Free is no longer alone in its high-end boxes. The operator has just unveiled the Bbox Wifi 7, its new box that does not replace the model launched in 2022 (limited to Wi-Fi 6E) but which completes the offer. It will be officially marketed on January 27 from 44.99 euros per month (12-month commitment), then 51.99 euros per month. This offer, slightly cheaper than that of the Freebox Ultra, nevertheless arrives without the content integrated into the Free offer (Disney+, Netflix, Prime video, etc.). However, Bouygues believes it holds a unique card in its hand, with which Free cannot compete: real Wi-Fi 7.
Moreover, the CEO of Bouygues Telecom did not hesitate to tackle his rival from the first minutes of the presentation: "our Box will have real Wi-Fi 7 and not a partial Wi-Fi 7 as can be the case elsewhere". By "moreover", we must of course understand Free whose Freebox Ultra arrived a few months before the Wi-Fi 7 certification was made official.
Wi-Fi 7 box and certified tri-band repeater
In this sense, Bouygues Telecom highlights two specific features of its new box: WPA3, a reinforced encryption mechanism, but above all MLO (Multi Link Operation) transmission. For the operator's engineers, MLO is the flagship function of Wi-Fi 7 since it allows aggregation on two or three bands. To put it prosaically, when a terminal connects to a Bbox Wi-Fi 7 home network, it will automatically be allocated the best frequency based on its usage at that time.
The other key argument of this Bbox Wi-Fi 7, compared to Free's offer, is its association with the first Wi-Fi certified repeater 7. Here too, the notion of certification is important, at least for the operator, which therefore indicates that this new accessory not only allows Wi-Fi coverage to be extended within a large home, but that it also delivers a very high level of performance, even when it is far from the box. Thus, each Bbox can be associated with two tri-band repeaters (2.5 GHz, 5 GHz and 6 GHz).
7 Gbit/s in Wi-Fi and 8 Gbit/s symmetrical
For the rest, the new box has a design that was seen at the end of last year with a leak that caused a lot of talk. As usual, the operator has favored a vertical format, ideal for the placement of the four antennas on the upper part. Another particularity: Bouygues has limited the connectivity to only three Ethernet ports. A risky choice given the target audience for this high-end box, but which the operator justifies in two ways. According to Bouygues, the vast majority of users would be satisfied with fewer than three ports. Above all, better Wi-Fi performance would make it possible to gradually move away from traditional Ethernet usage.
In terms of performance, the new Bbox will therefore play in the same division as the Freebox Ultra, far ahead of rival boxes from Orange and SFR, which should not present their new version until later in the year. It will be able to boast of offering symmetrical 8 Gbit/s Fiber and Wi-Fi 7 up to 7 Gbit/s.
Is this enough to meet the needs of the Freebox Ultra and its plethora of content offerings? The answer will be available on January 27, the date it goes on sale.
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