Linksys, the home router pioneer and first to sell 100 million routers globally, announced the introduction of Velop, its premier Whole Home Wi-Fi product in the Middle East.

Whole Wi-Fi Mesh systems will drive growth and dominate the networking market. According to research conducted by Linksys, Whole Home Wi-Fi Modular Mesh systems are set to grow to 20 percent of the Wi-Fi market by 2018. Linksys projects a 7 percent growth in the wireless networking market

“This is why I purchased Linksys in 2013.  I had a vision of solving a huge problem in almost everyone’s life- slow and unreliable Wi-Fi”, said, Chet Pipkin, Founder and CEO of Belkin International.  “Linksys has always been pioneers in home networking and I knew this was the team that could innovate and deliver the ultimate Wi-Fi experience.  Velop is a union of performance, design, and ease-of-use and provides what everyone wants – seamless, reliable Wi-Fi.  Linksys has set the bar for true mesh networking systems.”

Velop is the first Tri-Band modular Wi-Fi system that can be installed in various mesh configurations providing fast and reliable Wi-Fi to the edge of a home network. Velop is designed for performance as well as elegance; it’s small enough to be placed anywhere with a clean and attractive look that appeals to everyone.

Each Velop “node” is a powerful Tri-Band AC2200 device that serves as router, range extender, access point, and bridge which provides users the future proof technology they need as they bring new and more devices into the home. Each node is configured during setup by the accompanying Linksys app (available for iOS and Android), which provides the industry’s simplest and most intuitive setup leveraging Bluetooth to securely communicate between the mobile device and each node.

After setup is complete, the Linksys app serves as a powerful Wi-Fi management tool with useful features, such as guest access, parental controls, device prioritization, and more.  Velop helps users get the most out of their broadband subscription by delivering 100% of their Internet speed to the edge of their network.  Velop is available in 3-pack, 2-pack and 1-pack options. Linksys is launching Velop in the Middle East with retail, ecommerce, and service provider partners, including du, STC, Sharaf DG, Virgin, Carrefour, Emax, amongst others.

Linksys is the first to combine the technical benefits of three Wi-Fi radios with true mesh capabilities to provide 100% of broadband Internet speeds to the edge of the network.  With traditional router and range extender combinations or dual-band modular mesh systems, the Wi-Fi speed is cut in half with each “hop” from one access point to the next.  At Linksys we call this the “bottlenecking effect.”  This results in users receiving only a fraction of their broadband Internet speed at the edge of the network.

“If you are paying for 100 Mbps from your Internet service provider, then you want to get all that speed in every corner of your house”, said Justin Doucette, senior director of product management at Linksys.

Velop uses the three radios dynamically to determine the optimal path from the modem and “parent” node to each “child” node to ensure the fastest speeds to all client devices, regardless of which node they are connected to. Dynamic channel scanning algorithms evaluate the unique conditions of the wireless environment to select the best band (either 2.4 GHz or one of the two 5 GHz radios on-board) as well as the channels within each of the bands to improve performance between nodes and client devices.  Other Tri-Band modular systems cannot operate in multiple mesh configurations without introducing the bottlenecking effect due to their static “back haul,” where a single radio is defined for inter-node communication, limiting their mesh capabilities. Velop can operate in a number of different mesh topologies and leverage all three radios for inter-node and client communication.  Velop can also use an Ethernet connection for inter-node communication to allow all three radios to communicate with clients and help Wi-Fi reach distant locations, such as the basement or the garage. The union of dynamic Tri-Band technology and true mesh configuration makes Velop the only modular Whole Home Wi-Fi system to provide 100% speed at the edge of the network.

