How to choose your new wireless router

With wireless becoming the norm in the home, and many broadband suppliers providing free wireless routers, the market for routers has become crowded with competition, often with very little difference between them. So how do you go about choosing a router?

I'd like to suggest that there are several factors that might affect how you buy, as explained below, and then hopefully provide some advice on what is recommended for various situations. So firstly:

Cost -

As said, many broadband providers give as part of their contract a free wireless router, with varying performance. Most of these come with a pre-configured setup, allowing a fairly secure encrypted network straight out of the box. The majority also use a protocol called 802.11g, which allows a network speed of up to 54mbps. (We will look at what network speeds mean later, but for now, this is considered to be fast enough for virtually all Internet usage ). These free routers give some basic functionality, but as you get what you pay for, they are often lacking in any more advanced options, which whilst useful for someone who just wants to browse theInternet , is not always as customisable as desired. Some broadband companies however provide far superior routers with increased speed and/or functionality, and it is definitely worth checking out if you are getting a new broadband connection in the near future. Otherwise, the range of prices vary between £50 for a fairly basic model, to around £200 to 250 for the more advanced models.

Speed and range -

As already said, routers come in a variety of speeds, all based around the 802.11 protocol. The most common are a, b, g, n and draft-n. It is very rare to find anything that uses 802.11a or b, and they should generally be avoided as whilst most products are backwards compatible with them, they are considered to be outdated, and very slow. The most commonly used is 802.11g, which gives you a speed of 54mbps: more than enough for a standard Internet connection, and is mostly suitable if you have a high-speed fibre optic connection as well. The advantages of it are that it is the most widely used, so the majority or adaptors and devices use it and it is also cheaper than using draft-n. Disadvantages however include it being a little too slow for streaming media between computers, or for sharing files, and also the range is fairly limited, and so is only really suitable for smaller buildings or flats or with fewer walls, since the greater the range it has to cover, or the moreobstructions between the router and receiving device, the slower the speed drops, anything up to a fifth of the maximum speed. On top of this, the maximum speed of the router is divided among the computers using it, so the more computers you have, the greater the drop in speed.

In comparison to this, the N is gradually gaining popularity as the best to use. It used to be called draft-n due to the fact that it had not officially been recognised, so it is recommended if possible to avoid those still labeled "Draft". A standard N connection is usually twice as fast (~108mbps) and usually has about twice the range of a standard g router, and this extra speed usually allows media streaming for example from computer to computer, or a computer to a TV . It also allows much faster copying of files between computers, and so should be considered if you are running a home network with 3 or more computers connecting by wireless . Is is also useful if you plan to have a networked hard drive, or storage, as the transfer speeds are considerably higher. With N however, there is also the ability for support for "MI-MO" or multi-in, multi-out. If you are using several computers is a network, then it may be worth looking for a router that supports this. Simply, it allows the router to maintain several connections with several computers (as well as increasing range), thus meaning that the speed is not necessarily shared between them, unlike 802.11g. This is especially useful if you stream media, as it means everyone else can still access theInternet whilst you watch a movie! N is highly recommended for for larger properties, and/or larger networks, at not too much higher cost. The only real disadvantage is that not all older adaptors support N, so some laptops, whilst the router supports the, may only be able to use the older "g" protocol, thus negating any advantage the N has. Also, it is worth checking that any old wireless adaptors plugged into your computer are capable of supporting this standard.

Functionality/usability -

All routers run something called "firmware", which is a type of software designed specifically for each individual router. Most routers can be managed by visiting a page in your web-browser, and then logging into the router. The layout, and functionality of the router usually depends on cost, and make. Some have built in firewalls which compliment your computers built-in firewall, and so make browsing more secure. Many also support a higher level encryption called WPA and/or WPA2, which makes your network harder to be broken into by outside sources - often recommended if you do a lot of private work, or live in a crowded area. Another supported option is the ability to create your own "VPN" which allows you to access your home networked computers securely from anywhere else there is Internet. Usually it will be a case of looking for something specific and checking to see if a router supports it before buying, though it is worth noting, the more advanced the features, the more complicated the options to configure become, so looking for the best possible features may make it extremely hard to configure. Generally however, D-link, Netgear and Linksys are more advanced, whereas Thompson, Belkin and most free routers are less advanced, but less complicated.

Extras -

Many routers have individual selling points, for example gigabit Ethernet: allowing you to plug computers in on a non-wireless connection for a considerable speed boost. Or a built-in LCD screen telling you the status of yourInternet connection, and devices connected. Or else the ability to plug usb devices in and instantly network them to all computers on the network. Many of these are definitely worth considering, and should be considered when buying asthey will save you time and effort when you might need them later.

Upon considering these features, usually you will come up with a router in one of three categories, each of which I have a few recommendations for:

Cheap and easy: You just want to access the Internet: in which case a free router is more than enough, so BT Homehub etc or a cheap Belkin are ideal

Medium and fairly customizable: You have several computers, and you want to be able to play around a bit/ or need extra functions. If so a cheap draft-n, or higher end 802.11g are ideal: For example the Netgear DG834G, or Belkin N1 or Linksys WRT54GL

High End: You are running a full home network, and need a lot of flexibilty. Why not think about the Netgear WNR3500 Rangemax, or Belkin N1 Vision or DLink DIR-655, or perhaps some of the new N routers being released.