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) with a top speed of 6.1Gbps, as well as four Gigabit Ethernet ports for wired connections. Or, for more extensive Wi-Fi coverage, there’s this twin-pack mesh system currently priced at $340.99. This covers areas of up to 5,500 square feet and uses one of the 5GHz bands as a 4.8Gbps “backhaul” that links the two routers in order to provide strong performance across the entire network. The price is similar to that of other high-end Wi-Fi 6 systems, but Asus also offers its ZenWifi range of mesh systems for smaller offices or working from home, including new Wi-Fi 6 models such as the affordable ZenWifi AX Mini ($279.99 for a three-pack system).

Two-piece tri-band Wi-Fi 6

Images: BT

BT is still the dominant force in the UK telecoms market, providing broadband services to millions of businesses and home users. That makes its range of Whole Home Wi-Fi mesh systems an obvious upgrade for many BT customers. (BT also points out that the system is compatible with broadband services from other providers, too.)The standard Whole Home Wi-Fi is an affordable option, starting at £104.16 (ex. VAT; £124.99 inc. VAT) or $174 for a two-piece system using 802.11ac Wi-Fi. But BT has also released a high-performance premium model that steps up to the latest Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) standard. It’s still competitively priced (and occasionally on sale, as in the link below), starting at £191.67 (ex. VAT; £229.99 inc. VAT) or $320 for a mesh system with two of BT’s distinctive “disc” routers. The Premium model is a tri-band system (2.4GHz 802.11n, 5GHz 802.11ac, 5GHz 802.11ax/Wi-Fi 6), with a combined top speed of 3700Mbps. Each router also has two Gigabit Ethernet ports for wired connections.There are three- and four-piece systems also available for larger buildings, and BT’s website has a useful “selector” tool that can help you choose the best option for your home or office.

$285 at Amazon

PowerLine dual-band Wi-Fi 5 systems

Images: Devolo

Mesh networking systems can be pretty expensive, and if you’re just having trouble with the Wi-Fi signal in one room then a range extender is an affordable option that can boost the Wi-Fi signal in just that specific location. Alternatively, you could use a PowerLine adapter to send a wired network connection over your home or office electrical wiring — an ingenious and somewhat magical solution.Several companies make range extenders and PowerLine adapters, but Devolo specializes in this area with its extensive Magic range of devices. Devolo’s latest Magic 2 adapters combine a Wi-Fi range extender with PowerLine wired connectivity, and are compatible with existing routers from other manufacturers. Unlike conventional range extenders, Devolo’s Magic adapters also include a “mesh” option that allows you to link two or more devices in different rooms in order to create a more extensive Wi-Fi network.Devolo offers the Magic 2 Wi-Fi Next starter kit with two adapters (a Magic 2 LAN adapter that plugs into your broadband modem, and a Magic 2 Wi-Fi Next adapter) priced at £141.67 (ex. VAT; £169.99 inc. VAT) or $236. This supports dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi at up to 2400Mbps, and will boost Wi-Fi coverage in a room or floor, covering an area up to 120 square meters. Additional Wi-Fi Next adapters cost £91.67 (ex. VAT; £109.99 inc. VAT) or $152; there’s also a three-piece Wi-Fi Next Whole Home Kit, which costs £224.99 (ex. VAT; £269.99 inc. VAT).

Devolo (UK)

$179 at Amazon

Two-piece 802.11s system

Images: Google/Nest

The original Google Wifi mesh system got very good reviews when it was first launched in 2016, and it helped to introduce mesh technology to a mainstream audience. The original Google Wi-Fi product has since been discontinued, but its successor emerged at the end of 2019 as part of the Google-owned Nest range of smart home devices.The two-piece Nest Wi-Fi system shown here consists of a primary Nest Wi-Fi router (110mm diameter, 380g) which plugs into your broadband modem and a secondary Nest Wi-Fi point (102.2mm diameter, 350g). This system, which costs $269, provides dual-band 802.11s Wi-Fi (a mesh-oriented variation of standard 802.11ac) with the main router running at 2200Mbps. The Wi-Fi point runs at a more modest 1200Mbps, but that should still be more than adequate for streaming video, music, or Zoom calls with colleagues.The Wi-Fi point also includes a speaker and microphone that support the voice-controlled Google Assistant. The two-piece system should be able to cover homes of up to 3,800 square feet (353 square meters), Google says, and you can purchase additional Wi-Fi points for $149 if required, each of which can cover an additional 1,600 square feet (149 square meters).

