Bouygues Telecom has just unveiled its brand new Bbox. The latter is notably the first internet box to be certified fully compatible with the WiFi 7 standard.
After leaking a few weeks ago on social networks, the new Bbox Ultym WiFi 7 from Bouygues Telecom was finally made official this Thursday, January 16. This new box is based around a specific point: total compatibility with the latest generation of WiFi available: WiFi 7.
During the official presentation of the Bbox WiFi 7, Benoît Torloting, general manager of Bouygues Telecom, insisted on a specific point: “this is the first internet box to offer true WiFi 7, and not only in part”. An undisguised way of pointing the finger at the competition, namely Free with its FreeBox Ultra which presented WiFi 7 compatibility before even being able to go through official approvals.
In order to be officially recognized as compatible with WiFi 7, the new Bbox Ultym from Bouygues Telecom is based on several key standards such as WPA3, 4KQAM as well as a width of 320 MHz at 6 GHz. The Bbox Ultym WiFi 7 also integrates “Multi-Link Operation” (also called MLO) to allow a device to connect to several frequency bands.
A new Bbox WiFi 7 with a vertical design
Since 2020, Bouygues Telecom has been offering boxes in strictly vertical format (and cannot be placed in any other way). The operator is not changing his mind and is therefore once again offering a Bbox that can be placed vertically. All the connectors are distributed at the bottom rear of the device, which is why it is not possible to lay it on its back.
If you look at the front of the Bbox Ultym WiFI 7, you will not notice any control buttons. Bouygues Telecom has equipped its new box with a touch panel which allows you to control the machine and display the information you need, in particular the connection QR Code.
Still on the design side, the new Bbox Ultym WiFi 7 has a passive cooling system. Understand by this that it does not have any internal fan and that the heat is dispersed naturally through the holes at the back of the box. This makes it possible to drastically reduce the noise emitted by the device.
The ability to connect up to 190 devices and increased throughput
Among the promises made by Bouygues Telecom towards its new Bbox Ultym WiFi 7, we obviously find an improved speed which can go up to a theoretical maximum of 8 Gbit/s in a wired connection (compared to 2 Gbit/s with WiFi 6E) . The integration of MLO allows the Bbox Ultym WiFi 7 to also be able to connect up to 190 devices.
The new design of the device, however, allows it to have fewer Ethernet ports than previous generations since it has two 1 GB Ethernet ports and one 10 GB Ethernet port. Bouygues Telecom justified this choice by explaining that it resulted from a study of its customers who generally use fewer than three Ethernet ports.
A rising price, but almost immediate availability
This new Bbox Ultym WiFi 7 from Bouygues Telecom is available from 44.99 euros per month for the first year before increasing to 51.99 euros per month. A price increase of two euros compared to the Bbox WiFi 6E which is still offered by the operator. Note that customers of the B.iG mobile offer keep the price of 44.99 per month even after the first year. The new Bbox Ultym WiFi 7 will be available in France from January 27 in Bouygues Telecom stores.