Comtrend has selected MaxLinear’s powerline G.hn Wave-2 networking chipset for a new Wi-Fi extender for the North American service provider market. Most broadband service providers today face the challenge of providing Wi-Fi services for large homes. Consumers expect strong Wi-Fi everywhere in their homes in order to provide connectivity to a growing number of Internet-connected devices such as smart TVs, smart phones, tablets, gaming devices, voice-enabled assistants and a wide array of IoT products.
Using G.hn as a wired backbone for distributed Wi-Fi extenders is becoming a popular solution in the carrier market. This video-centric market is demanding quality of service (QoS) requirements that often cannot be met by Wi-Fi mesh solutions available in the retail market. G.hn technology delivers a more stable connectivity solution than pure wireless and further reduces wireless spectrum congestion by off-loading traffic to a wired network. Additionally, it provides configurable QoS assurance, TR-069 remote management and enables safer firmware upgrading.
The Comtrend PG-9182AC uses MaxLinear’s G.hn Wave-2 chipset (88LX5152 baseband and 88LX2720 analog front-end) and includes a high-performance, dual-band concurrent 802.11ac radio in a 2x2 MIMO configuration. The complete offering includes the PG-9182PT G.hn/Ethernet adapter that is designed to be plugged in near the user’s broadband router.
Both the PG-9182AC and the PG-9182PT are FCC compliant, UL compliant and include a pass-through socket that ensures users do not lose access to any of their power sockets. The adapters include optional support for TR-069 remote management, configuration, and can be firmware-upgraded remotely.
These Wi-Fi extenders are on display at MaxLinear's CES 2018 Booth.