Tri-band Wi-Fi 6E

Images: Linksys

This is another “first,” with Linksys claiming to be the first company to ship a mesh system that supports the new Wi-Fi 6E standard, which can use the 6GHz frequency band in addition to existing 2.4GHz and 5.0GHz bands.The tall, white plastic design looks very similar to Linksys’s popular Velop mesh systems, and houses no less than 12 internal antennae, powered by a 2.2GHz quad-core processor. However, Linksys has clearly decided that this new Wi-Fi 6E system deserves a powerful new name befitting its high-performance credentials — hence the Linksys Atlas Max 6E.Prices start at $499.99 for a single Atlas router, which provides tri-band Wi-Fi 6E with a top speed of 8.4Gbps (referred to as AXE8400). To match its high-end wireless speed, the Atlas also includes a 5-Gigabit Ethernet port for your internet connection, along with four Gigabit Ethernet ports for devices that require a wired connection. There’s also a USB 3.0 port for connecting USB storage devices that can be shared on the network.One Atlas router can cover an area of up to 3,000 square feet, but there’s a two-pack mesh system available for $899.99, or a three-pack for $1,199.99 (UK pricing TBA), with professional installation also available for business users. And, of course, the existing Velop range continues to be available for smaller offices or working from home.

$499 at Linksys

Two-piece tri-band Wi-Fi 6 system

Images: Netgear

Netgear’s Orbi range of mesh systems includes a variety of different designs and price points — including the Orbi Voice with a built-in smart-speaker that supports Amazon Alexa. The Orbi Wi-Fi 6, as the name suggests, employs the latest Wi-Fi 6 technology (aka 802.11ax).The Orbi Wi-Fi 6 System AX6000 is very much a top-of-the-range mesh system, starting at $699.99 for a two-piece system comprised of a primary router and a secondary satellite. It offers impressive performance, though, with tri-band Wi-Fi capable of a combined top speed of 6Gbps — twice that of even the fastest Orbi systems based on Wi-Fi 5/802.11ac.It’s fast when it comes to wired connections too, with the primary router including a 2.5Gbps WAN port for a high-speed internet connection for office networks, along with four Gigabit Ethernet ports on both router and satellite for wired connections. The two-piece system is designed to cover buildings of up to 5,000 square feet. There’s also a three-piece system that covers up to 7,500 square feet, but it won’t leave you much change from £1,000/$1,400.

Two-piece tri-band Wi-Fi 6 system

Images: Netgear

Last year, Netgear’s Orbi Pro was one of the few mesh systems specifically designed for business users, and stood out by allowing business users to set up three separate networks for IT staff, employees, and guests who may be visiting offices or retail locations. The original Orbi Pro model, using 802.11ac (now known as Wi-Fi 5), is still available but, as the name suggests, the new AX6000 Tri-Band Orbi Pro Wi-Fi 6 ups the ante in terms of both Wi-Fi performance and features. Orbi Pro mesh systems consist of a primary router with either one, two, or three additional satellites that help to extend the range of your new mesh network. Prices start at $769.99 for a two-piece mesh system with one router and one satellite. That system supports tri-band Wi-Fi 6 with a maximum speed of 6Gbps, and the ability to cover areas of up to 6,000 square feet. Both router and satellite also include four Gigabit Ethernet ports and one 2.5Gbps — although the router will need to use the latter for your main internet connection. For larger premises, there are systems available with two or three satellites, with the top-end bundle bringing the price to a hefty $1,489.99. This latest model also adds a fourth network (SSID) option, which could be reserved for Zoom calls or managing smart IoT devices.

