D-Link looks to more 802.11ac this year

The high speeds of 802.11ac are likely to make the home of the present and near future more speedy than the 802.11n networks we’re mostly using now, and D-Link will have more options than just the flagship models coming.

If you’ve ever been frustrated with your wireless speeds at home or in the office, you might be looking to newer wireless networking technology with hope in your eyes.

First shown in 2012, the technology known as 802.11ac is generally considered to be around three times faster than high-speed N devices, and even more power efficient.

Still in draft mode and not quite certified yet (the same happened to 802.11n for years while it was being sold), 802.11ac is geared at new devices, and while it was first shown around two years ago, it wasn’t really until last year that we saw products taking advantage of the technology make their way out to consumers everywhere.

In fact, some of the world’s best phones and laptops sported it, including the HTC One, Samsung’s Galaxy S4, Sony’s Xperia Z1, and even Apple’s upgraded Haswell-ready machines, such as the new iMac and MacBook Air computers.

Networking gear maker D-Link wasn’t the first company in Australia to have an 802.11ac device ready, but the company may soon have the biggest range of AC-compliant devices, with a new portable router coming, as well as two range extenders designed to take the 802.11ac connection and extend it throughout your home or office.

First up is the DIR-510L which will bring the AC technology to a portable router that you can take with you. Mobile devices will be supported by this for charging and streaming, so if you have files on your phone, you can stream movies from it on a high-speed network while charging it.

We’re even told it will be “wearable,” though barring routers becoming fashionable, don’t expect this walking down a catwalk any time soon.

A couple of range extenders are also being added, with the DAP-1650 and DAP-1520. D-Link hasn’t provided much in the way of details on these, except for telling us that they’ll both support dual-band connectivity and extend networks with it, but the 1650 will sport a Gigabit port, while the 1520 will not.

There will even be a video camera coming to support the faster 802.11ac format, with the DCS-2136L, a colour high-definition wireless video camera that can let you monitor your home from a smartphone, and do it with the longer reach of the 802.11ac technology.

Unfortunately, the new devices not only lack names that roll off the tongue, but also prices and release dates, but expect them within the next few months, as every other manufacturer starts to push out 802.11ac devices.