Comcast’s Xfinity Wireless Gateway is the U.S.’s fastest in-home Wi-Fi...

Comcast’s Xfinity Wireless Gateway is the U.S.’s fastest in-home Wi-Fi router, the company said Tuesday (http://xrl.us/bnqbkh). Comcast cited the results of speed tests by Allion Test Labs that found the Xfinity Wireless Gateway, manufactured by Technicolor, could deliver about 155 Mbps through Wi-Fi. Allion also measured speeds for AT&T and Verizon devices. They found two of Verizon’s wireless routers, made by Actiontec, could deliver about 84 Mbps. An AT&T router made by 2-Wire achieved 22 Mbps, Allion said in its results report (http://xrl.us/bnqbkq). It’s not typical for broadband speeds to be measured over Wi-Fi, Verizon spokesman Bob Elek said, saying the FCC has measured broadband speeds via hardwire connections for its “Measuring Broadband America” reports. The most recent report, released in July, found Verizon’s FiOS service was one of the top two Internet service providers in terms of ability to deliver above advertised speeds; it and Cablevision each achieved an average of 120 percent of advertised speeds. Comcast also did well, achieving an average of 103 percent of advertised speeds, according to the report (http://xrl.us/bnhgkk). Wireless routers, by their very nature, will diminish the connection’s speed capacity, Elek said. “There are a lot of different things that can impact the connection,” he said, including the distance from a router and the number of devices sharing the connection. Verizon’s own findings on the average speed of its FiOS connection over Wi-Fi fall in line with the Allion speed test -- Verizon finds FiOS has an average speed of 85 Mbps over Wi-Fi compared to up to 300 Mbps over hardwire, Elek said. “What we're seeing is that satisfies a majority of our customers,” he said. Verizon recently introduced a new GigE Wireless N router for FiOS customers that can achieve up to 130 Mbps, Elek said.