View Now at Netgear

Two-piece dual-band Wi-Fi 6 system

Images: Netgear

The tri-band Orbi Pro provides impressive Wi-Fi 6 performance, and is well-suited for organizations that need to manage multiple networks with different groups of users. It’s pretty expensive, though, so Netgear recently introduced the more affordable dual-band Orbi Pro Wi-Fi 6 Mini for small businesses and remote workers. Like other Orbi systems, the Mini consists of a primary router, with either one or two additional satellites that are used to extend the range of the mesh network. Prices start at $299.99 for a system consisting of a router and one satellite. Both devices provide dual-band Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) running at 1.8Gbps, which isn’t going to win any awards, but is still perfectly adequate for Zoom calls and some after-hours Netflix video or gaming action. Each device has four Gigabit Ethernet ports for wired connections, although the primary router will need to use one of those ports for your internet connection. Customers in the UK can also opt for a three-pack system that consists of a router and two satellites for £324.67 (ex. VAT, or £389.60 inc. VAT). The three-pack is currently on pre-order in the US (until July), priced at $399.99. The Orbi Pro Mini is still relatively expensive for a dual-band system, but like other Orbi Pro models, the Mini stands out with additional features that cater specifically to business users. The key feature here is the ability to create four separate networks, each with its own password, which allows you to provide different levels of network access for admin and IT staff, guests who may be visiting your office or other public venues. And, when working from home, you can reserve one network to ensure that your Zoom calls aren’t affected by family members bingeing on Netflix or the kids’ gaming console.

$300 at Amazon

$366 at Walmart

Dual-band Wi-Fi 6 systems

Images: TP-Link

TP-Link’s Deco range can be a little confusing at times, with many different models that all share the same distinctive cylindrical design (there’s even a model with a built-in microphone for Alexa voice controls), so it’s important to pay close attention to the model numbers when buying. The Deco M4 that we reviewed last year is still available and provides a very affordable mesh system for home users and small businesses that only need modest 802.11ac (Wi-Fi 5) performance. But, of course, the latest Deco models offer Wi-Fi 6 (a.k.a. 802.11ax), with the new Deco X60 offering a good mid-range option at a competitive price. Customers in the US get the best deal, as a two-piece X60 system covering up to 5,000 square feet currently costs just $209.99, compared to £270.99 (inc. VAT) in the UK. However, UK customers get an additional option that doesn’t currently seem to be available in the US (on Amazon, at least), with a three-piece system covering 7,000 square feet for £374.45 (inc. VAT). Both options provide dual-band Wi-Fi 6 running at 3Gbps, which should be able to cope with Zoom calls and other bandwidth-hungry tasks with no trouble at all. The only sign of cost-cutting is the modest pair of Gigabit Ethernet ports provided by each unit. And, since one router will need to use one of those ports for your internet connection, the Deco X60 might not be the best option for users who need additional wired connections for laptops and other devices.

TP-Link (UK)

$209 at Amazon

Three-piece dual-band Wi-Fi 5 system

Images: Ubiquiti

Ubiquiti’s AmpliFi HD is a neatly designed mesh Wi-Fi system whose ease of use will appeal to a wide range of users.Most mesh systems use two or more identical-looking routers, but the AmpliFi HD takes a more imaginative approach — perhaps inspired by founder Robert Pera’s previous job at Apple. The three-piece AmpliFi HD system includes a primary router that consists of a compact 4-inch cube with a touch-sensitive LED display giving quick access to the main network settings. This is backed up by two larger “mesh points” that plug directly into a mains power socket in rooms where your Wi-Fi needs a boost.Other aspects of the design are more conventional, utilizing dual-band 802.11ac Wi-Fi with a top combined speed of 1750Mbps. The AmpliFi HD costs a rather hefty $340, but its attractive design and simple controls help it to stand out from its many mesh rivals. There’s also a more affordable model, called AmpliFi Instant.

