Gigabit Router: Best Gigabit Routers and Gigabit Switches

What is a gigabit router

A gigabit router is any wired or wireless router that is capable of transferring data at the rate of one gigabit, or 1,000,000,000 bits, per second. Gigabit routers are an tenfold improvement from the previous standard of 100-megabits, also known as Fast Ethernet. Routers capable of these speeds may be labeled as "gigabit" routers or with the standard "10/100/1000" description, which indicates that your router is capable of gigabyte speeds but backward compatible as well.

A wired gigabit router can only transfer data at 1-gigabit per second when it is connected to hardware and with cabling that is also gigabit-compliant. For example, you may use a category-6 Ethernet cable to connect your router to your cable modem, if it is also gigabit-capable. However, your router will not use gigabit speeds if other elements within your network are not capable of those same speeds.

Routers with wireless gigabit ports, or WAN ports, are able to transmit data at gigabit speeds through the air. However, the device receiving the signal must use a wireless adapter that is also capable of these speeds and factors such as wireless interference and physical obstructions affect the performance of wireless gigabit networking. Internet connections provided through a wireless gigabit router are still limited by the maximum possible speeds of the Internet connection and purchasing a gigabit router will not decrease download times if your connection is already performing at its peak.

Gigabit routers are more expensive than Fast Ethernet or 100-megabit per second routers, starting at around $100, but are still commonly available from electronics and big box retailers such as Best Buy or Amazon. Because of the price increase, home consumers may opt for a router with a rating of 54 or 100-megabits per second, instead. However, gigabit router can help to reduce lag or stuttering when multiple users are engaged in online game-playing or streaming and downloading of multimedia content such as audio or video. Small businesses and with several simultaneous users may benefit from gigabit networking as the routers are better equipped to deal with the traffic increase.

Consumers should note that a router may be considered gigabit if any of the ports are capable of them speeds. Manufacturers may label the speeds of wired, or LAN, and wireless ports separately. It is not uncommon for WAN ports to have gigabit capability while WAN ports do not.