Above is the newly-unveiled TRENDnet TEW-811DR and the TEW-800MB wireless router and bridge using the 802.11ac specification that allows for 1.3Gbps wireless connectivity. No, they’re not available for sale yet (that will happen later this year), but yes they will be backward compatible with Wireless N as long as you stay on the 5GHz band.
The question however that always rears its ugly head is, "Okay, it’s faster, and that’s cool. But will I get better range out of this thing?"
I can’t give a definitive yes or no on that. Maybe it will, maybe it won’t. There’s a TRENDnet-specific technology called "Beam Forming" with these newer units that supposedly transmits signals around objects and walls better, but does it? That I don’t have the answer to.
What I can say however is this: If you have a newer dual-band wireless N router now and the range in your particular application isn’t that great, chances are that buying an 802.11ac spec replacement won’t perform much better – and that you should seriously consider buying a second router for use as a WAP to accommodate for signal issues.
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