$179 at Amazon

$231 at Walmart

Why should you buy a mesh system?

A single, standalone router is generally adequate for smaller offices, or single-story homes with one or two bedrooms. But if you have rooms on other floors, or thick walls that can block your Wi-Fi signal, then you may experience “dead zones” that have weak Wi-Fi. A mesh system uses several devices — usually a main router and one or more satellite nodes — in different locations to extend the Wi-Fi signal beyond the range of a single router.

How many mesh devices do I need?

A two-piece mesh should be able to cover homes or offices up to 4,000 – 5,000 square feet (check the manufacturer’s specifications to see what they recommend). Buildings or outdoor venues larger than 5,000 square feet may need another satellite device.

What about range extenders?

If you just have one or two rooms where the Wi-Fi is weak, then a low-cost “range extender” may be able to boost the Wi-Fi signal just in those rooms, with prices starting as low as £50 ($69). However, multi-device mesh Wi-Fi systems are designed to provide a more extensive Wi-Fi network that covers your entire home or office.

Which is the right mesh system for you?

As mentioned, the size of your home or office building is the key factor in choosing a mesh system. The good news here is that even less-expensive mesh systems that still use older Wi-Fi 5 networking are fast enough to cope with Zoom calls, music, video, and gaming. However, more expensive Wi-Fi 6 systems can offer increased speed, and are also more efficient at streaming data to multiple connected devices all at the same time. So, as well as providing greater speed, Wi-Fi 6 systems are the best option for homes or offices that have lots of computers, mobile devices, and IoT devices that are in use all day long.

How did we choose these mesh Wi-Fi systems?

We’ve focused on two key areas, starting with affordable systems that simply provide greater range and reliability than a single, conventional Wi-Fi router. However, we’ve also included a number of high-end mesh systems — primarily using the new Wi-Fi 6 standard (802.11ax) — that provide greater performance than older Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac) routers. As well as being suitable for homes and offices, these high-end systems also offer greater range and reliability for buildings such as warehouses and public venues such as restaurants and hotels.

ZDNet Recommends More

South Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT has announced it will allocate 28GHz and sub-6GHz spectrum in November to promote 5G-related services in the country. The spectrum will be open to telcos and non-telcos alike. The ministry will make 600MHz of the 28GHz band and 100MHz of 4.7GHz band available. The 28GHz band will be divided into 12 blocks and the 4.7GHz band into 10 blocks, respectively. The ministry said the 28GHz band would be offered at one-tenth of the price of the 4.7GHz spectrum due to the band’s characteristic and current ecosystem around the band. Pricing of the blocks will also differ depending on region and whether a company plans to use the band in cities or rural areas, the ministry said. It said it hopes the allocation will lead to the development of various new services in smart factories, smart farms, healthcare, robotics and high-resolution videos. Companies have until the end of September to apply for the spectrum. Applicants will be able to ask for licences that last from two to five years. The ministry added it would shorten and simplify the review process from three months to a month so that companies can be notified of the band they are receiving by October. Spectrum will then be allocated around the end of November, the ministry said. South Korea has already allocated the 3.5GHz and 28GHz bands to local telcos SK Telecom, KT, and LG Uplus, with the telcos launching their 5G services back in 2019.While 3.5GHz is also available nationwide, telcos are yet to make 28GHz band available for consumers, despite previously saying they would launch mmWave services in 2020. The telcos have been only testing private networks using mmWave with their enterprise customers so far. Related Coverage More

