Belkin was one of the first networking companies to release MIMO (Multiple Input, Multiple Output) hardware and now it's advanced the technology to what it calls G+ MIMO. The new range includes the F5D9630ukA4 ADSL router at £89.99 inc. VAT, F5D9230uk4 Cable router at £69.99 inc. VAT and F5D9050uk USB adapter at £39.99 inc. VAT. In addition there's an F5D9010uk PC card adapter at £39.99 inc. VAT. The maximum claimed connection speed remains 108Mbps.

Belkin also has a range of Pre-N wireless products that cost slightly more than its G+ series, so G+ MIMO is positioned between G MIMO and Pre-N, which makes you wonder exactly how many market segments can be supported by the world of wireless.

The two G+ routers are very similar in appearance, as you would expect, with a dark grey casing that has four 10/100Mbps ports along the back, a recessed reset button and a connection point for the external power adapter. On the front you'll find all of the usual activity lights. The ADSL router also has a port for the phone line and ships with a DSL filter and an RJ11 cable.

We were supplied with the matching USB adapter but not the PC card. You can either plug the USB adapter directly into your notebook or you can use the supplied stand which is on the end of a two metre cable. This gives you the opportunity to place the adapter on a shelf where you might expect better signal reception.

Configuring your chosen router is relatively simple, however you have to refer to the set-up sheet to find the IP address that you use for configuration, as well as the log-in details that you need. There are a few oddities within the configuration screen, as you can use the firewall settings to restrict the network and Internet access of named IP addresses, and you can also set a timer to restrict activity at certain times. The router also has a 'check for updates' option that speeds up the process of checking for firmware revisions.

Belkin supplies its own Belkin Wireless Networking Utility on the CD, but it's not a particularly good example of the species and doesn't have the features that you get from some other networking companies. It didn't offer any obvious advantage over the utility that is part of Windows XP SP2.

Performance of the router and USB adapter was good at reasonably short range and it took just under six minutes to transfer 1GB of data. This equates to 22.3Mbps which is reasonably speedy but not eye-wateringly fast. Moving our test notebook further away so there were two walls in the way dropped the connection speed significantly to 5.6Mbps, which is rather poor. In fairness the connection was maintained under some fairly tough conditions but we expected more from this second generation MIMO technology.

Verdict
Belkin's second go at MIMO has resulted in hardware that is priced at the upper end of the scale and which offers a good, fast connection when the conditions are easy. Add a few walls to the equation and the speed suffers significantly, so you'll need to take a careful look at your building before you take the plunge.

Company: Belkin

Contact: 01933 352000

Tags: universal serial bus mimo ieee 802.11n-2009 windows xp multi-band linksys data communications wireless