[CES 2012] The Belkin N900 router probably represents one of the last evolution of the WiFi-N routers before WiFi-AC (the next-gen WiFi) start to take over, in the next couple of years. WiFi-N is the most current WiFi standard and it has the fastest stable specifications. However, there are a few things that can be done to push it further and it looks like Belkin has been all over it.
Routers have always been designed to serve multiple computers at once, now more than ever, it is they also serve as HUBs for the Internet traffic, but more importantly, for the home network traffic. And the proliferation of devices and the explosion if HD video data storage can make life difficult for the original WiFi-N equipment released some time ago as multiple people in the home stream HD content or simply copy big files.Belkin aims at solving this problem by using a multiple stream approach. The Belkin N900 router can use the 2.4GHz and the 5GHz frequencies, and can broadcast with 6 antennas at the same time. That way, each device can fully use the WiFi-N specifications while the network as whole can reach an aggregated bandwidth that is well beyond the original expectations for WiFi-N.
There are also features that are particularly useful like a separated guest network which lets you give a WIFI connection to visitors, without giving them access to the whole network. There is also a quality of service (QoS) feature that prioritizes low-latency apps (Skype, gaming) over regular web traffic. Finally, Belkin has continued to work on its ease of setup – although we have not tried this one yet. The Belkin N900 should be available in April of 2012.