SnapAV's Araknis Networks brand announces a lineup of OvrC-enabled network switches-- the 110, 210 and 310 series, updates on the previous 100,200 and 300 network switch series.

“Since we launched our first Araknis products back in 2013, we have improved our quality processes and practices, and felt the switch line needed a refresh,” the company says. “We’ve put a lot of thought and innovation into this new family.”

The 110 series incorporates Unmanaged+ to combine the reliability of an unmanaged product with OvrC capability, allowing installers to see through to connected devices. The series also features a compact 5-port model designed to fit into small spaces.

One technology can fulfill the broadband needs of the home, the HomeGrid Forum says-- G.hn, a means to leverage on existing wiring to create a gigabit networking backbone.

According to the forum, despite many devices currently using wireless connections, wired networks still have a "major" role in the home, be it in the interconnection of fixed devices to providing a high-speed backbone for wireless access points. G.hn promises to fulfill such connectivity, delivering 1 millisecond backhaul to wireless video using existing infrastructure, be it powerline, coax, phoneline or fibre.

The technology is still in fairly early days, even if the HomeGrid Forum is pushing G.hn silicon and system certification. One company working on G.hn products is ARRIS, who is working on a router/gateway able to establish a high bandwidth network via electrical wiring and a wifi extender.

Ruckus announces what it claims is the first Wave 2 802.11ac wireless access point-- the ZoneFlex R710, featuring 4x4:4 MIMO for "unprecedented" network speed and range.

Built for high capacity, high performance and interference-laden environments, the ZoneFlex R710 handles up to 500 concurrent clients. It delivers 800Mbps over 2.4Gz and 1.7Gbps over 5GHz, with 802.11ac MU-MIMO improving airtime efficiency.

The Wifi Alliance expands the 802.11ac wifi standard with "Wave 2"-- essentially a means to boost current wifi bandwidths while retaining backwards compatibility.

According to the alliance Wave 2 doubles the bandwidth per channel to double performance should conditions be favourable. It also has four spatial streams, wider 5GHz channel support and MU-MIMO (multi-user, multiple input multiple output) support.

“In today’s world, people have more wifi devices per person and per household, and those devices require significantly more bandwidth,” the alliance says. “Wifi Alliance updated the wifi ac program to meet increasing user demands and to stay ahead of emerging applications, while preserving interoperability.”

BT promises to have a better wifi solution with the Smart Hub 6-- a router the company says is able to improve connections and boost speeds even in harder to reach rooms.

The Smart Hub 6 features 7 antennas, more than most routers supplied by UK broadband providers. A 3x3 array supports the 2.4GHz band, while the 5GHz band comes through a 4x4 array. The result is a signal range BT says reaching up to 500m, depending on obstacles around the home.

Further connectivity comes through x4 gigabit connectors and a USB port.

An email by Bluetooth Special Interest Group director Mark Powell reveals the next version of the Bluetooth wireless standard-- Bluetooth 5, an update promising double the range and speed of Bluetooth 4.2.

Named without a point number in the name of simpler marketing, Bluetooth 5 has the support of major technology companies (including Apple and Intel), and features "significant new functionality for connectionless services" such as location-based information and navigations. Such technology is identical to that used by wireless beacons, as well as the Apple AirDrop and Handoff features.