Average speed on NBN’s 500-1000/50Mbps plan
Image: ACCC
If you are thinking that you need to jump from an NBN 50Mbps speed plan to 100Mbps because your web browsing seems slow, the the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has a simple piece of advice: Don’t. “Moving from the 50/20Mbps tier to the 100/40Mbps tier would lead to almost no noticeable improvement in web performance,” a report from the ACCC prepared by SamKnows said. “This finding suggests for consumers whose main activity is web browsing that plan speed need not be a core consideration when selecting an internet plan.” Naturally enough, higher speed plans do make for slight increases in page load times, but the report said these differences were not material. Similarly, there is little to be gained from switching NBN providers. “Results for all the major RSPs tested are very satisfactory and suggest there are immaterial differences in performance between providers. All the RSPs studied offer good web performance which suggest that choice of RSP is not likely to have a significant impact on web browsing performance,” it said. “This finding means that other factors outside of a consumer’s control, such as the design and operability of a website, will have a greater impact on how a website performs and the experience of interacting with it.”

In the regular Measuring Broadband Australia report also released on Wednesday, it was revealed that 500-1000/50Mbps services that NBN labels as Home Ultafast receive an average download speed of 670Mbps. This number was determined from 6,750 tests conducted across 52 fibre-to-the-premises and HFC connections. At this speed tier, the report said there was “considerable variation” throughout the day, with the 6pm drop being 138Mbps below the 11pm peak. “This dip in speeds for very high speed services is greater than for the other major NBN plans … including NBN100 plans,” it said. “This shows that NBN very high speed plans are more susceptible to congestion during busy periods than lower speed plans.” Uploads speeds were much more reliable, and sat around the 45Mbps mark throughout the day. For the month of February, the report said Vocus-owned Dodo and iPrimus were dragging the chain on download speeds, only hitting 87.7% of plan speeds. Leading the way was Exetel on 100.3%, followed by Optus on 100%, Telstra with 98.3%, TPG with 97.5%, and Aussie Broadband on 96.6%. For upload speeds, iiNet was slowest with 81.6% of plan speeds, followed by Aussie Broadband on 81.9%, while Exetel continued to lead the way with 89.2%, and MyRepublic had 87%. The rest of the NBN retailers were clumped in the 84-87% range. Uploads speeds will not reach the same percentage mark as download because NBN does not overprovision it. Of the 1.117 services used for the speed test, 8.1% were classed as underperforming. “0% of underperforming NBN services are fibre to the node connections. 98% of underperforming NBN services are on NBN50 and NBN100 plans,” the report said. “The average download performance once underperforming services are excluded is 100.3% as against the 96.7% figure quoted earlier for all services.” On 50Mbps plans, fibre to the node was around 6Mbps, or 12%, lower than other access technologies, and on 100Mbps plans was 16Mbps slower. Related Coverage More

Qualcomm is looking to boost mmWave 5G adoption across smartphones, infrastructure as well as industrial applications. Building out the infrastructure to support 5G mmWave is going to be critical for everything from industry 4.0 applications to smart cities to keeping unlimited data plans, said Ignacio Contreras, senior director of product marketing at Qualcomm. “As more users go back to normal you’ll see more of the difference in what mmWave provides at places like train station, coffee shops, stadiums and trade shows,” he said. “Networks need to deliver more capacity to keep unlimited plans affordable.”Among the key announcements from Qualcomm at Mobile World Congress 2021.Qualcomm launched the Snapdragon 888 Plus 5G platform for premium tier smartphones rolling out in the second half. The follow-up to the Snapdragon 888 improves on the artificial intelligence engine for gaming and entertainment and boosts Qualcomm Kryo 680 CPU Prime clock speed up to 3.0 GHz. According to Qualcomm, the 6th generation Qualcomm AI Engine has up to 32 TOPS AI performance, which is a 20% improvement over the predecessor. Qualcomm launched the 5G DU X100 Accelerator Card. The hardware is designed to boost performance, be power efficient with low latency and be turnkey for 5G networks.

