Guide to Router Specifications

As the Charter cable rollout continues in our communities, many residents will need to replace their DSL routers with a new router. You can rent a router supplied by Charter or buy your own. Elsewhere in this blog I've suggested that, overall, it is probably more cost effective as well as providing a better internet experience if you buy your own router. When you do so, you will be hit with a nomenclature for naming the router number that is confusing. There will usually be something like a model number, but elsewhere on the package or web page there will be another "model number." Let me call this other model number "Shorthand Spec." You will see that is what it is.

Here is an example:  Linksys AC1750 Dual-Band Smart Wireless Router with MU-MIMO, Works with Amazon Alexa (Max Stream EA7300).  The AC1750 is the Shorthand Spec, and not the model number.  The EA7300 is the model number.  

I'm hoping that the following tables and discussion will help demystify the Shorthand Spec.

What Does a Shorthand Spec Beginning with "N" Mean?

This first table is about those Shorthand specs that begin with "N". It turns out that this spec indicates the speed of the 1 or more signals provided by the router. This table is from the Netgear site, so some of the Netgear real model numbers are shown in the last row of the table.

Nxxx Specification	N150	N300	N600	N750	N900
WiFi Speed (Mbps)	150	300	300 + 300	300 + 450	450 + 450
Frequency	2.4GHz	2.4GHz	2.4 and 5GHz	2.4 and 5GHz	2.4 and 5 GHz
Product Examples	WNR1000	WNR2000 WNR3500L	WNDR3400 WNDR3700 WNDR3800	WNDR4000 WNDR4300	WNDR4500

For Netgear router comparison, see the Wireless Router Comparison Chart.

Some FAQs:

Does a higher Nxxx number imply farther range?

No. The different speeds (150/300/450/600) are achieved with different channel widths, 20/40/60/80 MHz respectively.
Larger channel widths do not result in higher range, just faster speeds at close range. Transmission power or Range is not related to the channel width.


What is the difference between "Up to 54Mbps", "Up to 145Mbps", and "Up to 300 Mbps" wireless modes?

"Up to 54Mbps" supports the 802.11g and 802.11b standards.
"Up to 145Mbps" and "Up to 300Mbps" modes support the 802.11N specification and use 20MHz and 40MHz bandwidths, respectively.
"Up to 300Mbps = 40Mhz" will provide the maximum performance in most cases.
"Up to 145Mbps = 20MHz" may work better in areas with more interference from other access points.
"Up to 450Mbps" = 60Mhz, "Up to 600Mbps" = 80Mhz.

What does a router with a name starting with "AC" mean?

The short, but not satisfying, answer is: "It is the sum of the maximum speed of the dual band of a router. Ugh! A table with various real values helps:

Type	2.4 GHz band[c] (Mbit/s)	config [all 40 MHz]	5 GHz band (Mbit/s)	config [all 80 MHz]
AC600	150	1 stream @ MCS 7	433	1 stream @ MCS 9
AC750	300	2 streams @ MCS 7	433	1 stream @ MCS 9
AC1200	300	2 streams @ MCS 7	867	2 streams @ MCS 9
AC1300	400	2 streams @ MCS 9	867	2 streams @ MCS 9
AC1300[9]	-	-	1,300	3 streams @ MCS 9
AC1450	450	3 streams @ MCS 7	975	3 streams @ MCS 7
AC1600	300	2 streams @ MCS 7	1,300	3 streams @ MCS 9
AC1750	450	3 streams @ MCS 7	1,300	3 streams @ MCS 9
AC1900	600[d]	3 streams @ MCS 9	1,300	3 streams @ MCS 9
AC2200	450	3 streams @ MCS 7	1,733	4 streams @ MCS 9
AC2350	600[d]	4 streams @ MCS 7	1,733	4 streams @ MCS 9
AC2600	800	4 streams @ MCS 9	1,733	4 streams @ MCS 9
AC3000	450	3 streams @ MCS 7	1,300 + 1,300	3 streams @ MCS 9 x 2
AC3150	1000[e]	4 streams @ 1024-QAM	2,167	4 streams @ 1024-QAM
AC3200	600[d]	3 streams @ MCS 9	1,300 + 1,300[f]	3 streams @ MCS 9 x 2
AC5000	600[d]	4 streams @ MCS 7	2,167 + 2,167	4 streams @ 1024-QAM x 2
AC5300[12]	1000[e]	4 streams @ 1024-QAM	2,167 + 2,167	4 streams @ 1024-QAM x 2

Oh dear, more acronyms. MC, QAM? Let's skip defining these for now. You can just look at the Mbits/s columns.  One thing that might jump out at you:  the 5GHz band values are a lot higher than the 2.4GHz values.  Two rules of thumb:  Higher frequencies can carry more data (faster speeds) but Lower frequencies have a longer range and are less impacted by obstacles.  I think everyone has experienced this difference when listening to AM vs FM, FM being the higher frequency.

Here are some useful comments from an internet post. Unfortunately, I lost the actual page this came from, so I can't give credit where credit is due:

AC1900 = 600 on 2.4GHz, 1300 on 5Ghz (rather ridiculous claim, as very few devices can achieve above 300Mbps on 802.11n, see note at end)

AC2400 = 600 on 2.4GHz, 1733 on 5Ghz. They round up.

AC 3200/5300 triband routers use a dedicated 5GHz radio only for 802.11ac, a 5Ghz radio for a/n/ac, and a 2.4Ghz radio for b/g/n. Add up the max theoretical speed of 802.11n, 600Mbps +1300Mbps on each 5Ghz radio for 802.11ac for AC3200. AC5300 is 1000Mbps 802.11n on the 2.4Ghz radio, and 2166Mbps on each 5Ghz radio. (Again, the 1000mbps claim for n is absurd)

When looking for performance in a wireless AC router, look for the number of spatial streams it can support - typically spoken of in terms like "2x2 MIMO, 3x3 MU-MIMO, etc." The best you will likely see is 4x4 MU-MIMO. Keep in mind the client devices must also support this, and the geometry of antennae means you're not going to see beyond 2x2 wireless AC in a phone.

Key takeaway is that "AC3200" marketing does not mean that a typical single device can achieve this speed. A single device could only achieve this speed if it also used three radios and used some form of load balancing.

Note on 300Mbps+ 802.11n: These schemes use very high modulation schemes and 3x3 or 4x4 MIMO which are optional extensions to the 802.11n standard (read: almost no clients will support them). Most devices can only achieve 150Mbps per stream and support 1 or 2 streams. You cannot fit more than 2 2.4Ghz antennae in a phone to my knowledge due to the geometry of the antennae (must be a certain size and space apart, related to the wavelength of 2.4GHz signal) All this equipment is essentially nonsensical, and users seeking higher speeds should look to 802.11ac instead.