For cabled home networks the FRITZ!Box 5550 offers a fast 2.5 Gbit/s LAN port, which permits connection to the widely-used 1 Gbit/s LAN. A special FRITZ!Box 5550 highlight is its highly flexible use within buildings. Existing telephone lines can be used to pass along the fiber optic speed in the house via G.fast to another FRITZ!Box 5550. Without great expense or technical expertise, it is possible via the Mesh function to transport the complete functionality of the relevant device (telephone, wireless LAN, Smart Home) at the connection to the rest of the building. With this optional connection mode and the interchangeable fiber optic module, the future-proof FRITZ!Box 5550 offers flexibility in the expansion phase of fiber optic networks.

Alongside the FRITZ!Box 5550, AVM is exhibiting an additional model, the FRITZ!Box 5530, which has been developed exclusively for fiber optic use. Both fiber optic models, the FRITZ!Box 5550 and 5530, will be offered via network operators and retail outlets in 2020. With both models users receive FRITZ! features including firewall, parental controls, remote access, wireless guest access and regular updates.

Turbo for gigabit cable connections: the FRITZ!Box 6660 Cable

Both fiber optic models, the FRITZ!Box 5550 and 5530, will be offered via network operators and retail outlets in 2020. When it comes to home networking, AVM uses Wi-Fi 6 (Wireless AX) and a LAN port with 2.5 Gbit/s to seamlessly pass on the high speeds at the connection to all devices. The new Wi-Fi 6 standard guarantees maximum wireless throughput and coverage, even when there are a large number of devices in use at the same time. Data rates of up to 2400 Mbit/s are possible in the 5-GHz band, and up to 600 Mbit/s can be reached in the 2.4-GHz band. The FRITZ!Box 6660 Cable is the Mesh Master in the home network, ensuring optimum communication in the wireless network, telephony and Smart Home. In addition, the ultra-fast 2.5 Gbit/s LAN port and four gigabit LAN ports make for a supercharged home network. Both the new Wi-Fi 6 wireless standard and the multiple gigabit LAN ports are backward compatible, allowing users to continue to use their existing devices and cables and integrate new devices into the fast home network in the future. A DECT base station is integrated for the Smart Home and for connecting cordless telephones. Analog telephones or fax machines can also be deployed on the new FRITZ!Box. Thanks to the media server and NAS, the FRITZ!Box 6660 Cable is the perfect multimedia hub. Pictures, music and videos are available throughout the entire network, available to users on every device.

FRITZ!Box with Wi-Fi 6 speeds up the wireless home network

Internet speeds are increasing, streaming and gaming services are growing and people at home are using more and more wireless devices. Up to 15 mobile devices on average are used in households. With advanced developments and additional technologies, the new standard Wi-Fi 6 satisfies requirements for speed and access. Because Wi-Fi 6 is compatible with all previous standards, users continue using their current wireless devices. AVM has integrated Wi-Fi 6 in the three FRITZ!Box models 5550 and 5530 and FRITZ!Box 6660 Cable.

Wi-Fi 6 improves the overall performance of wireless LAN. The greatest benefit is better support of all wireless devices, especially in dense and heavily used wireless environments. That’s made possible by the new OFDMA technology (Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access), which also is used in the 5G cellular network. With OFDMA the bandwidth is more efficiently exploited, allowing several devices to use the wireless LAN quickly, reliably and simultaneously via the FRITZ!Box. Real-time applications such as gaming or virtual reality applications in particular benefit from the improved reaction time. Wi-Fi 6 also increases data throughput. Multi-User MIMO technology ensures stable and fast connections. Clients can transmit data packets quickly, with up to eight parallel streams available at the same time.

The battery life of smartphones and other mobile devices benefits from the new Wi-Fi 6 too. Intelligent wake-up mechanisms (Target Wake Time) set how long the devices can “sleep” between transmissions. This saves energy and extends battery life. Wi-Fi 6 represents the first major development for the 2.4 GHz band since Wireless N was introduced 10 years ago. Better modulation with up to 1024 QAM (on both frequency bands) makes possible up to 25 percent more throughput on the heavily used frequency band. FRITZ!Box models with Wi-Fi 6 support all previously used standards such as Wi-Fi 5, Wi-Fi 4, Wireless AC and Wireless N. Effective with the release of Wi-Fi 6, more security is offered by the WPA3 security protocol, which will be included in FRITZ!Box 5550, FRITZ!Box 5530 and FRITZ!Box 6660 Cable ex works.

FRITZ!Box 5550

• For all conventional fiber optic connections in Europe: GPON, AON, XG-PON, XGS-PON, via SFP module (Small Form Factor)
• Data transport via DSL technology G.fast via house wiring
• 2 x 2 Wi-Fi 6 (Wireless AX) with up to 3 Gbit/s; 2.4 GHz: 600 Mbit/s (QAM1024) and 5 GHz: 2400 Mbit/s (HE160)
• One 2.5 gigabit LAN port (IEEE 802.3bz standard, NBASE-T)
• DECT base station for up to 6 telephones and Smart Home applications
• One port for an analog telephone or fax machine
• FRITZ!OS with parental controls, media server, Mesh convenience, wireless guest access, MyFRITZ! and more
• Available in the first half of 2020, price to be announced at market launch

Wi-Fi 6 (Wireless AX) – what’s different about the new wireless standard

2020 will be the year of Wi-Fi 6, offering faster speeds and better performance. The somewhat confusing names – IEEE 802.11ac, for example, or Wireless AC for short – are also changing. With the switch to Wireless AX, version numbers have been introduced: which means, Wi-Fi 6 is coming! The name change is intended to make the identification of wireless standards more user-friendly, and is a recommendation of the Wi-Fi Alliance, a non-profit organization that promotes wireless technology around the world. The new standard brings with it a number of important breakthroughs and innovations.

High speeds with 1024-QAM

Wi-Fi 6 also significantly increases the speed of a wireless network compared to its predecessor Wireless AC (Wi-Fi 5). In environments with a particularly high density of wireless devices, e.g. apartment buildings, data throughput can be increased by up to 40%. The decisive factor is a better modulation scheme with up to 1024 QAM (quadrature amplitude modulation).

The use of the available radio spectrum, which is significantly more efficient, also increases the ratio of net to gross data rates compared to older wireless LAN standards.

Checklist: Wi-Fi 6 at a glance

• Speedy and stable wireless LAN, even with multiple devices that are in use simultaneously
• Up to four times higher data rates
• Optimization of data transmission, including in the 2.4 GHz band
• Longer battery life thanks to intelligent wake-up mechanisms
• Added security thanks to WPA3