The company is betting on providing infrastructure to accelerate virtualized radio access networks (RAN). RAN networks use radio transceivers to connect devices and manage network resources across devices and cellular networks. Qualcomm 5G DU X100 is a PCIe inline accelerator card supporting concurrent Sub-6 GHz and mmWave. The theory is that the card will simplify 5G deployments because it can plug into off the shelf servers to handle backend functions. Qualcomm released the second generation of its 5G RAN Platform for Small Cells (FSM200xx), which will have global spectrum support across mmWave and Sub-6 GHz. It also has the 3GPP Release 16 5G Modem-RF System for industry 4.0 applications for factories and other areas. The platform supports all commercial global mmWave and Sub-6 GHz bands. Small cells will be critical for 5G public and private networks due to the need for densification.  More

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. The router that you were supplied by your internet provider is junk. Sure, it’s fine when coping with a few devices, but throw in work from home and an extended start home system, and you can quickly see the cracks form.The problem is that good quality networking gear is not cheap, but right now Meshforce have a good deal on its M7 Tri-Band whole home mesh Wi-Fi system. Must read: Apple will finally give iPhone and iPad users an important choice to makeNetworks can be complicated to set up, but not the Meshforce. One feature that I like a lot is that it is easy to set up — you can having it out of the box, updated and up and running in minutes. The 3-pack is perfect for larger homes, capable of covering 6000 sq.ft — and if that’s not enough for you, you can extend coverage even more adding a further three mesh points to your setup. Mesh means that you can move from one point to another seamlessly and automatically, without having to reconnect to a different access point. The Meshforce M7 is packed with pro features that you’d expect — parental controls, guest network, fast roaming, smart QoS, WPS, dedicated backhaul, and more — and updates are pushed to the devices and installed automatically based on a maintenance schedule you can set, so you’re always up to date.

ModelMeshforce M7 Mesh WiFi SystemBand TechnologyTri-Band AC2100Electrical Rating100-240V AC, 50-60 HzWhole-Home CoverageUp to 6000 square feetPerfect forMedium and large size homes up to 6000 square feet, extendable with Meshforce dotRequired for setupiOS 9.0 or later, Android 4.4 or later device and Internet serviceBasic FeaturesSSID Broadcast, Beamforming, MU-MIMOAdvanced FeaturesParental control, Guest network, Fast roaming, Smart QoS, WPS, Dedicated backhaul, etc.Original Price: $249Discounted Price: $179.08$20 off-page coupon + $30 off prime discount + 8%off discount code: MQK3XZ5ITotal Discount: $70 offExpire Time: 08/31/2021

View Now at Amazon More

Vocus has officially been acquired by the consortium of Macquarie Infrastructure and Real Assets (MIRA) and superannuation fund Aware Super.The consortium, called Voyage, will pay around AU$3.5 billion, or AU$5.50 per share, to fully acquire Vocus.The deal gained court approval at the NSW Supreme Court on Thursday and received the stamp of approval by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission on Friday morning, which finalised the deal.Prior to that, shareholders earlier this week voted almost unanimously for the deal to go ahead, with over 99% of votes being cast in favour of the sale to Voyage.  The network provider is also expected to be removed from the Australian Securities Exchange on Friday. MIRA started its chase of Vocus at the start of February, while Aware Super joined the fray later that month after it was spurned by greenfields fibre company Opticomm last year. With the deal now finalised, Vocus has finally been sold after years of interest from various potential suitors.

In 2017, private equity firms Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co and Affinity Equity Partners both submitted separate offers to acquire Vocus, but both of those offers were eventually terminated due to the network provider missing its FY17 net profit guidance.Two years later, EQT Infrastructure offered to acquire Vocus at AU$5.25 per share, but the deal fell through after just a few weeks. Energy provider AGL then presented an offer a month later, at AU$4.85 per share, but that was also dropped due to there not being “sufficient certainty of creating value”. For Vocus’ latest half-year results, the network provider reported recurring revenue increased by 2% to AU$896 million while underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation (EBITDA) remained steady, hovering at around AU$192 million.  Related Coverage More