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Buyer guide: Top 7 fibre optics routers to consider

Last Published on Feb 16, 2023 11:19 IST

Summary:

Looking for an excellent but reasonably priced optical fibre router for both your house and your office? Check out the top fibre optic wireless routers, recommended by our experts.


A router that is particularly designed to handle fiber Internet is known as a fiber router, sometimes known as a fiber optic router. Fiber uses an optical fiber line to transmit infrared light pulses to provide a very fast Internet connection. How can a fiber optic router deliver higher speeds and what precisely is it? A router for fiber optic is equipped with certain functionality to make use of your ISP's FTTH (Fiber-To-The-Home) fiber optic networks' blisteringly high speeds. Your router or modem connects to an optical network terminal (ONT), which transforms the fiber optic impulses into Ethernet, rather than to the fiber optic cable directly. We have a full guide below of which product is good to go.

Product List

1. ASUS AX3000 Dual Band WiFi 6 (802.11ax) Router

The ASUS AX3000 Dual Band WiFi 6 (802.11ax) Router has Next-Gen Wi-Fi Standard-Supporting 160MHz bandwidth and the newest Wi-Fi standard, 802.11AX (Wi-Fi 6), for increased capacity and effectiveness. It offers 1024-QAM and 160 MHz bandwidth with RT-AX3000. The networking speed is 3000 Mbps in total, 574 Mbps on the 2.4GHz band, and 2402 Mbps on the 5GHz band.

Specification

Data Transfer Rate: 2402 MB per second

Item Weight: 0.53 kg

Model Number: Asus RT-AX3000 wifi 6 Gigabit Router

Wireless Communication Standard: 802.11a

ProsCons
The performance is goodMediocre range
Design is goodNo multi ports

2. TP-Link Archer C80 AC1900 Dual Band Wireless Router

The TP-Link Archer C80 AC1900 Dual Band Wireless Router has 1300 Mbps on the 5 GHz frequency and 600 Mbps on the 2.4 GHz band for 802.11ac Wave2 Wi-Fi. Data is sent and received on three streams in perfect sync with your 33 clients thanks to 33 MIMO technologies. Increased Wi-Fi Coverage-Beam forming technology creates a wireless connection that is incredibly efficient.

Specification

Data Transfer Rate: 1900 Mb per second

Item Weight: 100 grams

Model Number: C80

Wireless Communication Standard: 802.11ac

ProsCons
Good for priceThe range is okay
Cost is lessFeatures can be improved

3. Netgear Nighthawk AX12 12-Stream WiFi 6 Router (RAX200)

The Netgear Nighthawk AX12 12-Stream WiFi 6 Router (RAX200) has Fast WIFI 6 Performance with AX11000 speed (Tri-band up to 1. 2 + 4. 8 + 4. 8 Gbps) and provides wireless coverage for large households; it has 12 Simultaneous Streams that Increases capacity so that more devices may access WiFi at once. It supports 5G Ethernet connections, connecting PCs, gaming consoles, streaming devices, and other adjacent wired devices; bursting with cutting-edge technologies (64-bit). It has an 8 GHz quad-core processor, eight amplified antennas, beam forming+, mu-mimo, dynamic QoS, smart connect, ofdma, Alexa voice commands, and more were all included in its design.

Specification

Connectivity Technology: Wi-Fi, USB, Ethernet

Data Transfer Rate: 2500 Mb per second

Model Number: RAX200-100EUS

Wireless Communication Standard: 802.11ax

ProsCons
The product is very fastCostly can be made less
Range is goodVersions have to be improved

4. ASUS RT-AX86U PRO AX5700 Dual Band WiFi 6 Gaming Router

The ASUS RT-AX86U PRO AX5700 Dual Band WiFi 6 Gaming Router comes with 160 MHz channels for improved efficiency and throughput, and the High-Efficiency WiFi 6-Ultrafast and WiFi 6 dual-band router raises speed to 5700 Mbps. With only a swipe on the ASUS Router app, the mobile game mode can reduce lag and latency for mobile gaming.

Specification

Data Transfer Rate: 4804 MB per second

Item Weight: 1 kg

Model Number: RT-AX86U PRO

Wireless Communication Standard: 802.11ax, 802.11ac

ProsCons
Good for the priceDesign is okay
Features are goodWeight can be reduced

5. ASUS ZenWiFi AX (XT8) Router

The ASUS ZenWiFi AX (XT8) router eliminates WiFi Dead Zones for your home's tri-band mesh WiFi system, which uses innovative antenna placement to give powerful WiFi to every room, and has a total wireless speed of 6600Mbps. The ZenWiFi AX next-generation Wi-Fi technology offers quicker, more reliable, and more effective transmission even when numerous devices are sending data at once.

Specification

Connectivity Technology: Wireless

Item Weight: 3.36 kg

Model Number: ZenWiFi AX (XT8) BLACK 2Pack

Wireless Communication Standard: 802.11ax

ProsCons
Speed is awesomeSlower than 2.4GHz
Super rangeNo security

6. TP-Link Deco S7(1-Pack) AC1900 Whole Mesh Wi-Fi Router

The TP-Link Deco S7 (1-Pack) AC1900 Whole Mesh Wi-Fi System Smart Router comes with combined speeds of up to 1900 Mbps (600 Mbps on 2.4 GHz and 1300 Mbps on 5 GHz) and 33 MU-MIMO technology, enjoy binge-watching your favorite shows in 4K. Connect 100 or more devices Deco provides lag-free connectivity for more than 100 devices while handling traffic from even the busiest of networks.

