INTRODUCTION

   It's no secret that people who simply want the best possible data transfer rates and the highest possible security for their data always pick wired connectivity over wireless one. It's also no secret however that wired connectivity has its limits and so it's not nearly as practical as its wireless counterpart. Powerline adapters have come a long way since their introduction into the market many years ago and have actually helped bridge the gap between wired and wireless connectivity (especially the WiFi enabled models) but since their performance is severely limited by external factors such as the electrical wiring of the building they are used in these too may not be quite as practical in some cases. That leaves people who wish to extend their local area network with wireless repeaters and so today we gathered three of the most popular WiFi AC models in the European market by Linksys, AVM and Devolo for a thorough comparison.

   The Linksys brand has pioneered wireless connectivity since its inception in 1988 with its leading innovation and engineering strategies, and best-in-class technology, design, and customer service. Linksys enables a connected lifestyle for people at home, at work and on the move, and with its award-winning products, simplifies home control, entertainment, security and Internet access through innovative features and a growing application and partner ecosystem.

   AVM offers a wide range of products for high-speed broadband connectivity and smart home networking. With its FRITZ! product line, AVM is a leading manufacturer of broadband devices for DSL, cable, LTE (4G) and fiber optics in Germany and Europe. Smart Home products based on wireless LAN, DECT and powerline standards provide for an intelligent as well as secure home. The operating system FRITZ!OS makes handling all FRITZ! products easy. Free updates regularly provide new functions for greater convenience and increased security in the home network. FRITZ! is the leading brand for home networking in Germany. Founded in Berlin in 1986, from the outset the company has focused on developing its own secure, innovative products for broadband connections. In 2017 the communications specialist had 700 employees and generated a turnover of 490 million euros.

   devolo AG is the leading European company on the market in Powerline communication solutions. The company's core product is dLAN®, a technology that allows flexible networks over existing wiring such as electrical and coaxial lines. Powerline solutions are employed in private households as well as commercial environments and they lead the way in future-oriented energy data distribution and home automation. devolo invests its development resources into improving dLAN® technology through its own patented solutions. The globally operating company has been the world market leader in the Powerline segment since 2009. Numerous top-product test reviews and awards, not to mention over 33 million sold adapters, demonstrate devolo's success. Through sustainable market practices, devolo upholds its responsibility to customers, employees and the environment.

   For this specific comparison we got the equivalent top-of-the-line product by all three manufacturers so from Linksys we got their RE7000 WiFi Range Extender, from AVM we got their FRITZ!WLAN Repeater 1750E and from Devolo their WiFi Repeater AC. All three models fully support all WiFi standards (802.11a/b/g/n/ac) and feature WPS (WiFi protected setup) connection/pairing, dual band (2.4GHz and 5GHz) concurrent/simultaneous signal transmission and RJ45 Gigabit Ethernet ports (single port each). As expected however these three models are far from identical in specs so although the RE7000 offers wireless speeds of up to 1733Mbps on the 5GHz band and 300Mbps on the 2.4GHz band the 1750E goes up to 1300/450Mbps and the Repeater AC up to 867/300Mbps. The same applies with supported technologies since although the RE7000 is compatible with MU-MIMO (multi user), beamforming (signal strength between devices is adjusted according to their range and location) and cross band repeating (signal automatically switches between both bands when needed) the 1750E supports MU-MIMO and intelligent cross band repeating whereas the WiFi Repeater AC supports MIMO (single user) and cross band repeating. The only question right now is just how these three repeater models compare to each other and although their specifications reveal that to an extend it's up to us to find out exactly that.