If you want ultrafast networking – or are worried about the ‘risks’ of wifi – then Belkin’s Gigabit Powerline kit is just the ticket. 

Powerline networks use a household’s existing wiring to send data. It does away with the need for extra cabling or a separate wifi router. You simply plug two small boxes into a wall socket then connect each box to whatever you want to network and voila! You have a fully functioning network.

Belkin’s take on the concept is simplicity itself. Newsmonster plugged one of the Powerline units into a socket, connected it to an ADSL modem and then connected our Macbook to another powerline unit plugged into a socket in another room. We were a little taken aback when it worked – flawlessly. The units come with built-in encryption (which is activated with a single press of a button). This is essential if you don’t want the neighbours to watch what your viewing or reading. 

The Powerline sockets are about the two thirds of the size of a paperback book and are a beautiful shiney black colour. They’re surprisingly stylish and don’t stick out like a sore thumb and ruin the décor.

Belkin claims you can transmit at one gigabit per second. We weren’t able to test this. We did notice a 25 percent increase in speed compared to our normal wifi link (5.75 Mb compared to 4.5 Mb). The limiting factor was, of course, our ‘8 Mb’ ADSL connection. It’s fair to assume that you would get hundreds of megabits per second if you were transferring large files between computers. 

The only gripe is the Powerline units only come with Ethernet output. We would have liked USB too. We’re currently reviewing a high-end digital to analogue converter which only has USB and Toslink inputs. As a result we can’t transmit the audio data via our household wiring, which is a shame as we’re forced to rely on wifi.  

Still, Belkin claims it’s ideal for networking computers, games consoles and TV set top boxes. They currently cost around £100 (which is a bit steep but bound to fall)…. 

Here’s the blurb from Belkin:

• Ideal for ultrafast high-quality transmission of multiple video streams, reducing online gaming latency and quickly transferring large data files
• Includes one single-port Adapter for a gaming console, HDTV, or a computer and another single-port Adapter to plug into a router
• Stream multiple HD movies and game online
• Improves Internet connectivity in remote rooms or places hard to reach with wireless connections
• Provides a secure, stable networking signal
• Push-button security
• Plug-and-play setup
• Mesh network:
  • Adding a third (or more) Belkin Powerline Adapter enables Gigle’s xtendnet™ feature that provides increasing networking stability and performance by creating a transparent mesh network.
• Compatible with HomePlug® AV products

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