Bouygues Telecom has unveiled its new fiber Bbox with Wi-Fi 7. Its particular design and premium capabilities make it a serious competitor to the Freebox Ultra, especially as its price is very attractive.
After several days of teasing and promotion by its general director, Bouygues Telecom unveiled on Thursday January 16 the release of its latest creation in terms of internet box, the Bbox WiFi 7. With this new device, the operator intends to compete with its main rivals, in particular Free.
The current market is dominated by the Freebox Ultra from Free which offers characteristics far superior to other boxes and at an unbeatable price. With a symmetrical speed of 8 Gbit/s and a bouquet of streaming services as long as your arm (Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime Video, Universal+ and Canal+) for 49.99 euros per month for the first year, then 59.99 euros per month; Bouygues had enough to rack its brains to strike even harder.
Bbox WiFi 7: a competitor with a daring design
As we revealed, the design of the new Bbox is daring and does not please all the first customers. Those who received it in preview did not hesitate to post visuals of the device. The first impressions published on social networks have been confirmed by Bouygues, which offers us a Bbox designed to be placed vertically. No more flat boxes and cubic contours. The Bbox WiFi 7 has a black oval shape and has a touch screen to simplify its use and configuration.
The choice to rethink the design of the device is explained by the desire to optimize ventilation and signal efficiency and not to integrate a fan into the heart of the box. Also note that the design of this Bbox was designed with better repairability and easier replacement of defective parts in mind.
Bbox WiFi 7: “certified” Wi-Fi 7
The big improvement of the new Bbox is that it comes with Wi-Fi 7, like the Freebox Ultra from Free. Xavier Niel’s teams nevertheless claimed to have “the first Wi-Fi 7 certified fiber box in France”, but Alliance certification was ultimately awarded to Bouygues. A marketing boost that can be important in consumer choice.
In terms of characteristics, the Bbox WiFi 7 manages the three frequency bands (2.4 GHz, 5 GHz and 6 GHz). It is equipped with a fully integrated fiber modem with three RJ45 Ethernet ports, two of which are at 1 Gbit/s and one at 10 Gbit/s for intensive use, as well as a USB port and a telephone port. The box is started via an ON/OFF button and to connect a new device to the Wi-Fi network, it is possible to scan a QR Code appearing on the device’s touch screen. Note that for users who like to download content, the maximum wireless speed is 7 Gbit/s but with a wired connection, it goes up to 8 Gbit/s, which is as much as Free’s Freebox Ultra.
For its launch, the Bbox WiFi 7 joins the Ultym offer from Bouygues at the price of 44.99 euros/month for one year then 51.99 euros/month. This is two euros more than the previous box model, the WiFi 6E. On the TV side, the compatible 4K HDR decoder remains the same and the Prime Video and Universal+ streaming platforms are offered for one year. Finally, for subscribers residing at home, up to 2 Wi-Fi 7 repeaters are also included in the new Ultym offer which will be available from January 27.