BT Home Hub 3, Virgin Media Superhub, Sky hub SR101 – how do they compare

With the growing popularity of superfast fibre broadband and wireless access in homes and offices, the importance of wireless routers has changed dramatically in the last few years. Internet providers which supply these devices with their service need to make sure that their customers can get fast and secure connection.BT which launched its Home Hub wireless router series a few years ago, released its latest Home Hub 3 which is designed for use with its fibre broadband (BT Infinity). Virgin Media has launched two wireless routers so far – Virgin Media Hub and Virgin Media Super HUb which can support ultra-fast broadband speeds. New TalkTalk 523a wireless router and the latest Sky Hub SR101 are other latest routers of fibre type. 

 

Now, how these wireless routers compare?

We have compared various features including performance (speed and wireless range), ease of setup & use, technical specs, security (firewall & wireless encryption) and value for money (price). TalkTalk 523a which does not feature in the table, is a modem/router with 2 Ethernet ports, wireless N standard and auto wi-fi channel selector.

ISP BT Virgin Media Sky
Product BT Home Hub 3 Virgin Media Superhub Sky Hub SR101
Manufacturer Atheros and Broadcom NetGear (Netgear VMDG480) Broadcom
Modem/Router Type ADSL/Fibre Wireless/wired Cable DOCSIS 3.0 Wireless/wired ADSL/Fibre Wireless/wired
Image BT Home Hub 3 Virgin Media Super Hub Sky Hub SR101
Broadband speeds support 300Mbps 1000Mbps  144mbps
Wireless Features
  • Supports 802.11b/g/n
  • Single band (2.4GHz)
  • 40MHz channel mode
  • Smart wireless technology to avoid interference from radio devices
  • Two internal antennas
  • Supports 802.11b/g/n
  • Dual bands (2.4GHz and 5GHz
  • 32MHz channel mode
  • Two internal antennas
  • Supports 802.11b/g/n
  • Single band (2.4GHz)
  • 40MHz channel mode
  • Signal Wireless technology to improve wi-fi performance
Security Features
  • Built-in Firewall
  • Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS)
  • Wireless Encryption (WPA & WPA2)
  • Builit-in Firewall
  • Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS)
  • Wireless Encryption (WPA & WPA2)
  • Builit-in Firewall
  • Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS)
  • Wireless Encryption (WPA & WPA2)
Number of ports
  • 4 LAN (Ethernet) ports
  • 2 WAN ports (1 for ADSL and 1 for Infinity fibre)
  • 4 LAN (Ethernet) ports
  • 2 WAN ports (1 for ADSL and 1 for Infinity fibre)
  • 4 LAN (Ethernet) ports.
  • 2 WAN ports (1 for ADSL and 1 for fibre)
Power 5watts 12 watts  
Size 18.5cm x 11cm x 6cm 19.2cm x 18cm x 7cm 14cm x 14cm
Setup (Difficulty level) Easy Easy Easy
Ease of use Easy Easy Easy
Value for money Expensive Cheap Cheap
Best features
  • Compact, nice design and easy to use.
  • Smart wireless technology.
  • Security features
  • Well-designed, cheap wireless router.
  • Security features.
  • More ports to support Gigabits speeds
  • Compact design
  • Signal Wireless technology
Price
  • £99 to buy.
  • Free for new BT Broadband customers
  • £46 for existing customers
  • Free with 100Mb broadband package
  • £30 for 30Mb/60Mb new/existing customers
  • Free for new Sky customers
  • £39 for existing customers