SMC Networks Boosts Wi-Fi Speeds With New Products

SMC Networks

The company announced Tuesday its Easy Connect Turbo line, which promises data rates of up to 22 Mbps and a 30 percent increase in coverage area using Wi-Fi-compatible equipment.

Like a similar line from D-Link unveiled in June, SMC's new products use spread-spectrum technology called packet binary convolutional coding (PBCC), which was developed by Texas Instruments (TI) and approved by the Federal Communications Commission for use in Wi-Fi's 2.4GHz band. Because the technology works in the same spectrum as traditional 11-Mbps Wi-Fi, it is backward compatible with existing Wi-Fi products on the market, according to TI.

SMC's product lineup includes the Barricade Turbo, a broadband router with a three-port switch and an 11/22-Mbps auto-sensing access point. The router provides stateful packet inspection (SPI) firewall security and VPN support, and carries a list price of $185.

Also available is a PCI card and PC card with up to 256-bit WEP encryption. List prices are $185 for the PCI card and $110 for the PC Card.