Ignition Design Labs today launched the Kickstarter campaign for its Portal Wi-Fi router that was previewed at CES 2016.
Portal is a QCA-based AC2350 / 2400 class router with working MU-MIMO. Its main claim to fame, however, is IDL's FastLanes™ technology that provides access to the 5 GHz Dynamic Frequency Selection (DFS) channels originally reserved for radar systems.
Most routers don't provide access to these channels because they require constant monitoring for radar signals. If radar is detected, the router must change channel immediately and can't return to it for 30 minutes.
Portal doesn't have to wait 30 minutes because it uses a combination of hardware and cloud service to constantly scan for radar activity and change channel as needed. This opens up four additional 80 MHz channels, for a total of six 5 GHz channels available for 802.11ac devices to use.
Portal has changed a bit since its January introduction, adding "smart mesh" technology to connect multiple Portals into one wireless-connected self-managing network. Unlike other mesh router systems like eero, Portal's mesh uses 802.11s mesh, which operates at Layer 2 and uses dynamic PHY routing.
The router will be managed with Android and iOS apps connecting via Bluetooth LE. The apps will also provide easy guest access using dynamic rolling codes. Other features include parental controls and active intrusion detection.
If you're sold, you can hit Portal's Kickstarter campaign and get one for as low as $139. If you miss that offer, there are still plenty for $149 or $298 for a twin-pack.
Most routers don't provide access to these channels because they require constant monitoring for radar signals. If radar is detected, the router must change channel immediately and can't return to it for 30 minutes.
Portal has changed a bit since its January introduction, adding "smart mesh" technology to connect multiple Portals into one wireless-connected self-managing network. Unlike other mesh router systems like eero, Portal's mesh uses 802.11s mesh, which operates at Layer 2 and uses dynamic PHY routing.
The router will be managed with Android and iOS apps connecting via Bluetooth LE. The apps will also provide easy guest access using dynamic rolling codes. Other features include parental controls and active intrusion detection.
If you're sold, you can hit Portal's Kickstarter campaign and get one for as low as $139. If you miss that offer, there are still plenty for $149 or $298 for a twin-pack.
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