Gigaset: First own WLAN router still coming in 2022

The traditional German company Gigaset is primarily known for producing inexpensive smartphones and DECT phones with an attractive made-in-Germany seal. But now it also wants to conquer another branch of the telecommunications industry. It has now become known that Gigaset is planning to manufacture an in-house router.

Gigaset is setting itself up more broadly

Smartphones, landline phones, smart home gadgets and now routers? If Gigaset has its way, its in-house product portfolio is to be expanded to include powerful Internet peripherals. The German manufacturer has enlisted the help of experts to do just that. None other than the German Broadband Communications Association (Bundesverband Breitbandkommunikation) was asked to help the company create a powerful WLAN router. The result now appears to be ready for the market and is about to be released. The first Internet providers should be able to deliver Gigaset’s new router to their customers as early as May 2022. But if the company from North Rhine-Westphalia has its way, this is just the beginning. More router models are to be launched in the coming months and years.

Fast development

The path to Gigaset’s first own WLAN router was a surprisingly short one. It was only in the middle of last year, for example, that the company had the idea of launching its own router on the market. With the Bundesverband Breitbandkommunikation (Federal Association of Broadband Communications), the company also had a suitable partner at its side, who was very happy about the increase in manufacturers in the field of router technology. A look at the precarious situation last year, the consequences of which are still clearly felt in large parts of the economy today, makes it clear why. For example, interrupted supply chains caused by the corona pandemic meant that there was a real shortage of router technology in our parts of the world. The fact that a new manufacturer is now entering the scene should therefore be in everyone’s interest.

First model in May

Since the project was taken extremely seriously, a separate task force with the self-explanatory name “Router” was created especially for the development of the Gigaset router. Obviously, the work was in full swing, which is why the first route of the new lineup, the Gigaset ONE X8100, is to be presented less than a year after the project was announced. The first product seems to be a solid mid-range model that should meet the standards of most Internet users. The technical details show that it supports WiFi 5, IEEE 802.11 a/b/g/n/ac as well as the frequencies 2.4 and 5 GHz. Furthermore, it should be able to offer a maximum data throughput of 1.7 GBit/s in addition to four LAN ports and two USB-A ports.

Back to old strengths?

The technical details clearly show which goal Gigaset is pursuing here together with the German Broadband Association. It obviously wants to close the gap in the market that currently exists between premium manufacturers like AVM with its iconic FRITZ!Box and inexpensive, but often inferior, models from the Far East. Gigaset should succeed very well in entering the router segment. After all, the company is commonly known in the field of telecommunications like a colorful dog.

So it’s hardly surprising that the Federal Association chose Gigaset in particular. Since the manufacturer from the tranquil town of Bocholt was busy developing its own router anyway, the timing could hardly have been better. Gigaset would do well to discover new industries for itself. After all, it will no longer be possible to set sales records with DECT phones in the near future. The trend is toward smartphones as the sole telephone. Should the router industry do well, one could effectively make up for losses.

Contribution to advancing fiber expansion

Naturally, Gigaset’s top management is also pleased about the bagged deal. CEO Klaus Weßing commented as follows:

“We are very pleased that we can now offer a router alternative for the numerous network operators and municipal utilities together with Breko”

If the plan can be put into practice, we can probably expect the first Gigaset routers at well-known telecommunications providers as early as May. Of course, the manufacturer wants to rely on modern standards and has the slowly but surely progressing fiber-optic expansion in mind. It is therefore not surprising that they are already planning to launch another router that will be equipped with fiber-optic technology and will have the most modern standard on board with WiFi 6. However, this is still a vision for the future and will probably only be an issue in 2023. Those who are now interested in the Gigaset ONE X8100 will have to accept that they will not be able to get it in the classic retail stores. Instead, it will serve as an add-on for classic DSL contracts. This step is more than sensible, since the majority of end customers still simply rent their router from the Internet provider.