‘Plume’s’ $39 Routerless, Cloud-Based Wi-Fi ‘Pods’ To Change Wireless Internet Landscape

When it comes to wireless internet, it seems advancements have been progressing exponentially, with companies like “Eero” offering what they call Wi-Fi boxes to replace traditional routers with. The latest to join the fray is a startup called Plume and their products are called Pods and they are also meant to address the most common problems attributed to routers; bad signal.

As The Verge notes, Plume’s solution takes the conventional method of boosting wireless internet connection to an extreme level. Since some people are already getting several routers to place around the house in order to provide a signal to all of their different gadgets, using Pods wouldn’t be all that jarring.

The biggest difference is that the Pods communicate via cloud-based technology in order determine which gadget needs the most amount of signal and funnel bandwidth accordingly. More than that, the Pods can also communicate automatically in order to get around interferences so all of the devices connected to them will be able to get the fastest signal they can get.

Right now, each Pod costs about $39 but that’s only during the presale period. Once the Pods go retail, they will cost $49 per Pod. Control is also done via the Plume app on the user’s smartphone.

As USA Today notes, Plume recommends that users get six Pods in order to get the most out of the products. That would amount to $240 for the package, and that’s good for an average-sized apartment. For a house with a second story, the company recommends getting eight or more Pods, which will be placed in every room.

“Rather than introducing more expensive hardware, we decided to deconstruct the traditional router by leveraging inexpensive and scalable compute power from the cloud,” Plume CEO Fahri Diner said on the USA Today article. “We can change the topography of your WiFi signal on the fly.”