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Netgear Orbi 970 (RBE973S) review: A towering Wi-Fi 7 success — for a hefty price

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Netgear Orbi 970 mesh system review

As I started testing the Orbi 970, I realized I haven’t used a mainstream router for a few years now. In fact, the last Netgear router I used with any amount of regularity was the Nighthawk R7000, and that’s a decade old. With Netgear doubling down on mesh systems in that time, I was keen on taking a look at what the brand has to offer with Wi-Fi 7. The standard hasn’t been finalized just yet, but that hasn’t prevented phone manufacturers from rolling out client devices, and networking brands to release routers that leverage Wi-Fi 7.

The Orbi 970 is unlike any other router I’ve used thus far. For starters, it costs a truly ridiculous amount of money — a single unit retails for $899, and the configuration I tested is $2,299. You’re essentially getting the fastest router in the world, but still, that’s more than what a prosumer network costs to set up.

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