INTRODUCTION

   Nothing stays still in the electronics and computer industries at least not for long so something better always emerges not long after even the best model out there has rolled out of the factory. Of course that has its pros and cons since on one hand prices of early models get sliced making them a lot more affordable for mainstream consumers and/or manufacturers (if we're talking about components) but on the other hand you never get to have the best out there, not for long. Because of that it's quite unfortunate that manufacturers haven't focused much in the production of good ADSL/ADSL2+ modem/routers and that's actually something that has been in my mind for many years especially since ADSL/ADSL2+ is still the primary connection type via which people access the internet in many countries including Greece. Well Netgear always seems to come to the rescue with their solutions like the D6300 AC1600 Dual Band Gigabit Modem Router which we've been thoroughly testing for quite some time now.

   NETGEAR (NASDAQGM: NTGR) is a global networking company that delivers innovative products to consumers, businesses and service providers. For consumers, the company makes high performance, dependable and easy to use home networking, storage and digital media products to connect people with the Internet and their content and devices. For businesses, NETGEAR provides networking, storage and security solutions without the cost and complexity of big IT. The company also supplies top service providers with retail-proven, mobile broadband solutions for their customers on the go. NETGEAR products are built on a variety of proven technologies such as wireless, Ethernet and Powerline, with a focus on reliability and ease-of-use. NETGEAR products are sold in approximately 44,000 retail locations around the globe, and through approximately 37,000 value-added resellers. The company's headquarters are in San Jose, Calif., with additional offices in over 25 countries. NETGEAR is an ENERGY STAR® partner.

   Unlike the Nighthawk R7000 the D6300 is AC1600 compatible meaning it can offer a total WiFi speed of 1300Mbps on the 5GHz band (802.11ac) and 300Mbps on the 2.4GHz band (802.11n) thanks to its 3x3 high-gain Antenna configuration (although 802.11n uses 2x2). Of course it's not as powerful as the AC1900 routers out there but to our knowledge no one has released an AC1900 compatible ADSL2+ Modem Router model to date so this is pretty as fast as it gets in terms of wireless connectivity. Other features include 4x Gigabit Ethernet ports, WAN Gigabit Ethernet port, two USB 2.0 ports, beamforming technology (focuses the transmission of the wireless signal where detected devices are located), WPS with WPA/WPA2-PSK security, Double Firewall Protection (SPI & NAT), DoS (Denial Of Service) attack prevention, IPv6 (Internet Protocol Version 6) support and QoS (Advanced Quality Of Service) support. Overall the D6300 seems to have pretty much everything we hoped to find in an ADSL2+ modem router so let’s see if it really delivers.