Velop, a 2017 CES Innovation Award Honoree, and one of the eleven finalists for the 2017 CES Last Gadget Standing, is a combination of multiple nodes, each exactly the same for simplicity and flexibility.  Each node is a small tower standing just seven inches in height. The footprint of each node is 88% smaller than the average router and the soft white color palette creates an attractive device that people will be happy to place on book shelves or countertops to help improve Wi-Fi performance. The vertical orientation also has performance benefits: the six antennas are placed at the top and middle of the unit, some pushing signal up and down and others pushing signal left and right.  This improves Velop Wi-Fi performance in both single story and multi-story homes.  To eliminate cable clutter, the base of the design features a cavity where power and Ethernet ports are hidden and a small notch with rubber tabs to organize cables in a clean and tidy manner. The result is an elegant and home-friendly device that can live in any environment or décor.

The Linksys app (formally known as the Linksys Smart Wi-Fi app) is completely redesigned and includes an innovative app-led setup process for Velop.  The entire setup flow happens within the app and uses Bluetooth to securely communicate between the mobile device and the nodes. This resolves a critical issue in the installation of a new Wi-Fi network: when the user customizes the network name to their liking the app maintains a connection to Velop and does not force the user to exit the app and change Wi-Fi settings on the mobile device. The app presents animated visuals and thoughtful troubleshooting instructions to guide even the most novice Wi-Fi user through the uninstallation of current networking hardware and effortless installation of the parent node, which connects to the ISP modem or gateway, then subsequent child nodes, to create a seamless and reliable Wi-Fi network.

After a successful setup, users will be automatically directed to the main dashboard of the Linksys app where they can confirm connection to the Internet and see how many devices are currently connected to Velop.  The dashboard also provides quick access to their Wi-Fi name and password, guest access, parental controls, and device prioritization.  The user can quickly email or text their guest network name and password to a friend, block the Xbox during homework time, or prioritize the Smart TV for movie night. The Linksys app is the single iOS and Android app for all Linksys app-enabled products including Max-Stream™ and Velop.  The app is smart and versatile; it knows which Linksys hardware is present and provides access to the unique software features of that device.

Linksys is also announcing that Velop works with Amazon Alexa for a voice-activated experience.  Three new skills will be available at launch including turning guest access on and off, obtaining the guest Wi-Fi name and password, and getting the main network credentials, which are commonly forgotten.

Velop uses a highly integrated System on a Chip from Qualcomm, the first of its kind that incorporates a 716 MHz quad-core ARM Cortex-A7 processor, three Wi-Fi radios (one 2.4 GHz and two 5.0 GHz) and two auto sensing LAN/WAN Gigabit ports. This is complemented by 4GB of flash memory, 512MB DDR3 memory and a Bluetooth 4.0/LE radio.  Velop contains six antennas and high power amplifiers.

Each Velop node is a Tri-Band AC 2×2 802.11ac Wave 2 with MU-MIMO radio configuration with combined speed up to 2200 Mbps.   This technical design provides faster speeds at the edge of the network by using algorithms to achieve optimal path calculations.  This eliminates the bottlenecking effort that is present with traditional router and range extender combinations as well as dual-band modular Wi-Fi systems.

Each node is built to connect with each other over Wi-Fi or wired Ethernet if present.  They auto configure to connect in multiple different mesh topologies.  The nodes have the ability to choose the best path to route data between a client and the Internet.  In the event any node loses connection to another node, the remaining nodes will self-heal and re-establish Internet connection through other nodes in the network.

Velop will dynamically scan the available channels and select the best combination of bands and channels to optimize performance at the time of setup or whenever the user chooses.  The Linksys app has a channel finder feature with will automatically find the best channels on demand and resolve congestion and interference issues that can created by competing Wi-Fi signals.

The new Linksys app (formally known as the Linksys Smart Wi-Fi app) automatically identifies the nodes to be setup using Bluetooth and creates a secure connection between the mobile device and each node. The app guides users through the installation process using visual animations where needed to clearly explain each step, including the uninstallation of current networking hardware.

During setup, Velop will recommend the best placement to reduce latency, maximize throughput and improve range and signal strength.