CommScope Intros New Wi-Fi 6 NVG578LX Multi-Gig Fiber-optic Gateway

This might not apply to everyone, but here's some good news if you use fiber-optic Internet. CommScope today announced the NVG578LX 2.5G GPON Wi-Fi 6 residential gateway.

You can read more about GPON vs. DOCSIS in this post on Fiber-optic vs. Cable Internet. But generally, the former is the new and upcoming high-speed broadband standard.

It's generally known as Fiber-optic and delivers fast speeds both ways (upload and download).

NVG578LX: A true multi-Gig Gateway

Traditionally, you can use any router with any Internet connection, as long as the Internet is ready at the point of entry, determined by a modem or a Fiber-optic receiver. But a gateway includes that Internet receiver on the inside—you don't need a router anymore. And that's the case with the NVG578LX.

According to CommScope, the new gateway is Multi-Gig-ready, capable of delivering (and receiving) faster-than-Gigabit bandwidth.

On the WAN (Internet) side, the gateway comes with a built-in 2.5Gbps GPON Fiber receiver, and on the LAN side, there's a 2.5Gbps network port.

As a result, you can get at least one device to connect to the Internet at 2.5Gbps download speed in the best-case scenario. On the upload side, though, the gateway caps at 1.25Gbps.

Interestingly, the gateway's Multi-Gig network port can also work as a WAN port, enabling them to function as a standard router. Or you can potentially use it to host two Internet connections (dual-WAN) for high availability.

On top of that, there are also three Gigabit LAN ports for wired clients.

The NVG578LX is a dual-band broadcaster with a 4x4 Wi-Fi 6 5GHz band and a 3x3 2.4GHz Wi-Fi 6 band. It's unclear if it supports the 160MHz channel width, which allows for up to 4.8Gbps of Wi-Fi ceiling speeds, or 2.4Gbps when working with current 2x2 clients.

CommScope says gateway also supports voice over IP telephony with two phone jacks. And there's a USB 3.0 port for unknown applications.

Available and pricing

CommScope calls the new NVG578LX a "cost-effective gateway with high-performance Wi-Fi" but is rather tight-lipped on how much it costs. That's likely because the gateway is available directly from the provider. For now, in the U.S., you can find it at Ziply Fiber.

Here's an interesting twist. CommScope says part from working as a standalone gateway, the new NVG578LX can team up with its X5 Wi-Fi Extenders to create a mesh Wi-Fi solution to scale up the coverage, similar to the case of Comcast's XFi Pod. Now that's something.