Meet our next generation Smart Hub 3

[WSH]

I can't say for definite but information I have seen suggests it will be based on the EE Smart Hub Plus, which is WiFi 6.

[Colin_London]

A new WiFi 6 hub necessitates a new WiFi 6 Complete WiFi disc to complement.

I wonder if this whole home WiFi disc will become the product that accompanies this hub for complete WiFi coverage?

https://www.bt.com/content/dam/bt/help/pdf/WH-WiFi-6-spec-sheet-V5.pdf

[Bishopjoshua10]

No, it will be the complete WiFi plus (from the business side) 

pic below 

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[Colin_London]

So this web page shows the spec of the Smart Hub 3 WiFi as 802.11ax 4x4, compared to 802.11ac 4x4 on Smart Hub 2.

Maximum theoretical speed is 2400Mbps on 5GHz and 1148Mbps on 2.4GHz.

This compares to 1733Mbps on 5GHz and 300Mbps on 2.4GHz for the Smart Hub 2.

However if you use Complete WiFi half of this capacity is lost due to the mesh backhaul, which is why connection speed maxes at 866Mbps on 5GHz for the Smart Hub 2, with only just over 500Mbps in real world throughput. WiFi 6 on Smart Hub 3 should push this to just over 700Mbps real world throughput on 5GHz.

(This demonstrates why EE has moved on to WiFi 7 only - WiFi 6 still cannot fully support the full speed of Gigabit Ethernet and higher connections).

[Bishopjoshua10]

Yes? Ok 

[dephead2004]

Thanks that's interesting but the data sheet refers to whole home wifi. I was enquiring about the BT supplied complete wifi.

Does anyone know if the new smarthub 3 is compatible with the existing complete wifi discs?

[bobpullen]

@dephead2004 - if it's like the EE equivalent (which I'd imagine it will be), it won't be compatible with the SH2 Complete WiFi discs.

Maximum theoretical speed is 2400Mbps on 5GHz and 1148Mbps on 2.4GHz.

This compares to 1733Mbps on 5GHz and 300Mbps on 2.4GHz for the Smart Hub 2.

However if you use Complete WiFi half of this capacity is lost due to the mesh backhaul, which is why connection speed maxes at 866Mbps on 5GHz for the Smart Hub 2

@Colin_London - this is a bit of a confused statement. 2400Mbps is the max speed for a 2x2 client using WiFi 6 and 160MHz channel width. 1733Mbps is the max speed for a 4x4 client (of which practically none exist in the market) using WiFi 5 and 80MHz channel width (the Smart Hub 2 doesn't support 160MHz).

The reason the speed tops at ~866Mbps on the Smart Hub 2 is because that's the max speed for a 2x2 client at 80MHz; it has nothing to do with backhaul.

A better comparison for 5GHz would be: -

Smart Hub 2 (WiFi 5): -
866Mbps (5GHz, 2x2, 80MHz)
1733Mbps (5GHz, 4x4, 80MHz)

Smart Hub 3 (WiFi 6): -
1200Mbps (5GHz, 2x2, 80MHz)
2400Mbps (5GHz, 4x4, 80MHz)
2400Mbps (5GHz, 2x2, 160MHz)
4800Mbps (5GHz, 4x4, 160MHz)

Edit: to use the EE hub 6 as a comparison, I can achieve > 1Gbps to a capable WiFi 2x2 client when the hub is operating at 160MHz.

[dephead2004]

Thanks. So it's a complete change of kit for the upgrade. 1 hub, 4 discs. Unlikely to be a freebie then

[Kimberlin]

Just because one might currently be using WiFi discs with the SH2, who's to say that you would require them with the new SH3? The SH3 WiFi may well be more superior in reach as to alleviate the need for discs. Some routers are just better than others in overall performance.

[Peter_W]

Hey there, @Jahz94 

The Smart Hub 3 has only just been announced over the last few days, so no customers outside of internal trials will be using this yet.

I'll see if we can get some details on when exactly this will be available, and if there will be the option to directly upgrade, but normally this would only be the case if the customer is upgrading to Full Fibre and has an incompatible existing Hub.

Peter