By Chris Scott Barr
I’ve spent many hours running ethernet cable throughout various buildings. It’s not the most fun thing to do in the world, especially when you’re crawling around in spaces filled with particularly itchy insulation (asbestos anyone?). I’ve seen companies offer networking over powerlines, and while it’s always sounded like a convenient solution, I’ve been wary of actual speeds achieved by such devices. Belkin’s latest offering sounds like it might just be fast enough to be worth checking out.
The first major concern with any powerline networking system is how much bandwidth is lost over a distance. Well Belkin’s new Gigabit Powerline HD Starter Kit promises 1000 Mb/s speeds. Even if you lose a good part of that bandwidth, most network cards still only operate at 100 Mb/s. If this device holds up to its claims (and can provide a more reliable connection than wireless), it might be worth the $150 price tag.
