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Spectrum is now including Spectrum Wi-Fi for free in your package for 12 months when you subscribe to a Spectrum deal. This is a $5 per month value. You also get a free unlimited line for 12 months which would normally cost you $29.99. This amounts to a total of $419.88 in savings.
But what is Spectrum Advanced Wi-Fi? Is it worth $5 per month? Should you continue using it once the promotional period ends? Keep reading to find out.
What is Spectrum Advanced Wi-Fi?
Spectrum Advanced Wi-Fi is a subscription Wi-Fi service that increases wireless internet speeds, enhances network security, and allows you to easily manage the Wi-Fi network via the My Spectrum App. It includes a Spectrum Advanced Wi-Fi Router that supports Wi-Fi 6 technology to ensure complete Wi-Fi coverage in homes. It also supports speeds up to 1 Gbps for wired connections.
Let’s take a deeper look at the benefits and features of Spectrum Advanced Wi-Fi to assess its value compared to a conventional Wi-Fi router.
Spectrum Advanced Wi-Fi: Benefits and Features
1. The Best Wireless Internet Experience with Wi-Fi 6
Wi-Fi 6 is the latest and most advanced set of network specifications from the Wi-Fi Alliance. It uses new and improved technologies to allow for much faster speeds and up to 75% lower latency compared to Wi-Fi 6. For the first time, Wi-Fi 6 makes home wireless connections as reliable as wired connections in terms of speed and latency.
One of the new technologies Wi-Fi 6 uses is Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access or OFDMA. OFDMA assigns subsets of frequency channels to different devices, allowing the router to send data packets to multiple users at the same time. This is different from previous equivalent technologies where, if the number of connected devices exceeded the number of channels, devices had to wait for their “turn” to receive their transmission.
Another new technology called Overlapping Basic Service Sets or OBSS eliminates the “listen before talk” process by assigning a “color” to the router. This means your devices can easily recognize your Spectrum Advanced Wi-Fi Router even when other neighboring routers are interfering.
OFDMA and OBSS lower wait times when many devices are connected and other transmitters are present. This results in less latency even in the highly crowded network environments of today’s homes.
Wi-Fi 6 also features improvements to existing technologies such as beamforming, which increase the speed and range of Spectrum Advanced Wi-Fi.
2. An Extra Layer of Security with Spectrum Security Shield
Wi-Fi 6 has built-in security protocols that keep unauthorized devices from connecting to and tempering with your network, but these don’t protect you over the internet. Spectrum Advanced Wi-Fi takes security up a notch with Spectrum Security Shield.
Security Shield has a database of potentially harmful websites that may let viruses and malware into your devices. It prevents all devices connected to the network from visiting these websites. Security shield also keeps scammers from communicating with these devices. It actively identifies IPs being used in scams and blocks them. If you have a smart home, all devices connected to the Spectrum Advanced Wi-Fi are also monitored for suspicious activity.
Security Shield protects you over the internet—not just against passive firmware but also from deceitful parties trying to steal your data or scam otherwise.
3. Easy Network Management
Conventional Wi-Fi routers are managed through web apps that you access by entering an IP address in a web browser on a computer connected to the router. These web apps usually don’t have a good development budget as you only see them once you’ve already purchased the router. They’re poorly built with an unintuitive UI that can even frustrate tech-savvy people.
Spectrum Advanced Wi-Fi gives you complete control over the network via the My Spectrum app. It’s easy to use and doesn’t require you to enter an IP address into a browser every time you want to manage the network. The app also sends you notifications about your network, such as when a new device is connected to the network or when a smart device in your home is behaving unusually.
4. More Affordable Compared To Standalone Wi-Fi Routers
A good standalone third-party Wi-Fi 6 router will cost you more than $160. Spectrum Advanced Wi-Fi is free for 12 months with Spectrum deals and costs $5 after the promotional period. This comes to just $60 a year. So even if you keep using Spectrum Advanced Wi-Fi for two and a half years after the promotional period ends, it’ll cost you less than a third-party Wi-Fi 6 router from the market.
The Bottom-Line
For us, the Security Shield features of Spectrum Advanced Wi-Fi that protect our vulnerable family members against malware and scammers are more than worth $5. Improved speed and easy network management are just added bonuses. Visit BuyTVInternetPhone to see if Spectrum Internet is available in your area.