CeBIT 2012: AVM’s Fritzes Go High And Low… And LTE

Peter Judge,

Greman router maker AVM also has an LTE-equipped box for lucky Germans with 4G coverage

AVM has launched two new Fritz!Box DSL routers at CeBIT – while lucky German users also have one equipped with LTE-based 4G networking.

The German router maker has made a name for itself with home or small-business broadband routers that combine Wi-Fi access and a diminutive but fully-functional phone system. The two new boxes announced at CeBIT are the 3390, a full-fat router which supports Gigabit Ethernettwo-waveband 802.11n Wi-Fi at a nominal 450 Mbps, and the 7360,  a stripped down budget version of the 7390. 

LTE for those who have it

The Fritzbox 3390 offers dual-Fi with up to 450 Mbit / s (Figure: AVM).Unlike many Wi-Fi routers, the 3390 uses both 2.4GHz and 5GHz and allows two two independent wireless networks and AVM showed it carrying multiple HD video streams.

The box also has four Gigabit Ethernet ports, internal storage, and two USB ports that can connect a printer or storage. It also now has a remote access service called MyFritz, which can share files on a connected storage device to remote users, as well as giving remote access to telephony features including call information and an answering machine. It also has DECT (or the more advance CAT-iq) functionality to connect cordless phones, as well as Wi-Fi guest access, parental control, push email, VPN and IPv6 and other features. No price is available, and it is due in the third quarter of this year.

The Fritz!Box 7360 ADSL router will be cheaper (€ 200, UK prices are not yet available). It still supports DECT phones, and 802.11n wireless, but only at a nominal 300Mbps (real Wi-Fi throughput is always lower)  in the 2.4 GHz spectrum. for those with VDSL which go that fast, the box supports uplinks of up to 100 Mbps.  It also has four LAN ports, two USB ports, a DECT/CAT-iq base station for up to six phones. It is due out in the second quarter.

For those lucky enough to live in a country with LTE, AVM has Fritz!Boxes which support the 4G LTE standard. The 6842 and 6810, which can use LTE for backhaul instead of  ADSL. These are currently built into the standard Fritz chassis, with the addition of two LTE antennas (somewhat bigger than normal Wi-Fi ones), but AVM is planning a new upright casing.

This article is edited from an orginal by Björn Greif on ZDNet.de

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