Four New Linksys Cable Modems Revealed During CES

Image 1 of 2

If the router was the heart of a home’s wireless network, sending and receiving lifeblood (data) to and from all parts of the body, then the modem must be the mouth that feeds the network. Just as the heart can only provide for the body so long as it is fed well, no matter how good your router is, it can only deliver speed as fast as the cable modem can provide.

With every intention to provide nourishment to our home networks, Linksys announced a handful of new cable modems here at CES. The CM3008 and CM3024 are new high speed cable modems with DOCSIS 3.0 8x4 and DOCSIS 3.0 24x8, respectively. The CM3008 provides up to 343 Mbps download speeds and 120 Mbps upload speeds, and it's aimed at users whose Internet plans are capped at 100 MBps. The CM3024 is intended for those in the fast-lane; it is capable of providing up to 960 Mbps download speeds and 240 Mbps upload speeds.

The Linksys CG7500 is a high speed AC1900 Dual-Band Cable Modem Router with DOCSIS 3.0 24X8 and is aimed at buyers who have an Internet plan in excess of 100 Mbps. It provides the functionality of both a modem and a router, effectively destroying my analogy -- or perhaps, the mouth and heart are one and the same. On the router side, users will enjoy speeds of up to 600 Mbps on 802.11n and 1300 Mbps on 802.11ac. It features a 1.2 GHz dual-core processor, a USB 2.0 port, four gigabit Ethernet ports and internal antennas.

Finally, the X6200 ADSL/VDSL Dual-Band Wi-Fi Modem Router is a modem router combo with a built-in DSL modem. The X6200 features speeds of 300 Mbps on 2.4 GHz and 433 Mbps on 5 GHz, four standard gigabit Ethernet ports, one gigabit WAN port with auto MDI/MDIX sensing, one VDSL/ADSL2/2+ port, and a USB 2.0 port. The X6200 will support VPN pass-through with IPSec, PPTP and L2TP, traffic logging, DHCP server for LAN and IPv4/IPv6 dual-stacking. The modem supports ITU G992.5 ADSL2+ Annex A, L, and M, as well as VDSL G.993.1 and ITU G.993.2 standards.

The Linksys CM3008 DOCSIS 3.0 8X4 Cable Modem, CM3024 DOCSIS 3.0 24X8 Cable Modem and CG7500 AC1900 Cable Modem Router will be available only in the U.S., for $69.99, $129.99 and $249.99, respectively, and will be compatible with all major service providers. The CM3008 and CM3024 will be available this spring, whereas the CG7500 will be available this summer. The X6200 ADSL/VDSL Dual-Band Wi-Fi Modem Router will be available this March for €99,99 and £79,99.

Alexander Quejado is an Associate Contributing Writer for Tom’s Hardware and Tom’s IT Pro. Follow Alexander Quejado on Twitter. Follow us on Facebook, Google+, RSS, Twitter and YouTube.