Specification

Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 9.1 x 16.2 cm; 360 Grams

Data Transfer Rate: 1000 Megabits Per Second

Wireless Type: 802.11n, 802.11b, 802.11a, 802.11ac, 802.11g

GSM frequencies: 5 GHz

ProsCons
Price is reasonableNot the fastest router
Features are super for the priceDesign is okay

7. TP-Link Archer AX73 AX5400 Dual Band Gigabit 1000 Mbps Router

The TP-Link Archer AX73 AX5400 Dual Band Gigabit 1000 Mbps 6 Router come with 5400 Mbps WiFi for quicker surfing, streaming, and downloading all at once with gigabit WiFi for 8K streaming; Wi-Fi with Full Features 6 that uses a top structure on the 5 GHz band called 4T4R and HE160 to provide a 4.8 Gbps ultra-fast connection. 200+ Devices to Connect Supports MU-MIMO and OFDMA to lessen traffic and triple the typical throughput; Broad Coverage is Ensured via Beam forming and Six Antennas.

Specification

Data Transfer Rate: 1000 Mb per second

Item Weight: 0.66 kg

Model Number: Archer AX73

Wireless Communication Standard: 802.11ax, 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11n, 802.11ac

ProsCons
Range is incredibleAn antivirus subscription is necessary
Awesome for the priceDesign can be improved

Best overall product

The TP-Link Archer AX73 AX5400 Dual Band Gigabit 1000 Mbps 6 Router come with 200 gadgets that must fit within a 100-110 foot range. An excellent range considering how reasonably priced the router is. TP-One Mesh Link's technology, which enables you to join Mesh satellites to extend the network effortlessly, can help you increase that. This router includes some great Wi-Fi technology, which is one of the reasons it can connect to so many different devices. It has Beamforming, MU-MIMO, and OFDMA work together to improve how the AX73 communicates with various network nodes. It's clever stuff. With QoS, you may give any of those many devices on the network a higher priority. Choose a few that you wish to prioritize using the TP-Link Tether app, and they will receive some more power. The TP-Link lifetime warranty is another option. Knowing that you will have warranty protection for as long as you possess this router is always a plus. Overall the TP-Link Archer AX73 is a good and valuable product.

Best value for money

This ASUS ZenWiFi AX (XT8) router network's satellites each have an 80-foot range, and you can link up to nine of them together. This implies that you might, in theory, have a 720-foot range on this network. What a great method to make the most of your fiber broadband! Additionally, the Mesh network is extremely fast. We can obtain 836.45 Mbps when testing the download speed from 5 feet away from the router. And we discovered that it can maintain a respectable performance even when you add a few satellite nodes that are located far away. It has so many more features. AiProtection Pro and the normal ASUS two-year guarantee are included (a neat bundle of parental controls to keep the kids safe and antivirus technology to reduce the risk of malware). As you may think, it will cost you a few pence, especially if you want to install a lot of satellite nodes. The system's smallest drawback, if there is one. Overall, having fast fiber broadband and a large house or place of business is fantastic and worth every penny.

How to find the perfect fiber optic router?

Although a router for fiber optic internet comes in a wide range of price ranges, it may be challenging to find the finest router for your home or workplace while staying within your budget. The cost of high-performing routers is affordable and won't break the bank. Even though routers regularly go on sale, we have picked models with low MSRPs (Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Prices) rather than low sale prices, making them ideal picks even without a discount. Additionally, our suggestions aren't necessarily the most affordable options. It is the top product available for the price. Check to determine whether it has the qualities you are looking for. You must compare the prices of the items you've previously evaluated to locate the affordable purchase.

A buyer guide to the top 7 fiber optics router

A non-fiber router is unable to transmit all of the fiber optic speed to your network, but a fiber optic router can. If fiber Internet has been installed in your house, a reliable wireless router is required to support it.

An electronic device and an internet network are connected by a fiber optic modem (FOM). Because these modems don't utilize copper lines to transmit the signal, they vary from standard DSL modems. Signals are sent by a network of fiber optic cables.

When switching to fiber optic internet service, you'll also need to invest in a new fiber optic internet modem, new fiber optic cables, and a fiber optic wireless router for your house.

Although fiber optic offers the same speed, it is a superior choice when a single network is supporting a large number of users due to the way fiber optic manages network congestion and provides high speed. Network congestion will be experienced using the wireless connection which results in delayed download times.

Quick data transfer and speed are offered by fiber optic cables compared to the wireless network. During peak hours the fiber optic connections are resilient; however, during busy periods, the wireless networks might become sluggish.

Disclaimer: At Hindustan Times, we help you stay up-to-date with the latest trends and products. Hindustan Times has an affiliate partnership, so ... we may get a part of the revenue when you make a purchase. We shall not be liable for any claim under applicable laws, including but not limited to the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, with respect to the products. The products listed in this article are in no particular order of priority. Read more

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