Belkin announces draft 11n line with 300 Mbps wireless router

Compton (CA) - Belkin today announced its draft 802.11n product line. According to the company, the N1 Wireless line will use Atheros XSPAN MIMO technology with "physical data rates" of up to 300 Mbps in "40 MHz Channel Mode" and up to 150 Mbps in "20 MHz Channel Mode."

The Belkin N1 Wireless line includes a Router (F5D8231-4), Notebook Card (F5D8011) and Desktop Card (F5D8001). All products support WPA-2 Personal wireless security and WEP 64/128 bit encryption, plus a built-in firewall. A USB Adapter Card (F5D8051) was also announced, but will not be available until Q3 2006.

Belkin’s announcement was unique in that it directly addressed the issue of draft 11n upgradability with the following statement : "Although Belkin incorporates all mandatory elements of the IEEE 802.11n draft specification and designs the software to be upgradeable once the standard is finalized, Belkin cannot guarantee upgradeability."

The new lineup will be available on 1 June. The router will cost $149.99, while the PC Card will be $99.99. A USB Adapter will be available in the third quarter.