D-Link announces Xtreme quadband wireless N router

D-Link is launching the quadband DIR-855 wireless N router and a related USB adapter.

The DIR-855 is designed for the digital home and can support true concurrent 802.11n transmission over both 2.4GHz and 5GHz channels simultaneously. This means that it can support multiple wireless devices with up to 600Mbps of available bandwidth.

D-Link is confident that the 5GHz radio band, which is wider and less crowded than the commonly used 2.4GHz radio frequency, will play an increasingly important role in the wireless industry.

The DIR-855 Wireless N router features D-Link’s StreamEngine Quality of Service (QoS) technology which automatically prioritises high-bandwidth wireless data traffic, including HD video, online gaming and VoIP calls.

Along with the DIR-855, D-Link is also launching the DWA-160 Wireless N USB Adapter, which features duo technology to support selectable dualband (2.4GHz or 5GHz) wireless signals.

This can segregate a network by application, so e-mail can be checked using the 2.4GHz band, while the 5GHz band is reserved for more data intensive applications.

Both the wireless router and USB adapter are backward compatible for use with 802.11g and 802.11a networks.

The DIR-855 has five green Ethernet Gigabit ports, and uses Dual Active Firewalls (SPI, NAT) technology to help secure the network. It will be available from May 2008 for around £169.99.