D-Link launches "Xtreme" quadband wireless N router

Serious Wi-Fi

3 March 2008 16:19 GMT / By Amy-Mae Elliott

D-Link has announced the launch of the quadband DIR-855 wireless N router and related USB adapter.

Aimed at the digital home - and all the bandwidth requirements that come with it - the DIR-855 can support true concurrent 802.11n transmission over both 2.4GHz and 5GHz channels at the same time, which means it can support multiple wireless devices with up to 600Mbps of available bandwidth.

D-Link is pushing the 5GHz radio band as the future of wireless. They say this radio frequency is wider and less crowded (23 channels compared to three) than the 2.4GHz radio frequency used by most wireless devices today.

The new D-Link Wireless N router has D-Link's StreamEngine Quality of Service (QoS) technology that automatically prioritises high-bandwidth wireless data traffic, such as HD video, online gaming and VoIP calls.

The DIR-855 is optimised to work with the DWA-160 Wireless N USB Adapter. The duo technology in the DWA-160 supports selectable dualband (2.4GHz or 5GHz) wireless signals.

This allows you to segregate your network by application, for instance checking email and browsing the Internet using the 2.4GHz band and at the same time reserving the 5GHz band for the heavier applications.

Both products are backward compatible, which means they can be used in existing 802.11g and 802.11a networks - hence the "quadband" title.

The DIR-855 features five green Ethernet Gigabit ports, claiming to add best environmental practice to best performance, and uses Dual Active Firewalls (SPI, NAT) technology to help secure the network.

With three dual external antennae, an OLED network activity display, and complete with an 11-year warranty, the D-Link DIR-855 Quad-Band Wireless N Router will be available from May 2008 with a recommended price tag of £169.99.