One of the primary reasons to upgrade is the increasing prevalence of 2.5GbE connectivity in modern devices. Network interface cards (NICs), switches, and routers are all increasingly shipping with 2.5GbE support as standard. This trend is also extending to network-attached storage (NAS) devices.
Upgrading your network speed is particularly important if you plan on adding a NAS to your home network. Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) is simply not sufficient for handling the high bandwidth demands of multiple devices simultaneously accessing a NAS.
2.5GbE offers a compelling combination of speed, affordability, and stability. Compared to GbE, it provides significantly faster data transfer rates while remaining relatively inexpensive. Additionally, 2.5GbE connections are less susceptible to interference and offer lower latency, which is beneficial for applications such as online gaming and other real-time tasks.
While 2.5GbE is not powerful enough to fully support the upcoming Wi-Fi 7 standard, there is no immediate need to upgrade to Wi-Fi 7. The widespread adoption of Wi-Fi 7 will likely take several years, and 2.5GbE is backward compatible with earlier Wi-Fi versions. Upgrading to Wi-Fi 7 can therefore wait until a later date.
With the ever-increasing speeds of broadband internet, it is only a matter of time before multi-gigabit internet plans become widely available for both in-home and outdoor use. Upgrading your home network to 2.5GbE now will ensure that you are prepared to take advantage of these faster internet speeds when they do become available.
