NETGEAR Releases Orbi Pro WiFi 6

by Adam Armstrong September 3, 2020

written by Adam Armstrong September 3, 2020

Today NETGEAR Inc. released its latest router system aimed at the SMB market with the Orbi Pro WiFi 6 (SXK80). This Tri-band Mesh system comes with a single router and a single satellite but can be expanded up to 6 satellites total. As the name implies, this new system delivers WiFi 6, which includes greater coverage, faster speeds, increased capacity and robust security.

Orbi Pro WiFi 6

Small businesses and home offices rely on WiFi. But as the reliance on WiFi increases so do the devices connecting to it as well as the need for better security. This isn’t just talking about notebooks, tablets, and smartphones. IoT devices have uses in businesses of all sizes not to mention at home (ring doorbell, ecobee, smart lights, echo, etc). To top this off, there has been a shift to remote work due to a pandemic, and this remote work looks like large chunks of it will be here to stay. With this in mind SMB and SOHO need to grow their wireless service and Orbi Pro is sweeping in to help.

The Orbi Pro WiFi 6 (802.11ax) multi-node mesh system is made with the idea of allowing small businesses to grow and expand network coverage. The Orbi can be managed with NETGEAR’s Insight App which is ideal for those businesses with little to no IT staff. These small businesses include restaurants, bars, retail outlets, medical offices, professional services, and even small educational centers. Areas where customers use the WiFi along with the staff has a demand for security. The new Orbi features WPA3, along with 4 SSIDs and VLAN support, the Orbi Pro WiFi 6 Mesh System provides a secure network while also isolating connections for separate activities. Users can setup a VLAN for IoT devices, a separate one for customers, and one for employees.

Sounds great for small businesses but what about medium ones. With all six satelites running, the Orbi Pro WiFi 6 can cover up to 1,700 square meters or 18,000 square feet. The new Orbi handles about 4 times the devices of the previous generation as well. If this isn’t enough coverage, NETGEAR released WAX610 and WAX610Y WiFi 6 dual-band access points earlier this year.

Finally let’s talk performance. WiFi 6 is mostly for covering more devices and adding security ideal for the IoT world we find ourselves in. But it will also bring more performance through features such as dedicated quad-stream WiFi 6 backhaul, OFDMA, and MU-MIMO. Adding new devices without slowing down the network is also a plus. While wireless is the first thing that comes to mind, each satellite is capable of wired connectivity and each has a 2.5Gbps Ethernet port. The 4GbE ports can be combined for Link Aggregation.

Benefits include:

4x more client devices and 100% higher speed per router and satellite unit compared with the previous generation
Tri-band 12-stream WiFi 6, 4 streams on 2.4GHz and 8 streams on 5GHz. Each unit delivers up to 6Gbps of data throughput
Works with the latest iOS and Android WiFi 6 mobile devices and backward-compatible with WiFi 4 (IEEE 802.11N) and WiFi 5 (IEEE 802.11AC) standards
Includes one 2.5G Ethernet port for multi-gig wired network connectivity per node. Ideal when connected to NETGEAR multi-gig Ethernet switches

Orbi Pro WiFi 6 Availability and Pricing

NETGEAR Orbi Pro WiFi 6 Tri-band Mesh System (SXK80) is available today in the US with European availability slated for later in the quarter. The Orbi system comes with a 1-year subscription to NETGEAR Insight as well.