Home and small-business networking solutions major D-Link brought a constellation of 802.11ax (Wi-Fi 6) products to CES 2020, making the standard's mainstreaming. The company's new lineup includes everything from affordable mainstream Wi-Fi 6 routers to high-end routers for gaming, home mesh kits, and plug-in range extenders. The company also unveiled innovative new 5G routers. These are Wi-Fi 6 routers in which instead of just a 1 GbE wired WAN uplink, you connect to the Internet over 5G mobile networks. This makes your Internet access extremely portable and convenient.

The DWR-2010, DWP-1020, and DWR-978 are D-Link's first 5G-to-802.11ax solutions. The DWR-2010 is a 5G NR "Enhanced Gateway," supporting up to 4 Gbps 5G downlink over 5G NR sub-6 GHz, 802.11ax downstream, and a wired switch that features one 2.5 GbE and three 1 GbE LAN downlinks, and a 1 GbE WAN uplink. The DWR-978 is a 5G gateway with up to 1 Gbps 5G downlink, 802.11ac (up to 2600 Mbps) downlink Wi-Fi, four 1 GbE LAN, and one 1 GbE WAN. There's also an outdoor gateway for your lawn, which supports 5G NR Sub-6 GHz, a stellar 5 GbE LAN port, and can withstand a temperature range from -45°C to 55°C, and offers IP45 water resistance. The three will initially only be available through mobile network service providers and not off-the-shelf.Next up, D-Link shows us their COVR AX1800 whole-home Wi-Fi 6 mesh kit. With an ability to cover a home with up to 6,000 sq ft (550 m²) area, the COVR AX1800 consists of two components, a router, and a repeater/range-extender. You can pair additional repeaters to extend the coverage area (build the mesh). The router unit features a 1 GbE WAN port, and four 1 GbE LAN ports. Software-side features include IoT support for Google Assistant and Amazon Alexa, in-built Ookla SpeedTest, and the D-Link app for iOS/Android. The set that includes the router and repeater is priced at $270, additional repeaters are priced at $130 a pop.We now move on to the interesting stuff, standalone Wi-Fi 6 routers. While all routers since the beginning of time allow you to add range-extenders, D-Link's new Wi-Fi 6 router range are being marketed as "Mesh routers" even though they are standalone (single piece) units. This is because they support easy Wi-Fi mesh setup with any industry standard mesh repeater. The DIR-X5460 leads the pack with dual-band (574 Mbps + 4800 Mbps) Wi-Fi over 4 simultaneous streams, 7.5 dBi antennae, 1 GbE WAN, and 4-port GbE LAN. Available from later in Q1, it will be priced at $280.

The DIR-X2460 is positioned a notch below, with dual-band (574 Mbps + 1800 Mbps) WLAN, 1 GbE WAN and 4-port GbE LAN, and the easy mesh setup feature. This box commands a $160 price, and will be available in Q3-2020. We enter mainstream territory with the DIR-X1860, with its dual-band (574 Mbps + 1200 Mbps) WLAN, 1 GbE WAN, 4-port 1 GbE LAN, and easy mesh setup. Available from Q2-2020, it will be priced at $140. The DIR-X1560 is at the tail-end of the dual-bank AX series, with 300 Mbps + 1200 Mbps WLAN, high-gain 7.5 dBi antennae, 1 GbE WAN + 4-port 1 GbE LAN, and easy mesh setup. Available from later in Q1-2020, it will go for $120.On our way out, we spotted the DAP-X1870, a delightful and convenient, pluggable Wi-Fi 6 range-extender with 574 + 1800 Mbps WLAN, and a single 1 GbE port that either works as uplink to your router, ISP (in AP mode), or a LAN downlink. Available from Q2-2020, the DAP-X1870 will be priced at $130.