Linksys releases 11g "Speed Booster" line

Linksys today announced three 802.11g products based on Broadcom’s "Afterburner" technology.

The SpeedBooster line includes the WPC54GS PC Card and WMP54GS PCI Adapter and are the first Afterburner-based products to reach the market - beating out Buffalo Technology’s WHR2G54, which was supposed to begin shipment in February [related story].

As we reported back in January, Linksys’ pitch for the new line eschews any mention of the 125Mbps maximum throughput that Broadcom claimed during its January CES demos. Instead, Linksys’ product description claims only that "real-world wireless network performance can be enhanced by up to 35%".

The company’s pitch still reads straight out of Broadcom’s Afterburner marketing playbook with repeated references to interoperability to "standard-compliant 802.11g products" and being a "good neighbor" to nearby wireless networks. Both points are specifically aimed at Atheros’ Super-G technology, which has put some pressure on Broadcom’s dominance of the 802.11g market.

The SPI-based router supports WEP, WPA and 802.1x authentication and includes a 30-day trial to a new Parental Control Service. The service - which was designed and developed with Netopia - allows users to set individual profiles for time of day and day of week access restrictions for all major internet applications including browsers, email, chat, and Instant Messaging.

The SpeedBooster line is scheduled to be available starting early April with typical street pricing of $110 for the WRT54GS, and list price of $100 for the WPC54GS and WMP54GS.