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Virgin Media detail new dual band Super Hub wireless router

Virgin Media has released details of an upcoming Super Hub wireless router. Boasting dual band technology and additional antennas, the new Super Hub promises unrivalled WiFi coverage in the home. 

Announced days after BT took the wraps off of its new Home Hub 4, Virgin Media’s promising to beat the BT router in terms of both signal strength and speed. 

The new Virgin Media Super Hub uses the 2.4GHz and 5GHz channels, same as the BT Home Hub 4. The new Super Hub however features three spatial streams on the higher frequency 5GHz antenna, compared to the two found in the Home Hub 4. 

Virgin Media detail new dual band Super Hub wireless router

Read Recombu Digital’s guide, ‘What is a Router?’

The 5GHz channel is desirable as it’s less crowded. By less crowded, we mean that it’s not used by so many devices and services. Things like baby monitors and cordless landline phones use the 2.4GHz band which can slow down your WiFi speeds.

The new Super Hub is also capable of transmitting speeds of up to 450Mbps on the home network, compared to the top speed of 300Mbps cable with the Home Hub 4.

All of this sounds great on paper. The proof of course will be in the pudding. Some readers have been less than chuffed with the current Super Hub, so let’s hope that the new one wipes the floor with its predecessor too.

The home broadband router wars are well and truly heating up. Last year, Sky sent out its fibre broadband-compatible Sky Hub router and TalkTalk has been working on something very interesting indeed

A handful of Virgin Media customers are trialling the new Super Hub now. Virgin Media tells us that full launch details will be available in the coming weeks. For now, here’s the full list of currently available specifications:

Virgin Media new Super Hub specifications

  • Cable Chipset: Intel Puma 5
  • Maximum: 8×4 Doscis 3.0 channels
  • 2.4GHz Wifi Radio: Qualcom Atheros AR9344
  • 2.4 GHz Antennas: Two Spatial streams (2×2)
  • 5GHz Wifi Radio: Qualcomm Atheros AR9580
  • 5 GHz Antennas: Three Spatial streams (3×3)
  • 4 x Gigabit Ethernet LAN ports
  • 1x USB 2.0 port
  • Dimensions: 215mm x 69mm (at widest point) x 195 mm, high, wide, long
  • Weight: 520g 

There’s no press shots of the new Super Hub available just yet but we hope to have some soon. Any Virgin Media customers out there who’ve been testing this, feel free to send us some images.

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